Here’s our pick of the top ten events in Dorset and the New Forest over the next two weeks...

1. A taste of the best of musical theatre starts this week when local Big Little Theatre School presents Broadway Showtunes at the Pavilion from July 13-15.

2. There will be feathered fabulousness when the musical Priscilla Queen of the Desert rolls into Bournemouth Pavilion from July 18 - July 22.

3. Dorset Volksfest at Wareham takes place at The Showground from July 14 - 16 combining live music, free kids entertainment, a trade village and Volkswagens of all shapes and sizes.

4. The Wilkswood Reggae Festival takes place in Swanage from Friday, July 14 to Sunday, July 16. To book tickets or for more details, visit dubwood.co.uk

5. Dorset’s longest-running community music festival Grooves on the Green at Ashley Cross in Poole, starts from 11am on Saturday, July 15 to July 16.

6. Punk pop favourites Blink 182 are heading to the BIC on July 17 with a selection of pop punk classics, alongside a multitude of newer songs.

7. The man dubbed “the world’s greatest living explorer” will offer a personal journey through his extraordinary life. Sir Ranulph Fiennes: Mind Over Matter is at Lighthouse, Poole on July 18.

8. Striking Chords at Upton Country Park on Thursday, July 13 at 7pm features performances from Poole Grammar Orchestra, Steel the Magic and Panoramic and Dorset Youth Jazz Orchestra.

9. Indie rockers The Kooks will play at Lime Wood’s Smoked & Uncut in the New Forest on Sunday, July 23

10. Compton Acres, home to Dorset’s finest private gardens, hosts its first ‘Exotics Week’ from July 14 to July 23. to highlight its collection of exotic plants. from around the world and celebrate Dorset’s unique climate which enables these plants to thrive locally like nowhere else in Britain.