What’s on in Stroud this week: 28 September – 4 October
September gives way to October this week and there is no denying that autumn is in the air, with summer festivals and fairs an increasingly sparse presence in the calendar.
Nevertheless, Stroud’s community organisers are still making an effort, with an indoor Festival of Commoning taking over St Laurence Church and Lansdown Hall for the weekend, Bisley Blue Coat School holding an autumn fair and Stroud cocktail supremos Holy Water throwing a reggae garden event.
Elsewhere, the people of Ruscombe discuss community ownership for their woods, Stroud Wine Company opens late for a pop up bar night and Stonehouse Rotary invites runners to a colourful charity event.
Find out more in our regular look at things coming up in Stroud and the wider district.
Regular and one off events
- Discuss community ownership for Ruscombe Woods– Mon 28 Sep, 6pm
After more than 20 acres of Ruscombe woodland and pasture came up for sale, local residents put in a speculative offer based on an onward sale of the woodland to the local community. Now, residents are being invited to a community meeting to discuss the next stage of the plan.
- Find common ground at the Festival of Commoning– Fri 2 – Sat 3 Oct
Stroud’s Festival of Commoning returns this weekend, exploring sharing and sustainability through talks, workshops, participatory projects and community-led demonstrations. This year’s event is rooted in community ownership, with talks, tours and more from the Heavens Valley Community Benefit Society, the Long Table, Paganhill Community Centre and Climbing Commons alongside stories from further afield.
- Visit the Stroud Wine Company pop up bar– Fri 2 Oct, 6pm
Stroud Wine Company’s Withey’s Yard store is reimagined as a wine bar this Friday, for a special late opening. The team will be on hand to make bottle recommendations, and to serve a selection of their favourite wines by the glass.
- Enter the Holy Water reggae garden– Fri 2 Oct, 6pm
DJ Juggla’s Reggae Garden returns to Holy Water on Friday night, with music from Juggla and Daddy G. The event also features authentic yaad food by Ann Marie from St Anns on Jamaica’s northern coast, including curry goat and vegan options.
- Attend Bisley Autumn Fair– Sat 3 Oct, 12 noon
Bisley Blue Coat School’s Parent Teacher Association’s autumn fair is this Saturday afternoon, promising games, a tombola, toy stall, face painting and a table top treasure hunt. The event will also include inflatables, tea and cake and a dog show.
- Take the Rotary Rainbow Run– Sun 4 Oct – 1 – 4pm
Inspired by the Hindu spring festival of Holi, rainbow runs are family-friendly running events where participants wear white and get showered in colored powder paint en route. Stonehouse and Stroud Rotary are running one this Sunday at Oldends Lane in Stonehouse, in aid of Sunflowers Suicide Support and including a barbecue, ice cream and stalls.
Showing this week
- See Gemma Pitman’s Sense of Place exhibition– Tue 29 Sep – Sun 4 Oct
Minchinhampton artist Gemma Pitman returns to Three Storeys in Nailsworth for her third solo show, exhibiting mixed media works inspired by local places and wildlife. The exhibition features works on varying scales from small hand painted collages to larger paintings, inspired by Stroud’s commons, open spaces, ancient paths, woodlands and other landscape elements.
Further afield
- Drink beer in Cirencester– Fri 2 – Sat 3 Oct, 12 noon – 10pm
Dust off your bus timetable, as this weekend Cirencester Parish and Cirencester & District Round Table host their first beer festival at the Church of St John Baptist in the town centre. The festival promises a carefully-selected range of beers, ciders and live music across the weekend, with plenty of town centre food options to be found nearby.
For details of how to suggest community events for inclusion in our weekly guide to things to see and do in the Stroud area, see here.
