MONDAY is May Day, a welcome bank holiday and a day associated with maypole dancing and the crowning of the May queen.

It is a way of saying farewell to winter – though this year’s temperatures are predicted to be chilly. We’ve come up with some activities suitable whatever the weather.

FOODIES FESTIVAL, HOVE LAWNS, SATURDAY TO MONDAY

Join the fun over the Bank Holiday weekend at the UK’s biggest food festival.

Hove Lawns host live cooking demonstrations, from Great British Bake Off winner Candice Brown baking live in The Cake and Desserts Theatre to meet and greets with Michelin starred Chefs Matt Gillan, Adam Simmonds, and Great British Menu chef Michael Bremner, who will all be cooking their signature recipes in the Stoves Chefs Theatre.

The festival will also include tutored tasting sessions, cocktail making and cooking-for-kids master classes.

Plus Street Food Avenue showcasing cuisine from across the world, with opportunities to enjoy afternoon tea in the Vintage Tea Tent, taste wine, champagne and craft beer in the Drinks Theatre, and buy from local producers in the Artisan Market.

If you dare, enter the Chilli Eating Competition! More information can be found at foodiesfestival.com

SAFARI EXPRESS AT DRUSILLAS PARK, ALFRISTON, 01323 874100

Spring has certainly sprung in the zoo, bringing with it the welcome arrival of little bundles of fur and feathers.

Amongst the baby boomers of 2017 are a silvery marmoset and a beautiful baby saki monkey.

Drusillas’ brand new Safari Express train will also be on the tracks; the exciting African-themed safari adventure will transport visitors around the park whilst surprising them with fun features along the way.

So get out your binoculars and have your cameras at the ready to spot Snigger and Sneer the laughing hyenas and Majesty the fearsome lion.

Another new addition to the park is Go Safari!, an African-themed, three-ride attraction which will thrill children and adults alike.

Giant anteaters are also expected soon, for the first time in the park’s history. Visit drusillas.co.uk

CONSTABLE AND BRIGHTON AT BRIGHTON MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY, 03000 290900, OPEN EVERY DAY

A new exhibition at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery exploring John Constable’s time in Brighton.

He stayed there with his family between 1824 and 1828, producing 150 paintings in and around Brighton at sites including Devil’s Dyke and Hove Beach.

The display will bring together, for the first time, more than 60 of the artist’s sketches, drawings and paintings from this productive spell of the artist’s life.

Visit brightonmuseums.org.uk

TULIP FESTIVAL AT PASHLEY MANOR GARDENS, TICEHURST NEAR WADHURST, 01580 20088, UNTIL MAY 6

The annual festival this year celebrates the 400th anniversary of the tulip’s arrival in Europe from Persia.

Over 32,000 tulips will be blooming in the gardens , providing one of the country’s most impressive and colourful displays, planted in an array of horticultural designs.

Stunning scenes for visitors to enjoy. Admission: £10.50.

More information available at pashleymanorgardens.com

MAGNIFICENT MOTORS AT WESTERN LAWNS AND WISH TOWER SLOPES, EASTBOURNE, SUNDAY AND MONDAY

More than 600 vintage and classic cars, motorbikes and buses will be displayed.

The long-established free motoring event regularly attracts interest from over 40 car clubs across Sussex and Kent, with live music entertainment throughout the weekend.

Car enthusiast groups such as Aston Martin Owners Club, Ford Consul Capri and Classic Club and East Sussex Stag Owners Club will be gracing Eastbourne’s green lawns.

Magnificent Motors will also host steam traction engines, commercial and military vehicles, ranging across a century of motoring.

Also featured is a French Market, live music and funfair. More information about the event can be found at magnificentmotors.co.uk

BUBBLETASTIC WEEKEND, HERSTMONCEUX, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, 10AM-6PM, FREE

Fun for all the family, making spectacular and colourful bubbles.

Try to make a bubble big enough to stand in or even a square bubble – if that’s really possible?

Create the most impressive and vibrant bubbles and enjoy the bubble wall.

