Not sure what to do this weekend in the Cotswolds? Here are five suggestions from us to you.
The Three Choirs Festival, Worcester Cathedral
July 26 - August 2
This year marks the 287th meeting of the three choirs of Gloucester, Hereford and Worcester, with the annual festival running from July 26 to August 2.
The Three Choirs Festival, held since the early eighteenth century and rotating between the three cathedral cities of Gloucester, Worcester and Hereford, is one of the world’s oldest classical music festivals. A firm fixture in the British music calendar, the festival is a popular event for lovers of the great choral works from across Britain, Europe, America and Australasia.
The centre-pieces of the week-long festival are the choral concerts each evening in the cathedral accompanied by the resident symphony orchestra, with programmes that combine the established favourites of the British classical choral tradition with works drawn from a broader, more international musical canvas. These are supported by daytime programmes of chamber music, recitals, theatre, lectures, masterclasses and exhibitions.
The centenary of the outbreak of WWI is a theme throughout this year’s festival, with the joint-commissioning of A Foreign Field by Torsten Rasch as a memorial bringing together singers from the Three Choirs with those from Chemnitz, Germany.
The festival provides an attached Festival Club which provides a central social venue for audience and performers alike, as well as food and drink in a welcoming and hospitable atmosphere.
For further details and bookings, visit: www.3choirs.org/worcester-2014
Cheltenham Open-Air Theatre Festival, Cheltenham
July 25 - August 1
The Tuckwell Amphitheatre is the al fresco setting for this open-air theatre festival, now in its 11th year. Surrounded by lush trees and shrubs and sheltered from the outside world, the venue attracts high-quality open-air theatre companies from across the UK.
Tucked away in a secluded corner of Dean Close School, the festival plays host to jazz, classic drama, Shakespeare, colourful family entertainment, local talent and the Cinema Under the Stars across the two weeks.
Why not pack a hamper replete with food and drink and grab yourself some tickets for the Cheltenham Open-Air Theatre Festival? For more details, visit: www.bacontheatre.co.uk/about-us/open-air-theatre
Guiting Festival, Guiting
July 25 - August 3
The Guiting Festival, in its 44th year, returns for a summertime celebration of high quality music in the picturesque village of Guiting Power, set deep in the heart of the Gloucestershire Cotswold Hills.
The Guiting Festival has long been a highlight of the Cotswold summer calendar bringing a variety of talented performances of Classical, Jazz and, new for 2014, Folk music.
The concerts are presented in two formats: Evening Indoor Concerts and Sunday Open-air Concerts, held in the rustic and very intimate setting of the Guiting Power Village Hall or its adjacent playing fields. Car parking is free and there access for wheelchairs is provided, if required.
High quality hot food, wine and other beverages are available at the Sunday open-air concerts and, if you are quick, there is a limited number of post-concert suppers available after the indoor evening performances; these are laid on at the nearby Old Vicarage.
The Festival is a registered charity and virtually all the effort required to run it comes from volunteers, with tremendous support also coming from the loyal band of long-standing Sponsors, Donors and Patrons.
Concert performers include Jason Rebello, who has played with such names as Sting and Jeff Beck; Russian pianist Sophia Lisovskaya with a range of classical pieces from Mozart, Scarlatti, Chopin and Tchaikovsky; Mexican accoustic guitarist Morgan Szymanski with music from Latin America along with percussionists O Duo; German pianist Elisabeth Streichert with concertos in miniature accompanied by the string quartet The Pythagoras Ensemble; BBC Young Musician of the Year Jennifer Pike with a mix of fine violin pieces accompanied by her brother, Jeremy; And the closing indoor concert will be performed by the internationally renowned pianist Imogen Cooper.
For further details of the event, visit: www.guitingfestival.org
‘Romans are coming!’, Chedworth Roman Villa
July 26-27
Legio II Augusta re-enactors and National Trust costumed interpreters will re-create Roman life at Chedworth Roman Villa this weekend. Visitors will have an opportunity to step back in time to the Golden Age of Roman Britain and see the Roman civilian life re-enacted on the ancient Roman site.
National Trust is taking part in the national initiative of the Council of British Archaeology and holding a two-week long Festival of Archaeology and the weekend with Roman re-enactments is part of it.
Lorna Hetherington, House and Monument Steward at Chedworth Roman Villa, said: “This is the second year we are taking part in the national initiative of the Council of British Archaeology. The Roman re-enactment event is the culmination of the festival and is extremely popular with our visitors.”
David Richardson, the leader of the Legio II Augusta group, said: “Our group of re-enactors love coming to perform at Chedworth Roman Villa. Over the weekend there will be demonstrations portraying Roman civilian domestic life as well as shows of Roman military. The displays are always very popular with young and old alike. People love getting a taste of a day in a Roman Villa nearly 2000 years ago.”
For further details, visit: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/chedworth
Family Fun Day at Gloucester City Museum, Gloucester
July 26
Held on the bowling green behind the Gloucester City Museum, the regular family fun days offer plenty for families to get up to, including hurling themselves about on bouncy castles and having their faces painted (probably not simultaneously), interacting with animals at the free petting zoo provided by City Farm - home to birds of prey, cows, pigs, ducks, goats, guinea pigs, sheep, rabbits and terrapins too; a gladiator duel, sumo wrestling and plenty of crafts and activities, including loom band making.
