Wednesday, Jan 9

Greenpeace

Members of Stroud Greenpeace will be presenting their plan to save the planet.

In November last year the local branch had a stand on the High Street to raise awareness about the destruction palm oil causes to rainforests and orangutans.

The Ale House, Stroud

8pm to 10pm

Free entry

More details 07986 271797

Folk music

Peeky Blinders - not Birmingham gangsters but an Americana/folk due from the Stroud valleys - will be playing a mix of covers and original songs.

The Carpenter’s Arms, Miserden

From 8pm

More details 01285 821283

carps10@yahoo.com

Bellyfit

Bellyfit returns with new uplifting choreography and great world fusion music to keep inner fires burning bright through the long winter nights.

It is a holistic fitness experience designed specifically for women with easy to follow cardio moves inspired by Belly Dance, Bhangra and African dance forms.

Lansdown Hall & Gallery, Stroud

From 8.15pm

£8 to drop-in, £4 concessions or £36 for a block of 6 classes

More details 07971 471838

Thursday, Jan 10

Loving Vincent

Stroud Film Society is screening ‘Loving Vincent’, a story depicted in meticulously painted animation of a young man arriving in the last hometown of painter Vincent van Gogh to deliver the troubled artist’s final letter only to end up investigating his final days there.

The British School, Slad Road, Stroud

From 8pm

Annual membership £22, limited guest tickets from £6

More details 01453 757123

StroudSong

Another new term of glorious and hearty singing with community choir StroudSong.

Lansdown Hall, Stroud

7.30pm to 9.30pm

£7 per evening but first free

Friday, Jan 11

Wassail warm-up

To get you in the mood for Stroud’s mid-winter tradition, head to the Wassail pre-party.

Jamaica Inn Kitchen will be serving up delicious food in the pop-up kitchen.

The Prince Albert, Rodborough

7.30pm to 10.30pm

Free entry

More details hannah@theprincealbertstroud.co.uk 01453 755600

Shift

‘Shift’ is an art installation exploring how movement transforms the way we feel and behave through a combination of body art, print and photography.

Artist Robin is 20 years old and from the Stroud area.

Painswick Centre, Bisley Street

Open 5pm to 8pm on 11th then 10am to 5pm until 14th

Entrance free and donations welcome

More details 01452 814567

Novelist evening

Spend an evening with Owen Sheers, one of Britain’s most fascinating novelists, poets and playwrights.

Owen’s wide ranging body of work covers themes that many readers can relate to, from questions of identity to passions of the heart.

Wycliffe College, Stonehouse

7.30pm to 9pm

Tickets at bit.ly/2QrZQja

Saturday, Jan 12

Stroud Wassail

Mummers, morris and other street performer folk will descend on Stroud town for one of the biggest Wassail events in the country.

10am: Performers registration in the Sub Rooms Ballroom

10.15am to 12.15pm: ‘Wintersong’ workshop of seasonal Gloucestershire songs in the Sub Rooms Ballroom

10am-3.30pm: Morris, mummers, street performers and magickal beasts all around Stroud

10am to 4pm: Events in St Laurence Parish Church with refreshments

12.30pm: Procession through town

1pm: The Stroud Wassail itself in the Sub Rooms forecourt

3pm: Wassail in the Park

7pm: Mid-winter revelry in the Sub Rooms

Dartfest 2019

Live music event to celebrate the birth of Dart.

Have fun drinky times and raise funds and awareness for Duchenne UK.

Bands this year are Hacksaw, Meekers and The Forgetting Curve.

Crown & Sceptre, Stroud

8pm to 11pm

More details 01453 762588

Sunday, Jan 13

Open auditions

Stroud Shakespeare Festival is looking for a team of 11 strong actors from Stroud and the surrounding area to form a community cast for a production of The Tempest.

Directed by Kate Raw (Shakespeare’s Globe Centre New Zealand, Foot in the Door Theatre), the cast will meet twice a week (not everyone will be needed for every rehearsal) between March and May to create an hour and a half version of Shakespeare’s magical tale.

Cotswold Playhouse, Stroud

11.30am to 4.45pm

More details 0870 432 5405

Tuesday, Jan 15

Wayside Cross

In 1917 families and friends from all over the Stroud district gathered at South Woodchester to witness the consecration of the Wayside Cross - an event repeated 100 years later by Princess Anne.

The story of the Cross - its origins, purpose and renewal - forms the basis of the talk by Philip Goodwin, local expert and author, for the first event of 2019 for Minchinhampton Local History Group.

The Hub, Tobacconist Road, Minchinhampton

From 8pm

£2.50 for non-members