If you are looking for a truly festive experience, the creative entrepreneurial town of Stroud will not disappoint. As ever, Goodwill Evening on Friday, December 3 (from 5pm) will generate an electric buzz as shops and cafés stay open and shoppers enjoy what is always an uplifting atmosphere. It will be the first year that the brand new Five Valleys shopping centre – a borough market-style indoor market full of fantastic local artisan traders – will be taking part in the annual event.
Stroud’s Goodwill Evening promises to be a charming night out, with mulled wine, mince pies, street entertainment and there may even be a hint to a White Christmas if the snow machine makes an appearance.
Stroud’s award-winning Farmers’ Market will be hosting its Christmas market the following day on Saturday, December 4. A Christmas gift fair is also taking place on Friday, December 3 until Saturday, December 4 at The Subs, which is also hosting a key festive event this Christmas – Phoenix Theatre Group’s pantomime, Beauty and The Beast, which runs from December 22 until January 1.
If you’re looking for some comedy, join Ellie Gibson and Helen Thorn as they celebrate the scummier side of parenting, from drinking wine at teatime to hiding from the PTA, with their Scummy Mummies Christmas Show on December 2 at The Subs.
On December 10, this popular venue will also host a colourful, glittery, sparkly, lycra-wearing bunch of crazies called Doreen Doreen, as they create incongruous mashups from the likes of Abba with Queen to Eurythmics with Erasure and all mixed up with fun, mayhem, and frivolity.
Stroud Community Christmas Tree Festival returns on Friday, December 3 and continues until Sunday, December 12 in St Laurence Church, celebrating local business, community groups, organisations, charities, and local schools. This year’s theme is Celebration of Community.
