Black Country Living Museum's 1940s Weekend

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Black Country Living Museum to host 1940s Weekend

You're invited to don your finest threads on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 July and have a glimpse of wartime life at the popular West Midlands open air museum, with daytime activities and an evening event promising a memorable night out.

Walk the historic streets of shops, houses and industrial workplaces as they are brought to life with reenactors, vintage vehicles, historic displays, and fascinating stories. It's the perfect setting for you to get into the blitz spirit, with everything from the outbreak of World War II and the Dig For Victory and Make Do and Mend campaigns, to a celebratory street party.

Meet soldiers from across the Empire, welcome newly arrived evacuees to the school and join the campaigns to collect scrap metal and other waste for essential wartime recycling. You'll have the opportunity to learn how to protect the nation and train for the Home Guard, practice for an air raid with a resident ARP Warden and try out some of the military looks in the Museum's brand-new recreation of Langer's Army & Navy Stores.

Commemorating the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, discover the stories of troops from all over the world as they gathered ahead of the big day, and find out more about the essential role Black Country industries played in powering the landing.

Learn about the continuation of wartime hardships and find out how rationing continued even after the war, as you explore the newly-opened Halesowen and Hasbury Co-Op, set in 1949. Discover the ingenuity of those making the best of their clothes rations as 1940s fashion will be showcased to commemorate life in the forces and on the home front. Plus, buy your own vintage treasures to take home from the fashion and homeware market stalls.

Can't get enough of the 1940s? There's even more to stay for with the Museum's evening event! Why not extend your visit, enjoying live music and entertainment into the night on Saturday 13 July*.

Put on your glad rags and get ready for a swinging night out with the best of wartime and post-wartime entertainment. Sing along with old favourites performed by the D-Day Darlings and Bluebird Belles, and dance your socks off to the Kalamazoo band.

With reenactors to meet, vintage markets to browse and entertainment to enjoy, this year's 1940s Weekend is not to be missed!

To book tickets visit bclm.com
*Tickets for the daytime and evening events are sold separately.
Visitors are welcome to dress in 1940s military uniform – allied forces only.