Dates and vendors announced for Summer in the Square fun

After months of careful planning, Colmore BID has today announced the dates for its Summer in the Square events, kickstarting on 17-19 June in Victoria Square.

Colmore BID, the organisers of Colmore Food Festival, have partnered with Retail BID and Birmingham City Council, to establish a new outdoor seating space for people to enjoy at anytime during the summer months. The colourful beach huts will be open for business 11am-8pm on 17-19 June, featuring four of the city’s top hospitality venues selling an assortment of food and drink.

Indian restaurant Asha’s, Argentinian steak restaurant Gaucho and independent coffee shops Java Roastery and Yorks will be serving throughout the day for people looking for a spot of lunch, outdoor meeting, catch up friends or even an evening meal.

While the seating can be used at any time, the huts will be open for business at key dates, with venues rotating each time. Details of upcoming vendors will be announced shortly. Confirmed dates include:

Thursday 17 – Saturday 19 June

Thursday 1 – Saturday 3 July

Thursday 15 – Saturday 17 July

Thursday 29 – Saturday 31 July

Thursday 5 – Saturday 7 August

Thursday 12 – Saturday 14 August

Thursday 19 – Saturday 21 August

Thursday 26 – Monday 30 August (Bank Holiday)

Michele Wilby, CEO of Colmore BID said: “Colmore Food Festival is the pinnacle of our annual events calendar and while it could not take place this year due to the uncertainty surrounding Covid restrictions, we could not let the occasion pass us by, so developed the smaller scale Summer in the Square.

“When planning events, safety has and always will be at the forefront of our mind and while we would love to put-on large-scale events, it is not the right time. Summer in the Square allows for increased outdoor seating in the District in a safe and measured way, providing space for people to catch up with friends and colleagues, while adhering to guidelines. We can’t wait to see the square buzzing with activity once again.”

Summer in the Square is one of a number of public realm projects that Colmore BID is putting in place to support the leisure and hospitality industry. Last year, the BID launched its parklet scheme, which saw five amenity spaces built outside a number of the city’s venues. Due to the success of the scheme, Colmore BID installed two further parklets on Church Street, located outside of The Old Royal pub and Gaucho this summer, as well as additional seating in Church Street Square, increasing the capacity of the already popular square.

The parklets have capacity for around 20 people within four defined areas; seating with a low table for coffee and drinks, an area for dining with a high table, standing room only and an area that has been specifically designed to be accessible for wheelchair users.