Oktoberfest- kicking off tomorrow night in Sherington

The White Hart in Sherington is hosting the traditional German beer festival, Oktoberfest, all this weekend. There's a great selection of food and drink on offer over the weekend; German beers, including fruit beers (something different to try!), ciders and German foods, including sausages and pretzels.

The event begins tomorrow night from 5pm, with food on offer up until 10pm and the bar open till midnight. 8.30pm sees music from London based singer Billy Keane Music until late. You're encouraged to come dressed in German traditional themed fancy dress, and there will be a prize for the best dressed male and female so get down to the closest fancy dress shop! (see the image below for some inspiration!)

Saturday kicks off at midday, and there will again be all the great food and drink on offer. The evening will feature a classic disco with DJ from 7.30-11pm, so don't forget your dancing shoes!

Sunday is the finale, with a family fun day from midday featuring more live music from 2pm, candy floss, popcorn, face painting, more German beer and more German sausages! There'll also be a bouncy castle for the kids and, wait for it, a bouncy castle for the adults too! Food is served until 5pm and the bar will close at 7pm.

It's set to be a great weekend, don't miss out!

This weekend in MK... Vintage, tea, fashion and cider

Recycle the Vintage

This Saturday, Throwback vintage presents their vintage and retro fair at York House, Stony Stratford. Come along and delve into a selection of vintage and retro items and enjoy musical entertainment- rocking rhythm and blues from Lucille. Open from 9.30am-4.30pm, entry is £1 and children under 12 go free.

Tea party vintage-style 

The Milton Keynes and Bedford group are holding a vintage tea party this Saturday in order to raise awareness for Crohns and Colitis UK. Held at the Summerlin Centre, Woburn Sands. Come along for tea, sandwiches and delicious cakes, served in lovely vintage bone china cups in surroundings decked out 1940's/50's style. Kaley Herrick of Vintage Vanity events will be there to entertain, alongside her lovely waiting staff. Dressing up vintage style is optional, but encouraged! Tickets cost £5 for a great afternoon, open from 2-4pm. Please check that there are places still available before you attend.

Friday-Sunday: Autumn Theatre of Fashion

Come along to the centre:mk this weekend to see some of the latest trends to be hitting the stores this autumn/winter. From fashion shows to pamper pods, demonstrations and workshops, the centre:mk's top brands will be showcasing some great fashion pieces. On top of that is the opportunity to win £500 off your autumn wardrobe, don't miss out this weekend! 

Saturday and Sunday: Cider and Juice Making

Campbell Park Pavilion are hosting an opportunity to learn how to make cider and press your own apples to turn it into delicious cider or apple juice! This is a ticketed event which must be booked in advance and costs £15 for the day, which runs from 10am-4pm.

Explore the heritage of Milton Keynes this weekend

Starting today, there's a whole weekend of free family fun in and around Milton Keynes as part of the MK Heritage Open Days, which celebrates its 20th year this year. Milton Keynes is home to a lot of history, and there is much to be learnt and discovered from this central place. Have a look at the website for a full list of what's on, there are numerous open days, tours and events, and we've included just a small selection below...

There have been a few events on today so you may have spotted a few, if not then don't worry you've got a few days left and there are some events on this evening for you to enjoy if you have the time.
This evening there is a talk from Kevin Varty; 'The Great War in 10 Objects' held at Milton Keynes Library from 6-7pm. There's also an evening ramble held at Ouzel Valley Park which costs just £1 or is free if you have the MK Heritage Open Days leaflet. Enjoy a tour with the Parks Trust rangers from 6-7pm.

Friday

Again, there are a great number of free events to choose from, including a number of walks, such as a heritage hunters walk around Willen lake, a railway walk and Stoney Stratford town and riverside walk to name just a few.

The Milton Keynes Museum will be holding open days, which today will include their annual beer festival, from 11am-4.30pm with a selection of real ales and cider and a BBQ. Check this out on any day of the open weekend.

There's also the beer and cider festival at the York House Centre with the 12th Cock and Bull real beer and cider festival from midday to 11pm, again it will be continuing over the weekend.

This evening, head over to Milton Keynes gallery for an hour long film titled 'Milton Keynes through the lens', showing images from the 1940s through to the present day. 7.30-9pm.

Don't forget to check the website for the full list of events.

Saturday

A number of the events will follow through from yesterday, but again there is a great selection of free things to do and see.

Bark in the Park, organised by the Parks Trust, is on from 10-11.30am at Tattenhoe Valley and is a chance to walk your dog while meeting other dog owners. Free with the presentation of the Milton Keynes Heritage Leaflet.

