Culture beat: 7 August

It was once a contemplative interlude in the ten-day Brussels Summer Festival but now little sibling Classissimo is a stand-alone event. The 9th edition of the classical music festival starts this evening (Friday) in Théâtre Royal du Park. Young talented musicians are centre stage in a programme dedicated to major composers and the piano, violin and chamber music. Every evening until 15 August. The BSF, which runs from 14 to 23 August, has been given a facelift with new dates, logo and venue. It kicks off in Mont des Arts with an all-star line-up of Douglas Firs, Great Mountain Fire and Charlie Winston. More info next week.

Fans of sound system reggae dub culture are hotfooting it to the Reggaebus Festival 2015 today (Friday) and at Tour & Taxis. The 5th edition of the Jamaican sound celebration (the only event of its kind in Belgium) has invited notable names Stand High Patrol, Aba Shanti, Blackboard Jungle Sound System, Prince Alla, Jah Tubbys, and more. Free camping available near the festival site.

Puppets on a string are among the marionette skills on display at Insifon – Festival de Marionnettes at Théâtre de Verdure in Osseghem park near the Atomium on Saturday and Sunday. The Compagnie du Théâtre Royal ‘Les Coeurs de Bois’ has invited talented puppeteers from home and abroad with marionettes of all styles - string, rod and glove. From 14.00 on both days a succession of shows will entertain young and old alike.

The heady scent of Italian blooms fill the Grand‘Place from 13 to 16 August in the second edition of Flowertime. Organised in alternate years around the biannual flower carpet, the relaxing floral garden in the medieval square and city hall is themed Italian baroque and created by flower artists from renowned Floraliën Ghent.

Look out for colourful big tops in the fairy tale Royal Park from 13 to 16 August as Festival Théâtres Nomades returns to the city centre for its annual eco-friendly adventure. The nomadic village offers street theatre, storytelling, performance, music and children’s theatre. Shows are free but spectators are invited to throw some coins (or notes) into a hat.

If you’re stuck in the city this summer, fear not, you can take your own odyssey into space, thanks to the interactive exhibition Gateway to Space at Brussels Expo until 25 October. After exploring the extensive collection of space objects recounting the story of NASA, step into a simulator and test your resistance to zero gravity.

Jazz clash in Wallonia

There are jazz vibrations all around in the province of Luxembourg this weekend with not one but two festivals on the agenda. Gouvy Jazz & Blues at the Ferme Madelonne in the Ardennes proposes an eclectic menu of Bobby Watson, Manu Dibango, Stéphane Belmondo and Dani Klein. While in Rossignol, Gaume Jazz Festival welcomes US singer Stacey Kent, Tali Toké and Thelonius Monk, among 120 artists from 11 different countries, mixing up jazz-rock, funk, be-bop, swing and hip-hop. The two events, different in style, are traditionally staged on successive weekends.