YourSummer 2013 OxfordBuilding a world-class city for everyone Circulation 62,000 DOUBLE YOUR ...and inside SUMMER FUN! P2/3: The Light fantastic Two stunning events for you to enjoy THE highlight of the summer Carnival, which is one of Oxford’s most P4: Benefit changes in Oxford sees the city come vibrant community-led outdoor events to life with two spectacular takes place. From midday until 7pm, celebrations. East Oxford will be filled with carnival Oxford residents and visitors alike vibes and family fun and the event is are invited to join in the fun at two of free to everyone. our most iconic events. The famous Carnival Procession Alice’s Day takes place on Saturday involves local schools and community 6 July with wonderful Alice and Mad groups, street bands and dancers, as Hatter themed events across the city. well as carnival groups from across P6/7: Working for you You will be able to take part in arts the South East region, who have spent and crafts, listen to storytelling, get months creating their costumes. dressed up and take part in a Mad Cowley Road will be closed to Hatter’s Tea Party. traffic and lined with bands and sound On Sunday 7 July the Cowley Road systems. Local bars and restaurants will be selling food and drink from around Photo: Mark Bassett the world. The Carnival Procession promises to be bigger, more colourful and inventive than ever before. P12: Our performance The two events are part of the city’s major summer cultural events and we PLUS want to provide a legacy to our 2012 Above: P13: St Clement’s plans Children join Festive Oxford programme which took in the fun for place in South Park at the Olympic P19: Your Councillors Alice’s Day Torch Relay event where over 20,000 people attended. Oxford City Council is investing Recycle it... Right: £50,000 each year to be shared Cowley Road Your Oxford is printed on between these partnership led environmentally friendly paper. Carnival organisations, which is hoped will Please recycle Your Oxford in your procession enable them to bring in £50,000 of blue wheelie bin when you have marches on finished reading it. Call the press additional funding from other sources office on 01865 252096 or e-mail in 2013-14. [email protected] if you n Read more about these two would like to make any comments or to advertise in Your Oxford. Photo: Kathleen Bailey unmissable events on pages 10-11. Your Oxford 2 Building a world-class city for everyone Your Oxford 3 Building a world-class city for everyone www.oxford.gov.uk www.oxford.gov.uk Summer 2013 Summer 2013 A message Your guide to... from the Leader of What’s On your Council Photo: Greg Smolsonski Dear Friends and Residents AS THE new fi nancial year started, we learnt that the British economy had narrowly avoided a triple dip recession and had not yet recovered to the level that it reached before the international banking crisis of 2008/9. Oxford has been spared the worst of the recession and has not seen the high levels of unemployment seen in many other parts of the country. The city’s economy has continued to benefi t from our two highly successful universities, a health sector that is a centre of national excellence, Join continued growth of tourism and the visitor economy, the publishing industry, and an expanding high tech sector based on a large number of small ‘start-up’ companies. In order to build on our successful growth over the past decade, the City Council is working with the County Council, the other four Oxfordshire Districts, the Local Enterprise Partnership, the universities and the ‘big science’ facilities at Harwell and Culham, to submit a ‘City Deal’ bid the to the government during the summer. Eight ‘City Deals’ were launched last year in the major English conurbations, and Oxford and Oxfordshire are among the 20 in the second wave that are expected to be concluded before the end of 2013. Each ‘Deal’ is different, but they all involve an agreement from Whitehall to hand over certain powers to local City Deal Boards and to allocate to those Boards funds festival fun that would otherwise have been spent by Whitehall departments. Our bid to the government is based on CHRISTMAS Light Festival weekend from events and a day of song on Sunday. fostering the potential growth of science based industries, 22-24 November 2013 provides a spectacular Each day of the Festival also hosts our linked to knowledge ‘hubs’ in Harwell/Culham/Milton Park, curtain-raiser to eight weeks of fun-fi lled Victorian fairground and festive market in St Oxford and the Begbroke and Magdalen Science Parks entertainment in Oxford. Giles, where hundreds of stalls will offer visitors and, potentially, in the new business area opening up in Friday sees the return of Christmas Light local ales, mulled wine