Have a look at the Bradwell Windmill at their open day, where you can see the early 1800s windmill restored to working order between 1.30-4.30pm.

Sunday

There's much of the same at the previous days today, so if you've missed something you liked the look of then make the most of the last day of the event today, as well as a few other items, including the exhibition at Double Tree Hilton Hotel celebrating the history of women's football from 7.30am-10.30pm, and a guided walk around the Homeworld '81 exhibition at 11am showing how the buildings have faded over the last 30 years.

There's a great variety of events and activities taking place over these 4 days of the Heritage Open Days, so you've got plenty of opportunities to get involved in something over the weekend.

Download the pdf brochure here.

British Beer Festival 2014 @ The Cowpers Oak

This weekend, make sure you get along to The Cowpers Oak in Weston Underwood for the third year of the British Beer and Cider Festival. Last year saw over 500 guests attend over the weekend, and this year is set to be bigger and better than ever before. There will be a great selection of local beers and ciders (more variety than ever before!) great hot food, including roast lamb, the famous Pieminister pies served with peas, mash and gravy on Saturday between 1 and 8pm, and burgers and chips served throughout the weekend. Enjoy these food and drink delights in the beer garden, and enjoy some live music from local talent, including a Saturday afternoon jam session led by local musician Ian Roberts, where all budding musicians are invited to come along and play their own songs. A fantastic local party band, 'My Holiday Romance' will draw the evening to a close with some great tunes.

Sunday is the family day of the weekend, with bouncy castles, kids entertainers, glitter tattoos and more.  The event has a great family feel to it and is a great weekend of supporting local people, with local bands and local beers being key to the event.

Kids go free, and adults are just £5. Visit the Cowpers Oak website for more information.

Tomorrow: Sausage, Cider and River Festivals!

Tis the season for festivals in the sun, and this weekend there are a couple to enjoy in the Milton Keynes area.

The Milton Keynes sausage and cider festival is one of these, running Saturday 19th till Sunday 20th at Milton Keynes RFC, Emerson Valley. There'll be live music, 40 types of real cider, a great selection of gourmet sausages and bottled craft cider. Open from noon till 11pm on Saturday and noon till 8pm on Sunday, this annual festival is set to be a great event. It is a ticketed event, and costs £5 per adult. The festival is supporting grass roots sport in Milton Keynes, and part of the profits will go to MK RFC. Feel free to bring camping chairs, picnic rugs and sun shades, no picnic hampers and no dogs allowed! Come along for a great day out, keep your fingers crossed for the sun and don't forget your suncream!

Bedford River Festival also takes place this weekend, and always attracts a huge number of people. Hosted on the banks of the River Great Ouse in Bedford, this year it is predicted that record numbers of visitors will attend. The festival provides a huge number of different activities for all the family to get involved in, including live entertainment, river events, the festival parade, funfair, fete, raft races, dragon boat racing, fireworks, sports, art and heritage villages.

Also this weekend...

SATURDAY

Help for Heroes fundraiser @ Olney Market Place

Newport Pagnell Singers: The last night of the proms @ St Michael's Church, Lavendon

SUNDAY

Bletchley Park Presents: The real women of Bletchley Park

Enjoy!

The Two Brewers Presents: Beer and Cider Festival

The annual Beer and Cider Festival is back again, Friday- Sunday at the Two Brewers in Olney. There will be a large selection of ales and 10 different ciders, including Orchard Pig 'Explora' and Gwyet 'Farmhouse Scrumpy' on offer over the weekend. It's always a great weekend, so make sure you stop by at some point over the weekend.

What's on When?...

Friday 11th: 5.30pm-11.30pm
Music from 8pm with local band 'Spaced Out'

Saturday 12th: 11.30am-11.30pm
Music from 12 midday until around 11.30pm, acoustic music until 7.30pm and local band 'Charlie's Uniform' from 8.30pm

Sunday 13th July: 12 Midday- 7.30pm
Rock with BOFF Band heats- various bands go head to head for a place in the Rock with BOFF Finals, and the World Cup final will be shown at 8pm on the big screen so you can enjoy the music, food, drink and football without having to move a muscle!

The event will be include a BBQ and live music throughout the weekend, and the World Cup final on Sunday night will provide the perfect close to the event. With plenty to eat, drink and enjoy, it will be a really laid-back festival with great music around the clock, and the marquee in the garden will mean you're comfortable whatever the weather!

For more information visit the Two Brewers website, or find them on Facebook.