Sarah Singleton looks at getting out and about this weekend

It’s a funky reggae party

SWINDON will echo with the sound of Reggae music tomorrow, when the Reggae Garden Family Festival returns to the Old Town Bowl.

From 12pm to 9pm, festival organisers have lined up a potent mix of positive beats, top live acts and delicious soul food, in what they reckon is the South West’s most exciting outdoor reggae music event.

This year, the seventh instalment, the line-up includes Twinkle Brothers, Raphael, Talisman, Blend Mishkin & Roots Evolution Band, Friendly Fire Band, Lion Art, Tomlin Mystic, Terrorist Nuclear, Messenjah Youth, Zeeks and 2 Steps Dance Academy.

Tickets cost £15 in advance from the Swindon Visitor Information Centre on 01793 466454 and £20 on the gate. See thereggaegarden.com for more information and other ticket outlets.

Art and beauty through the looking glass

AN exhibition of art by Cathy Lomax, called The Blind Spot, has opened at the Swindon Museum and Art Gallery, in Bath Road.

Lomax won the inaugural Contemporary British Painting prize in 2016, and this solo exhibition, which features paintings that examine looking and being looked at, is part of her award.

The works reveal a contemporary and personal exploration of popular culture, beauty, celebrity and identity.

She captures numerous women in paint, trapping them in their mirror image and setting them up for the viewer’s consideration. They are not airbrushed and perfect pieces – the brush marks and drips declare their construction as paintings.

The exhibition also includes three-dimensional works, including a painting of Swindon-born Diana Dors on a plinth, and 19 Merry Maidens, a series that references a Cornish stone circle, reputedly women turned to stone as a punishment for dancing on the Sabbath.

The London-based artist’s projects have included an on-going film diary, Mock Tudor, inspired by the art of Hans Holbein, and American Tan, which explores Hollywood glamour.

Lomax will be visiting the gallery to give a talk on September 28 at 7.30pm. The exhibition runs till September 30.

Railway festival on track at Steam

RAILWAY fans of all ages will be descending on Swindon’s Steam Museum this weekend for the Swindon Railway Festival 2017.

From 10am to 5pm tomorrow and Sunday, visitors will be marvelling over spectacular model railway layouts, alongside the Steam museum’s permanent exhibits and locomotives.

This year the festival will be celebrating the 90th anniversary of the locomotive legend, the King George V, and it will feature 24 giant model railways, children’s interactive model railways, live steam displays by Hatch Heritage and Stem Engineers and over 30 trade stands.

A barbecue, real ale bar and café will provide refreshments.

Tickets cost £12 for adults, with concessions available, from swindontickets.co.uk.