The Clockwork Garden, The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, opens on Saturday 

A bewitching show promising a magical experience for all ages, offering hands-on activities for the young and the young-at-heart. 

Flying in from somewhere out in space, a mechanical seed has landed in our exhibition gallery to fill it with a beautiful, interactive exhibition. 

It needs to learn the secrets that make our human gardens so full of life, joy and beauty, so it can take them back to its own planet, which has no gardens of its own. But will the ominous Orange Moon and its shadowy Mechanized Grizzlies find the seed before it's ready to return? 

Only you can hold them at bay and fill the seed with enough wonder and joy to send it safely back into space.

This highly creative interactive adventure will beguile and enchant children and adults. 

To celebrate the arrival of the exhibition there will be two days of wonder for the whole family from The House of Fairy Tales. On Sunday/Monday, July 30-31 there will be a trail of tasks, challenges and stories in the grounds, all brought to life with live characters, artists and musicians leading visitors in brilliant investigations and activities.

Expect beguiling storytelling, rambunctious music, and mindful making that will have every member of the family fizzing with new ideas.

  • The exhibition runs until November 5. Tel: 01833-690606. 

Atlas Festival, Scampston Hall Parkland, Malton, on Saturday-Monday

Atlas is a celebration of music, food, drinks, and entertainment from around the world. Appealing to globetrotters, seasoned travellers, those with a love of dreaming of faraway lands or those who just want to experience a festival showcasing something a little different. 

There are several countries to explore, and with over 60 different classes, workshops, musicians, performers, inspirational speakers, outdoor activities, films, and secret areas to keep you entertained all weekend, there really is something for everyone. 

Featuring jazz, world music, pop, rock, drum 'n' bass, indie, hip hop, rap, techno, r'n'b, dance, electronic, plus plenty more genres, Atlas really does have music to tickle most ears.

The difference between Atlas and other 'world music' festivals is that we are not just focusing on the music from other countries but also the experiences you get whilst travelling- the good, the crazy and the really different. We have loads in our gorgeous parkland to discover, with anything from burlesque to yoga classes, rock climbing to stand up paddle boarding, travel blogging seminars to bushcraft workshops, a crazy UV paint party to a high end club, unique shopping to delicious world food and drink, our chilled out 'hostel' to more traditional stages, plus much more. 

Weekend tickets are now just £50.

The Northern Echo:

Yorkshire plant fair, Coverham Abbey, Middleham, on Sunday, 11-4pm

Organised by Flower Power fairs, plant specialists from all over the north and beyond will be bringing their amazing plants, shrubs, alpines, shade lovers, trees and herbaceous plants.

 “The nice thing about visiting plant fairs is that you’ll find plants that aren’t normally sold in retail outlets, ask the growers for advice and of course find plants suitable for your gardens.” Homemade refreshments available.

  • Tel: 07730-859441. 

The Northern Echo: FOOD: A barbecue stall at the Saltburn Food Festival. Picture: STUART BOULTON.

Food festival, Milton Street, Saltburn, on Sunday, 10-6pm

A firm favourite on the national foodie calendar, the hugely popular festival looks set to be bigger and better than ever this year, featuring more than 100 stalls for the first time. 

With thousands of food lovers expected to descend on Saltburn, the free-entry event is set to take over the entire town centre.
Stallholders will be bringing their locally-produced wares to the street market, while star chefs and cooks will be putting on demonstrations of their work at Saltburn Food Festival, from from 10am to 6pm.

Milton Street, Dundas Street East and the town’s Station Street will be closed to traffic with buses dropping off and picking up passengers at the top of Station Street.

The festival, which was inspired by a visit to a market in Bergerac, France, will feature an expanded Live Cookery Theatre featuring award-winning chefs.

Among the stars making an appearance are North Yorkshire cookery school chef Debbie Raw, from the BBC’s A Further Step Back in Time, North Yorkshire chef Steph Moon, who has appeared on the BBC’s Great British Menu and former National Seafood Chef of the Year Rob Green.
Other chefs will include Richard Ingram from Middlesbrough College and Richard Johns, of Rascills Restaurant, in Raskelf, near Easingwold.