City of Culture gets back to the Garden

Report by Barbara Goulden

Coventry's City of Culture is far from over and from April 14 the Assembly Festival Garden - right opposite the Council House - reopens for business with so many acts, it's downright bewildering.

Shows for music lovers, for kids, for comedy enthusiasts, for drag queen fans...those colourful tents in the middle of the city centre promise something for everyone.

If you're in to beat boxing and a cappella then super group The Magnets will be belting out covers from Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, Queen and so many others from April 14 right through until May 8.

And from April 15 until July 3 children can step into a magical world of trolls, griffins and unicorns with Dragons and Mythical Beasts experience. If you saw Dinosaur World in the Queen of Flanders tent last year, these fantasy creations come from the same stable of highly imaginative creators.

It might be wise to decide first whether your family is bold enough by first checking out the City of Culture website.

For devoted followers of Ru Paul there is Queenz, a high-heeled sequin sparkling pop party that you are invited to join any time from April 14 until May 15. The performers will offer high volume covers of The Spice Girls, Little Mix, Lady Gaga and Britney among so many others.

And hot on those platform heels is the return - by popular demand - of Choir of Man. This laid back after-hours pub singalong proved hugely popular last year and I know several Coventry friends who booked and went two or three times!

The lads will be singing hits from Guns'n'Roses, Adele, Avial and Sia along with close-harmony ballads that make you laugh and occasionally cry with emotion.

All this and so much more is on offer, not only in the Assembly Garden but in other venues in the city like the gloriously refurbished Drapers Hall, and unusual sites like the grounds of Bishop Ullathorne School in Leasowes Avenue, Green Lane.

It's there that you can lose yourself in an epic story entitled Milesians - The Coming of the Gaels - telling tales from Egypt to Ireland accompanied by some terrific live music fusions (April 16-22).

Or how about Pirates of the Canal Basin that runs from April 21 to 24?

For more info, visit the City of Culture shop in Hertford Street in the city centre, or visit Coventry2021.co.uk/explore