Jane Austen Festival Summer Balls
About the Summer Balls
Each year the Jane Austen Festival holds two delightful Summer Balls, one in May and one in June, outside of and separate to the main Jane Austen Festival in September. Tickets for the Balls generally include entrance, the dancing, entertainment, and a light supper.
There is normally a dance workshop earlier in the day for people to brush up on their Regency dancing moves, and possibly some other smaller events over the same day/weekend.
In 2026 we will again be holding two Summer Balls to give as much opportunity to dance and attend a Regency Ball as possible. The Jane Austen Festival is delighted to announce that the themes for our 2026 Regency Summer Balls will be:
The Gardens of Sotherton Summer Ball
Saturday 30th May 2026
“Here are the greatest number of our plants, and here are the curious pheasants.”
Inspired by the serpentine paths and wooded vistas of Sotherton in Mansfield Park, our May Summer Ball will be garden-themed. This will be reflected in our food and dances for the evening, and we invite you to add a touch of greenery, pheasant feathers or flowers to your Regency finery for the evening.
Fruit and Flowers of Bath Ball
Saturday 30th May 2026
Jane Austen wrote to her sister Cassandra from Queen’s Square, Bath in June 1799 to describe Bath fashions, stating
“Flowers are very much worn, and fruit is still more the thing”.
Over two hundred years later, we still very much agree! Flowers and fruit will be the theme of this ball, reflected in the dances as well as the food served at this ball; we invite you to include a nod to this theme in your elegant Regency attire.
Inspired by Austen’s letter-writing, and the gentler pace of communication in Regency times, this ball will be a fully “switched-off” event. Once you have shown your ticket, you will be given a magnet-sealed mobile phone pouch in which your phone will be encased for the full duration of the evening. You will be able to release your phone from the pouch on leaving the event.
Both Summer Balls will be held in the Bath Guildhall; the dancing will be led by Liz Bartlett of the Jane Austen Dancers of Bath, with live music provided by Beau's Band. A mid-evening break will include a buffet supper. For both events Regency attire will be mandatory.
…dates of sale and prices to be announced soon!
*The Summer Balls are mandatory Regency costumed events
and we request that all ladies and gentlemen dress in the style of the Regency or 18th Century period.
*Flat shoes must be worn. Heels are not permitted within the Ballroom.
Venue: The Guildhall Bath, High Street, Bath, BA1 5AW