The light and colour exhibition will explain what you are looking at and why you see what you see.

SPRING GARDEN AND LEISURE SHOW, ARDINGLY, SUNDAY AND MONDAY, 9AM-5PM, Under 16s free when accompanied by a paying adult £10, senior citizens and students over 16s £8

Say hello to spring at the South of England showground.

Enjoy the best of British countryside and its produce at the two-day event which is a celebration of rural life and all it has to offer.

JACK IN THE GREEN FESTIVAL, OLD TOWN, HASTINGS, TOMORROW TO MONDAY (ALL DAY), FREE

The Jack in the Green Festival is an annual event that takes place in various parts of Hastings.

The four-day event includes music of all genres from some of the best local bands.

The main event is on Monday with the Jack in the Green parade itself.

There will be a craft fair, food stalls and refreshments.

Find more at hastingsjitg.co.uk

MAY DAY PARADE AT THE WEALD AND DOWNLAND LIVING MUSEUM, SINGLETON, NEAR CHICHESTER, Monday, free entry for guardians with children, £6 children, £13.50 adults, £11.50 for over 65s

The Weald and Downland living museum invites children from community groups to join as a group for its May Day celebrations which will include crafts, music and procession.

BRITISH VICTORY MORRIS AT ARUNDEL CASTLE, MONDAY, FROM 3.30PM

The traditional English dance side will dance and play in the castle grounds.

They take their name from Nelson’s Flagship and first danced in public on May Day 1976.

The group dances in the area mainly during the summer and on special days such as May Day.

GUIDED ESTATE WALKS AT BODIAM CASTLE, ROBERTSBRIDGE, Monday, free, children must be accompanied by an adult, dogs on leads welcome

Knowledgeable guides will take you around the greater Bodiam estate and tell you stories of its past.

There is an opportunity to see inside the church of St Giles, which is not normally open to the public.

The length of walk, area and terrain covered will vary depending on the group on the day.

Wear sturdy walking boots and dress appropriately for the weather.

FASHION CITIES AFRICA AT BRIGHTON MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY, Sunday, to September, £4.50 for adults, £2.50 for children, £3.60 for students and seniors

Exploring fashion and style in four cities at the compass points of the African continent – Casablanca in Morocco, Lagos in Nigeria, Nairobi in Kenya and Johannesburg in South Africa.

Fashion Cities Africa’ considers recent and contemporary fashion practices from couture to street style.

WINDMILL THEATRE AND CINEMA, LITTLEHAMPTON, daily 11am-11pm, normal prices apply

Variety of films and performances available at the moment, including Beauty and the Beast, Boss Baby and National Theatre Live: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.

KEITH TYSON: TURN BACK NOW, JERWOOD GALLERY, HASTINGS, to Sunday, June 4, £9 adult, £3.50 child aged five to 16, seniors £8, students £6.

A selection of works from Tyson’s Studio Wall Drawings series that form a visual diary of his practice over the past 20 years, many of which have never been publicly exhibited before.

SPRING BIRD WATCHING, PAGHAM HARBOUR, SELSEY, to Sunday, free, but donations appreciated

While many of the wintering birds are still present throughout the spring and autumn passage period, the movement of many other birds at this time increases the diversity of birdlife around the reserve.

If you are interested in passage waders the best place to look is on Ferry Pool.

Species such as curlew, green and common sandpiper, ruff and little ringed plover are all seen during this period.

TULIP FESTIVAL, PASHLEY MANOR GARDENS, TICEHURST, NEAR WADHURST, to Saturday, May 6, tickets £10.50

Wander from elegant displays of palest cream classic tulips planted around an old brick terrace to sweeping herbaceous borders planted in reds and oranges, surrounded by bronze fennel or pink peony blooms cloistered between red brick walls and pear trees.

ANTIQUES AND COLLECTORS FAIR AT FONTWELL RACECOURSE, ARUNDEL, Monday 10am-4pm, £3 adults, £2.50 for seniors/students

Stalls in the grandstand and floored and heated marquee plus outside pitches too. Free parking and only seconds from the A27.