What’s on in Stroud this week: 25 – 31 May
It’s already the last week in May, and at the time of writing for once the forecast looks good for the bank holiday, and beyond.
To mark the Spring bank holiday Monday, a number of community favourites return to Gloucestershire, including the Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling and Wake, the Tetbury Woolsack Races and the South Cerney Street Fair and Duck Race.
Meanwhile, Cainscross RFC lay on a fundraising car boot sale on Monday, poet Michael Rosen takes to the stage at the Sub Rooms on Wednesday and the Shambles Market celebrates 400 years with a late opening on Friday.
Find out more in our regular look at things coming up in Stroud and the wider district.
Regular and one off events
- Pick up a bargain at a car boot in Cainscross – Mon 25 May, 9am
Cainscross RFC hosts a bank holiday car boot sale in Victory Park, with plenty of bargains on offer to help raise money for the club. Entrance is free for buyers but sellers pay a very reasonable £5 per car or £10 per van, with hot and cold drinks, bacon rolls and barbecue food on offer to ease attendees through the morning.
- Learn to juggle with Offbeat Collective – Mon 25 May, 10am
Dursley’s Offbeat Collective have organised this special workshop with circus artist Charles Brockbank at the Chantry Centre, exploring juggling, movement and how we interact with the spaces around us. The session is open to everyone from 7 years upwards, with adults encouraged to take part alongside children.
- Watch the Tetbury Woolsack Races – Mon 25 May, 10am – 5pm
A relatively modern celebration of Cotswold history, the Tetbury Woolsack Races have been taking place since 1972 and see participants racing up and down Tetbury’s 1:4 gradient Gumstool Hill carrying sacks of wool weighing up to 60lbs. Markets and entertainment also take place on the day.
- Watch the cheese chasers on Cooper’s Hill – Mon 26 May, 12 noon
Technically a stone’s throw outside the Stroud District but still attracting a good crowd of Stroudies among spectators from all over the world, the annual cheese rolling on Cooper’s Hill is not for the faint-hearted. The first written evidence of cheese rolling dates from a letter to the Town Crier of Gloucester in 1826, but it is thought to date back more than six hundred years.
- See Michael Rosen at the Sub Rooms – Wed 27 May, 11am
Poet Michael Rosen celebrates 80 years with a half term show at the Sub Rooms, looking back on a lifetime in poetry. The touring show includes classics such as Hot Food, No Breathing and Chocolate Cake, as well as items from his new release, 80 Years Young.
- Go late at the Shambles Market – Fri 29 May, til 8pm
As part of celebrations to mark 400 years of Stroud’s Shambles Market, stallholders are bringing together an extended opening, from 8am til 8pm this Friday. The opening is complemented by a special Shambles History and Stallholder Exhibition, running until Sat 30 May at The Yard Gallery in Withey’s Yard.
Beginning this week
- Explore rock ecologies with Ann-Margreth Bohl – Opens Fri 29 May, 6pm
Artist researcher Ann-Margreth Bohl takes up residence for a week at the SVA’s John Street Gallery, bringing rock strata to life through photography, performance, 16mm film, embroidery, and drawing. Bohl also plans to develop a new analogue film during the week while based at the gallery.
Further afield
- Watch the South Cerney Duck Race – Mon 25 May, 10am – 5pm
The South Cerney Street Fair and Duck Race returns for another year, with stalls and attractions around the village. The day culminates in scores of plastic ducks racing each other along a well-spectated section of the River Churn with the winner crowned champion of the Grand Duck Race.
To suggest community events for inclusion in our weekly guide to things to see and do in the Stroud area, use this form.
