From poetry and music to horse racing and guided walks, there are lots of events happening this month, including celebrations to mark Jersey’s 77th Liberation Day on 9 May.
Sunday 1 May – May Day at The Elms
Join the National Trust for Jersey at The Elms to celebrate the ancient festival of May Day, marking the beginning of summer. Helier Morris Men will be dancing in the courtyard, and you can enjoy a picnic underneath the blossom in the orchard while listening to Folk band Sonneaux.
Tickets: £2.00 for adults, £1.00 for children
www.store.nationaltrust.je/event/may-day-at-the-elms
Saturday 7 May – Daylight of Seagulls with poet Alice Allen
Jersey Festival of Words is hosting a poetry reading with Jersey-born poet Alice Allen as she launches her new collection ‘Daylight of Seagulls’, set on the Island during the Nazi occupation. Drawing on archival sources, present day interviews, local war-time folklore and fragments of her own Jersey family history, as well as using elements of the local Jèrriais language, the poems explore the experience of the local population and those of other nationalities brought to the islands during the occupation.
Tickets: £5.00 plus booking fee
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/alice-allen-daylight-of-seagulls-tickets-317150524757?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
Sunday 8 May – The 77 Liberation Anniversary Jersey Guineas
Spectators will be cheering on their favourite horses at Les Landes Race Course over the Liberation weekend with a series of events on Sunday 8 May, including the coveted Jersey Guineas. The first race starts at 2.30 pm and the mile-long Guineas race (this year extended to one mile and 100 yards) starts at 3.40 pm.
Tickets: £15.00
www.jerseyraceclub.com/races/#33840
Thursday 12 May– Geowalk: The Mont-à-l’abbé Landscape
Jersey Heritage is hosting a series of walks around the Island this month exploring the geological history of Jersey. On Thursday 12 May, Geopark Guide Jean will be unearthing the historic landscape of Mont-à-l’abbé and explaining how the Ice Age provided soil which contributes so much to the Island’s agriculture.
Tickets: £9.00 plus booking fee
www.jerseyheritage.org/explore/geopark/events
Saturday 14 May – Vivaldi Four Seasons with the Jersey Chamber Orchestra
The Jersey Chamber Orchestra returns to the Liberation Festival with a concert of popular classics including a world premiere by BAFTA award-winning film composer Christopher Gunning and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Soloists Alexander SItkovetsky and Harriet Mackenzie are renowned internationally and perform all across the world with orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Tickets: From £10.00 plus booking fee
Thursday 19 May – How to use iRecord to submit wildlife sightings
As part of Jersey’s Invasive Species Week, Jersey Heritage invites you to Hamptonne Country Life Museum to discover how to help protect Jersey’s biodiversity using the iRecord wildlife app. The short training session, which is followed by a practical session exploring the grounds of Hamptonne, is run in collaboration with Jersey Biodiversity Centre and the Government of Jersey.
Tickets: Free
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-to-use-irecord-tickets-323109618567?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
Thursday 26 May – Guided walk: A meander through the past
‘Walk in the park’ with Jersey National Park and join one of their free guided walks, each showcasing a different aspect of the protected national park. This ‘meander through the past’ will show you sacred sites of interest across the prehistoric landscape of St Ouen’s Bay, through to fortifications and other sites of more modern-day times.
Tickets: Free
