More than 70,000 ‘Big Lunches’ and events will take place over the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend, with three official ones registered in Verwood.

They will be happening on June 5th at Badget Way from 2pm till 9pm, The Chase from 8.30am till 10.30pm and Pine Walk from 10.30am till 10pm.

Traffic will be restericted in those locations and during the times mentioned, with local residents taking part in a big lunch celebration.

Nearby, parties are also planned for Ashley Heath, Alderholt, St Leonards and West Moors. They are:

• West Moors – Forest Road – June 5, 12pm-10pm
• West Moors – Moorlands Road – June 5, 12pm-7pm
• West Moors – Fernside Road – June 4, 10am – June 5, 10am
• St Leonards and St Ives – Ashley Drive North – June 4, 10.30am-4.30pm
• Alderholt – Pear Tree Close – June 3, 12pm-9pm
• Ashley Heath – Webbs Way – June 5, 2.30pm-6pm

Here’s what’s also happening in Verwood over the weekend.

Wednesday 1st June

Carnival Fun Run at Potterne Park, 5pm, all ages, all abilities, fancy dress encouraged. See Carnival Facebook page for application details and more info.

Thursday 2nd Tune

Vintage Fair on Verwood Memorial Recreation Ground & Ferrett Green 12 noon to 5pm – bouncy castles, hot dogs, popcorn, ice cream, entertainment and so much more at the Scout BBQ and Rotary Beer Tent on Ferrett Green.

Friday 3rd June

Teddy Bears’ Trail on Verwood Memorial Recreation Ground until 10.15 followed by the Carnival Procession to Potterne Park starting at Fuzzy Bit off Crane Drive at 10.30am. 12 noon – 5pm. Funfair, music, bar arena events, stalls and much more!

Saturday 4th June

Street Parties, if vou need help to sort out your road closure with Dorset Council, contact the Town Council Offices.

Sunday 5th June

Churches Together – a Service of Thanks Giving – on Verwood Memorial Recreation Ground and Afternoon Tea with Verwood Brass Band 3pm and concluding with “Pomp & Pimm’s in the Park” by 6pm.

The Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend begins on Thursday 2 June with Trooping the Colour, which sees more than 1,500 soldiers and musicians, around 240 horses and the Irish Guards mascot, Turlough Mor the Irish Wolfhound, coming together for the traditional Queen’s birthday parade.

Around 7,000 members of the public will watch the ceremony as they return to Horse Guards Parade for the first time since the pandemic. Beacons will be lit throughout the UK and the Commonwealth in the evening.

On Friday 3 June, a Service of Thanksgiving for The Queen’s 70-year reign will be held at St Paul’s Cathedral. The service will include Bible readings, anthems, prayers and congregational hymns to express thanks for Her Majesty’s reign, faith and service.

Great Paul, the largest church bell in the country, will be rung. The bell, which was made in 1882, fell silent due to a broken mechanism in the 1970s. Following its restoration in 2021, this will be the first royal occasion in which Great Paul has been rung. The ringing of Great Paul will be followed by a peal of bells to celebrate.

On Saturday 4th June, a number of stars will take part in the Platinum Party at the Palace. Hosted by Kirsty Young and Roman Kemp, the celebration will see famous faces from the world of entertainment brought together to perform for a night of musical tributes to celebrate the Jubilee. 22,000 people will attend the event including 10,000 allocated in a public ballot and 5,000 tickets for key workers.

The celebrations will conclude on Sunday 5 June with the Platinum Jubilee Pageant. Thousands of performers from across the country and Commonwealth will process down The Mall to tell the story of The Queen’s 70-year reign in a spectacular procession. Artists and the communities they work with will interpret different chapters of Her life.

The pageant will feature a giant dragon puppet the size of a double decker bus, corgis, acrobats, unicorns, dancers and circus acts. The grand finale will feature 150 ‘national treasures’ including Ed Sheeran who, along with members of the viewing public invited to become part of the performance, will gather and pay tribute to The Queen.

Across the country, millions will sit down to a Big Jubilee Lunch on Sunday afternoon with more than 200,000 local events – including screenings, street parties and lunches – planned. Big lunches take place in communities across the UK every year as people come together in celebration to share lunch. Each year they raise more than £8 million for local charities.

More than 8.5 million took part in the Big Jubilee Lunch for the Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

From back garden barbecues to full-blown street parties, there are events planned in neighbourhoods and communities right across the UK and it’s not too late to knock on a neighbour’s door and join the nation in celebration. Big Jubilee Lunch themes being planned include red, white and blue and dancing through the decades with a world record attempt for the longest street party and the biggest Big Jubilee Lunch.

Across the Commonwealth and the rest of the world, more than 600 Big Jubilee Lunches are planned in more than 70 countries – from Greenland to New Zealand.