What’s on in Stroud this week: 19 – 25 May
It’s a week of celebration in the Stroud Valleys, with Jazz Stroud kicking off a week of events to mark the official transfer of the Goods Shed to the SVA and Stroud Brewery hosting a special celebration of Stroud Valleys Project.
Jazz Stroud takes over the Goods Shed for a week of events to celebrate the venue’s official transfer to SVA. Originally built in 1845 to a design by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the Stroud Preservation Trust took on a 40 year lease of the Goods Shed in 1985 and Stroud Valleys Artspace took on a sublease in May 2011.
The transfer to the SVA signals a new era for the venue, and is being celebrated by a week of Jazz Stroud events including performances from Alogte Oho and his Sounds of Joy, Afriquoi and Daniel Inzani.
Plus, for those looking for a deep dive into countryside life, there’s a chance to learn about foraging in Burleigh, find out about woodland management in Voltaire’s Wood or roam the open gardens of Frampton on Severn.
Find out more in our regular look at things coming up in Stroud and the wider district. To suggest an event for inclusion, use this form.
Regular and one off events
- Celebrate the Goods Shed with Jazz Stroud – Thu 22 – Sat 31 May
Go foraging in Burleigh – Fri 23 May, 10am – 2:30pm
Burleigh Court Hotel offers a morning of exploration and discovery, foraging for wild ingredients in the company of their tame Cotswold forager Rob. It’s not as free as doing it on your own, but you’ll learn more and the price does include a lunch majoring on foraged and seasonal kitchen garden ingredients.
- Learn about managing woodland at Voltaire’s Wood – Sat 24 May, 10:30am – 13:30pm
Voltaire’s Wood woodland manager Clair shares her rich experience in countryside stewardship in this special session on enhancing fields and woodland for the benefit of nature. The session is based around a walk and is aimed at those looking at how to manage their own land or woodland for biodiversity, those interested in the ecology of the woods and those with general interest in ancient woodland.
- Visit Gigg Mill and Dunkirk Mill – Gigg Mill – Sat 24 May 10am – 12 noon, Dunkirk Mill – Sat 24 – Sun 25 May, 2pm to 4pm
Stroud Textile Trust hosts special openings at Dunkirk Mill Museum and Gigg Mill Weaving Shed as part of the Nailsworth Festival. Learn about the history of the cloth industry in the Stroud Valleys, try your hand at weaving at Gigg Mill and see the water wheel turning at Dunkirk Mill.
- Celebrate Stroud Valleys Project – Sat 24 May, 7pm
Stroud Brewery hosts a special fundraising party for the Stroud Valleys Project, the local charity which brings people together to celebrate and connect with green spaces. We are promised an evening with Stroud’s best “folk and folk-ish” performers, including sea shanties, ballads and songs all for a good cause.
- Visit the hidden gardens of Frampton on Severn – Sun 25 May, 1:30pm – 5pm
Frampton on Severn’s proudest gardeners throw open the gates of their confusingly-flat-for-we-Stroud-folk gardens in aid of Longfield Community Hospice. The organisers expected roughly ten gardens to be open at time of going to press, all within a short walk of the centre of the village and with cream teas on offer at an unspecified location. Plus classic cars will be on show on the village green.
Continuing this week
- Hunt wetland bugs at Slimbridge WWT – Until Sun 1 June
Slimbridge Wetland Centre partners with the Royal Entomological Society and Bristol’s Aardman animations as part of a tie-up with Ardman’s new animated series Lloyd of the Flies. Participants can follow a special trail to help characters from the series find their friends and make their way to a bug hotel.
Further afield
- Eat well in the Forest – Sun 25 May, 10am – 5pm
The Forest Showcase Spring Food Festival returns to the grounds of the Forest of Dean’s Speech House Hotel, majoring on food and drink from the Forest and live entertainment. The event also features cookery workshops, children’s entertainment, live music, arts and crafts, street food and a mobile farm.
For a full month of art, music, theatre, literature, film and comedy events, pick up a copy of Stroud’s popular listings magazine, Good on Paper.
