Latitude, of course, is on the horizon.
But before then, Lowestoft South Beach is the place to be with the First Light Festival taking place on June 21 and 22.
This is a free beachfront festival with a programme that ranges across the arts.
You can see Laurence Edwards’ bronze sculptures ‘Shimmer’ and ‘Borrowed Breath’.
Exciting music groups include Nubiyan Twist and Blue Machine’s Ocean Songs.
DanceEast brings Ayna by Ceyda Tanc Dance (influenced by Turkish contemporary and traditional folk dance), as just one of their dance offers over the weekend.
Also, back in Ipswich, on June 20 and 21, Jerwood DanceHouse hosts Limelight Performers performing ‘9 to 5 The Musical’, Dolly Parton’s ‘smash-hit musical’.
This is billed as ‘the most fun you’ll have at the theatre all year!’
DanceEast runs a wide range of classes throughout the year at the DanceHouse for all levels from ‘tots’ to ‘over 50s’ (full information on their website).
On the visual arts front, the University of Suffolk’s arts degree show will be open to the public from Friday, June 20 until Friday, June 27, 2025, at the Arts Building on the other side of the road from the university’s main Waterfront building.
You can view work from Graphic Design, Graphic Design (Graphic Illustration), Fine Art, Photography, Architecture, Digital Film Production and Screenwriting students.
It is always good to see the range of new talent emerging.
When visiting the Suffolk County Library recently, I was impressed by their lovely space for young children.
The Library is, as many will know, in the throes of changing hands, and I hope there will continue to be a commitment to the wide range of activities which have supported the community in the past.
The week of June 16-20 is National Refugee Week, and on June 19 from 2-3pm at the library, I will be doing a poetry reading and talk with Suffolk artist Sula Rubens, discussing our collaboration on the theme of refugees.
The event is free and open to all.
The soloist for the Ipswich Symphony Orchestra concert, Junyan Chen (Image: Junyan Chen) Ipswich Symphony Orchestra’s summer concert takes place at the Corn Exchange, Ipswich on Saturday, June 28, 2025.
The concert celebrates Adam Gatehouse’s 25 years as the orchestra’s conductor and features work by Brahms, Rachmaninov and Shostakovich.
The Orchestra always fields exciting new talent when they choose their soloists, and this time is no exception.
Soloist Junyan Chen, silver medal winner at the recent 2024 Leeds International Piano Competition, will be playing Rachmaninov’s 3rd Piano Concerto.
Ipswich Arts Association held a very successful event to mark the 25th anniversary of the Charter Hangings on June 6.
There are opportunities for volunteering at St Peter’s by the Waterfront to greet visitors to the Church where the hangings are displayed.
If you have a few hours to spare on the occasional Tuesday morning or afternoon and would like a quiet space with wifi and someone else alongside you, please contact me for more details (see below).
On June 25, the Friends of Ipswich Museums hold their summer party at Christchurch Mansion.
It is well worth joining the Friends.
They organise some lovely events, including private views of new exhibitions, publish an informative newsletter and support the museums in many ways.
The latest exhibition at Wolsey Art Gallery, Christchurch Mansion, ‘Colour, Shape and Pattern’ opened recently and runs till February 22, 2026.
This exhibition showcases work by well-known contemporary artists held by Ipswich, including work by Henri Matisse, Ben Nicholson, Elizabeth Frink (to name just a few), as well as 10 loan items from the Fitzwilliam Museum’s print collection.
The Mansion is now open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Sue Wallace-Shaddad is a trustee of Ipswich Arts Association.