Family fun and world class entertainment are coming to town at the Festival of Wonder which starts next Friday 21st November at St Laurence Church, the Stroud Centre for Peace & the Arts, in the town centre, focusing on themes of wonder and hope for a better world.
Now in its fourth year, this amazing free weekend offers Wonder for everyone, from babies, young people and through every generation beyond.
This year’s world class artists include aerialists, acrobats, musicians, dancers, spoken word artists, clowns and other circus acts, including Klodi & Yann direct from the West End show ‘Come Alive’, champion juggler Gordon Marquez returning to the Festival by popular demand, sensational stage magician Marco Cardoso, the hilarious circus entertainer Thomas Trilby, and Stroud’s very own stilt walker & juggler The Magnificent Mr Kai to name but a few.
The festival gets off to a flying start on Friday evening with 2 relaxed performances of The Briar And The Bramble, before a free cabaret Circus Showcase, Whispers and Wings, presented by School of Larks with a bar and cocktails. Doors open at 8.15pm for an 8.30pm start.
The free main circus show, The Briar And The Bramble, written and directed by Andy Bewley and Tatiana Ozhiganova (ex-Giffords) is repeated at 12pm and 3pm on Saturday 22nd. This year the main show features a live band for the first time. No tickets are required but please be prepared to queue for a short time as access is on a first come, first served basis. To add to the wonderful atmosphere and this year’s theme, Finding Wonder in the Heart of Nature, this year the church will be transformed into a woodland wonderland, with hundreds of leaves designed by primary school children from schools across the district.
To get the Free Community Saturday underway at 10am, a cast of jugglers, stilt walkers, aerial artists and clowns will entertain the crowds before Thomas Trilby takes to the stage for his first family show at 11am. Then, after the first main circus show at 12pm, Ambitions Dance returns to the Festival for the 4th time, just because they are so good! They are followed at 1.45pm by The Magnificent Mr Kai’s Talent Show – expect future stars showing their craft!
After the final free performance of The Briar And The Bramble at 3pm, Painswick Community Choir perform their a cappella songs reflecting the wonder of nature before Thomas Triby returns for his second show of the afternoon. To round off the day, Stroud’s best kept secret, singer-songwriter Asha McCarthy, performs her songs which blend Northern Indian classical music with Irish folk.
Throughout the weekend you can also visit the Wall of Wonder, marvel at the Photo Exhibition, explore the Secret Garden, try some Crafts or simply sit back, relax and enjoy drinks and tasty treats in the Free Café (and paid bar in the evenings). Then there’s the Under 5’s Play Area and hot food from community chef Sam Angelo.
For the first time this year, there’s a Youth Club in the Shambles Hall from 6.30pm to 8.30pm on Saturday night, hosted by IlluminateStroud, which includes a silent disco, games consoles, free snacks and music.
Saturday evening’s Gala is almost sold out so don’t delay booking your ticket!
Workshops take place on Sunday afternoon, including the popular School of Larks Circus Workshop, with tickets available at a vastly reduced price of £10. Other workshops in the Hall can be booked online.
The festival concludes on a high with Circus of the Soul at 6pm on Sunday 23rd. This free finale is expected to be extremely popular as it features Bristol’s Renewal Gospel Choir and Stroud’s Midnight Quartet plus a range of circus acts, spoken word and aerial interpretations. Places are limited so free tickets need to be booked online on a first come, first served basis.
“The Festival of Wonder is an amazing community event, one of the many glorious festivals that take place in Stroud each year,“ says Festival Producer, Phil Coysh. “This year we have free events on all 3 days as we want to make the festival accessible to all. So mark your calendars now and come down into Stroud town centre for all the fun of the fair. Enjoy the WONDERful atmosphere as the community comes together to wonder and hope for ‘a better world our hearts know is possible’.”
Full details, timings and tickets at www.festivalofwonder.org