and produce from Bicester. Night, followed by Saturday’s music and dance across the Thames Valley and the Cotswolds. For the city, the focus is on the potential of the Oxford Magnet in New Road, the University of Oxford’s plans for a bioscience centre on the Churchill site, the realisation of the Northern Gateway site and the possible allocation Hands-on activities for all at museum of business innovation land in the Oxpens redevelopment COME along to the Museum excavation techniques and tools, and Thursday 22 August, scheme. of Oxford to enjoy a variety of and be prepared to meet a real 1pm-4.30pm. Key aspects of the City Deal bid, supporting the family events and gallery trails Anglo-Saxon. We are excited about working in economic growth hubs, will be greater control over the this summer. n Wonderland Wildlife partnership with the Museum of government funding that goes into training and skills so n Digging the Anglo-Saxons – Exploration Station – Thursday Natural History while their roof is that schools and our colleges are better able to provide Thursday 25 July, 10am-4.30pm. 8 August and Thursday 15 being restored. Touch real furry support for the needs of the main growth sectors; funding Celebrate our Archaeology August, 1pm-4.30pm. and feathery specimens from the to support the desperate need for more affordable housing; Festival with us and excavate Small donation suggested. museum and create Wonderland and some major bids to upgrade the A34 and the A40 at Anglo-Saxon objects in our n Wonderland Wildlife hands- Wildlife with us. You can visit the Wolvercote/Banbury Road junctions. museum dig. Learn about on workshops – Wednesday 21 our craft and hands-on activities Surveys of local businesses show very clearly the alongside the gallery exhibition. importance which is attached to improvements in our n Museum of Natural History housing stock and transport system to support the Great gifts and Goes to Town continued dynamism of the local economy. This summer, while the Museum We expect to learn whether the City Deal bid is of Natural History is closed, successful by the end of the year. The Deal will give greater entertainment its residents are going on an local control over key factors that will infl uence our ability to OxFOrD’S Christmas Market adventure. maintain the future success of the city and the local region will take place in Broad Street All around Oxford city centre in generating jobs and prosperity and helping to pull the this year for two weeks. you will see them in unexpected country out of economic diffi culties. You will be able to buy places – the library, cafes, Christmas decorations bookshops, the market and Good wishes and stocking fi llers from many other locations. approximately 40 stalls Find them all and answer a Top Councillor Bob Price from Friday 13 to Sunday 22 Leader, Oxford City Council Trumps-style challenge to win an December. invitation to the Museum before it There will also be the chance Translations: ‘Language Line’ – a telephone translation service to help people reopens early in 2014. To fi nd out to buy food and drink. Local more visit www.goestotown.com with information about Council services – is available at all Council offi ces. choirs and bands performing l To fi nd out more visit our Produced by the Communications Team, Oxford City Council, Town Hall, St Aldate’s, Christmas carols will be website: www.oxford.gov.uk/ Oxford OX1 1BX. e-mail: pressoffi [email protected] invited to add to the festive museumofoxford or follow atmosphere throughout the Design by Merlin Publications (01442 827146, e-mail: [email protected]). us on www.twitter.com/ market’s ten days. MuseumofOxford Your Oxford 2 Building a world-class city for everyone Your Oxford 3 Building a world-class city for everyone www.oxford.gov.uk www.oxford.gov.uk Summer 2013 Summer 2013 Your guide to... WIN tickets for Brush up your dance moves DAnCIn’ Oxford is bringing a family dance week in the autumn half term. James and the From Saturday 26 October to Sunday 3 November there will be a week-long programme of dance Giant Peach! activities for children and their families to enjoy at various locations across the city. Oxford Playhouse – Tuesday 23 – Photo: Greg Smolsonski Join us for a week of high quality Saturday 27 July dance workshops and performances JAMES lives with Aunt Sponge and suitable for all the family. Aunt Spiker, the most revolting Aunts Experience as much or as little as in England. you like! They make him work and slave and n For more details visit the website never let him play with other children www.dancinoxford.co.uk or follow us Then one day he meets a mystical old on www.twitter.com/dancinoxford man who gives him a bag that contains the strongest magic the world has ever known.