2pm: Thornbury Arts Festival: Tim Bray - The Bristol Zoo Project
Thornbury Methodist Church Hall
Discover the pivotal role that conservation zoos play in safeguarding our planet’s most endangered species.
Conservation expert Tim Bray will show how the Bristol Zoo Project, near Cribbs Causeway, is leading moves to protect and preserve threatened, endangered and even extinct-in-the-wild species.
The society works in nine countries, collaborating with local organisations on 14 field conservation projects, while at home the project connects communities with wildlife and contributes to conservation through breeding programmes, animal welfare research and educational outreach.
Tim will also give a preview of the new Central African Forest habitat at the project site, which will be home to western lowland gorillas and other important... Read more >>
7.30pm: Thornbury Arts Festival: The Pirates of Penzance Concert
Christ The King Church, Thornbury
BRISTOL GILBERT AND SULLIVAN OPERATIC SOCIETY: A concert version of The Pirates of Penzance
The society has been performing Gilbert and Sullivan operettas since 1962 and currently has about 40 acting and singing members, from children through to pensioners.
After a hugely successful performance at the Redgrave Theatre, Clifton, earlier this year, it is now bringing a concert version of The Pirates of Penzance (or The Slave of Duty) to Thornbury - so NOT in costume!
This well known comic opera is packed full of sentimental pirates, blundering policemen, absurd adventures and improbable paradoxes.
Young hero Frederic was mistakenly apprenticed to a band of kind-hearted but inept pirates. Now his apprenticeship is complete, he’s ready... Read more >>
The countdown has started for this year’s Thornbury Arts Festival, which will be launched at the end of September.
More events have been added to those previously revealed - in a programme that features comedy, folk music and light opera.
Two Saturday afternoon talks have also been organised, as well as an expected sell-out guided walk led by local historian Meg Wise.
This year’s two-hour Sunday morning walk around the town is called God, Gossip, Scandal and Riot and will take place on September 29.
Demand is always high for Meg’s walks, due to their popularity and limitations on numbers. Information on booking is on the festival website www.thornburyartsfestival.org.uk and on flyers distributed around the town and surrounding areas.
The festival team has already announced a performance by NHS anaesthetist, comedian and author Ed Patrick as part of his debut Catch Your Breath tour, the date for which has been set for Friday, October 4, in Olveston and Tockington Parish Hall.
The show shares its title with Ed’s book, which follows his journey from bewildered medical student to unflinching anaesthetist on the NHS frontline, and will be for over-16s only.
It is one of several evening events, all of which start at 7.30pm.
They also include a performance by folk duo Filkin’s Drift, who made worldwide headlines when completing an 870-mile tour on foot around the coast of Wales.
Musicians Seth Bye and Chris Roberts walked with their instruments strapped to their backs and played at nearly 50 venues during the 60-day challenge last year.
They will entertain an audience in Thornbury’s Christ the King Church Hall on Saturday, October 5.
The church will also host a concert version of The Pirates of Penzance by the Bristol Gilbert and Sullivan Operatic Society on Saturday, September 28.
Meanwhile, the Saturday talks will take place in Thornbury Methodist Church Hall, including one on the conservation work of Bristol Zoological Society on September 28.
The second, on October 5, features Bristol designer and letterpress printer Nick Hand, who will talk about his two-wheeled project to travel the country in support of public libraries.
He is visiting libraries on a special bike - one made to carry a small printing press that produces bookmarks, each design being inspired by the words and images of writers and artists.
Details of all events and how to buy tickets can be found on the festival website www.thornburyartsfestival.org.uk.
The Arts Festival came into being in 1969 with varied programmes of events covering music, drama, film and comedy, as well as visual arts.
Signatures in the archive album range from an astronaut, an explorer, radio and television personalities and actors, writers and scientists as well as singers and musicians.
The programme also includes lunchtime talks and entertainment and a walk.
As one of the longest running arts festivals in the country, the Thornbury event is run entirely by volunteers and boasts a mix of daytime and evening events to appeal to as wide an audience as possible.
More details are available on the Arts Festival website www.thornburyartsfestival.org.uk - and also the facebook page.
Since the 1980s Thornbury Eisteddfod, as part of Thornbury Arts Festival, has provided a platform for young performers who enjoy, drama, singing and playing musical instruments.
This is a very inclusive festival, designed to encourage young people of all abilities.
The aim of the Eisteddfod is to make taking part enjoyable and to be a celebration of the great range of talent in the local area.
The Eisteddfod is open to all young people aged from 4 to 21 and the disciplines cover Speech and Drama, Vocals including Choirs, and Instrumentals.
Click here to find out more and see the latest syllabus, or email Kate Phillipson-Masters: .
The Severn Vale Art Trail represents the visual side of Thornbury Arts Festival.
The trail has become an annual event running over the early May Bank Holiday.
The trail consists of a number of group exhibitions, together with many individual artists, displaying their work in and around Thornbury and neighbouring towns and villages in Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire.
Enjoy an afternoon, day or the whole weekend exploring the trail from Stinchcombe down to Alveston, discovering talented local artists displaying their art in their own studios or shared venues.
The diverse range of work includes: paintings, photography, ceramics, textiles, jewellery, glass art, mosaics and much more!
Many of the venues have refreshments for sale or are located close to local coffee shops, and include interesting churches, working studios and community buildings.
This is a great opportunity to support local artists and purchase original artwork and gifts, or simply to enjoy an inspiring day out!
For details of all the artists and venues (including accessibility, directions and opening hours), and to view the trail map, please visit www.severnvalearttrail.org or pick up one the printed trail guides from local shops and cafes.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @severnvalearttrail for all the latest updates.
@mythornbury