Saturday, May 18th - Monday, May 27th: North Aston Art Exhibition

The population of North Aston has pooled its resources to uncover the work of every willing and talented artist in the village, and the results will be on public display this month.

The Exhibition, entitled 'The Spirit of North Aston', will be staged in the Parish Church of St Mary's between May 18th and 27th as part of the Oxfordshire Artweeks festival. Artists have come forward with works in a wide variety of mediums, from oil and watercolour, through sculpture and woodwork, to the latest digital techniques.

Parish chairman Kildare Borrowes, the Exhibition organisuer said: "We wanted to see what talent and imagination was out there in the community. We took part in Artweeks for the first time about five or six years ago, and the event was enthusiastically supported. I believe we have tapped into another wealth of talent. Who knows, we may even have a great artist living here, and that would be really exciting to discover!"

"Most of the work is not for sale, and that's deliberate; we want people to show the world what they have under the hood, enjoy it and be recognised, without commercial constraint. If later they start earning money from their creations, that's all to the good."

"This exhibition will be interesting, fun and stimulating for everyone involved - and for our visitors as well, of course. We will be awarding prizes in three categories, voted for by the visitors - the 'People's Choice'.

Concurrent with the Art Exhibition a Scarecrow Show will be held next to the Church, and households have been invited to prepare the scariest and most amusing exhibit they can.

Entrance to the Exhibition is free to all members of the public, and everyone will be very welcome. It is open every day from 12 noon until 6.00pm.

Monday, May 20th: Parish Council's Annual Meeting

Steeple Aston Parish Council will be holding its Annual Meeting on Monday, May 20th at 7.00pm in the Village Hall Committee Room.

Come and join your Parish and District Councillors to discuss local issues which may affect YOU.

You will be able to raise any relevant topic which interests you. Some current issues are:

Affordable Housing

Roads, Paths and Village Maintenance

Planning

Village Amenities

Refreshments will be available from 7.00pm and there will be a chance to chat individually with your Councillors.

Steeple Aston Players are spending an evening reading a comic play in the Red Lion on Tuesday, May 21st at 7.30pm. All are welcome to come along and join the fun!

Monday, May 27th: Whit Races & Children's Fancy Dress Parade

Steeple Aston's Whit Races will be held at Robinsons Close on Monday, May 27th, with race registrations from at 11.30am for a 12 o'clock start.

Traditionally the races have been held to support the village youth, and this year all profits will be split between the Brownies, Scouts, and the new library at Dr Radcliffe's CE Primary School. You are invited to come along and enjoy all the fun of the fayre..
Stalls
Games
Tombola
Face Painting
Balloon Sculpting
Burgers & Hotdogs
Candy Floss
Ice Cream
And of course the Races!

The theme for the fancy dress parade will be Pirates & Princesses, with the Jan Lester George Memorial Trophy being presented to the winner along with a £10 prize. Jan supported the Whit Races for over 15 years, but sadly lost her battle with cancer last year. Her family and friends have provided the trophy in her memory.

The Scouts will be round beforehand to collect donations of bottles, jars, and tombola prizes.

Tuesday, May 28th: Adderbury's Big Sing

Come and join The Big Sing, a fun and interesting evening with Chris James, an acclaimed singer, musician and voice teacher, and discover your natural voice. Chris is coming to the Methodist Hall, Chapel Lane, Adderbury on Tuesday, May 28th from 7.30 to 9.00pm . He is renowned for his ability to instantly unite audiences in harmony and song.

Sunday, June 9th: NGS Open Gardens

Eight gardens will be opening this year under the National Garden Scheme on Sunday, June 9th from 11.30am until 6.00pm. Combined admission costs £5 for adults, children are free. Tea and homemade cakes will be available in the Village Hall.

The Village Hall committee is once again organising refreshments during the afternoon. The money raised goes to the Macmillan Nurses and other cancer charities. If anyone would be kind enough to bake or supply a cake or perhaps help serve teas in the afternoon for approximately one hour on a rota basis to suit you, please contact Barbara Brewer on 01869 340423.

The gardens that will be opening are:
Acacia Cottage
Canterbury House
Kralingen
Payne's Hill House
Primrose Gardens
The Longbyre
The Pound House
Touchwood

Sunday, June 16th: Fritwell Open Gardens

Fritwell Gardens will be open on Sunday, June 16th from 2.00 to 5.00pm. Entrance will be £4 for adults, children free. Teas will be served in the Village Hall, and there will be a plant and book sale.

Friday, June 21st - Saturday, July 13th: Deddington Festival

Tickets are now on sale for the 2013 Deddington Festival. Returning for its 11th year, the Festival will take place over three weeks from 21 June to 13 July 2013.

It offers an innovative programme of music, performing and visual arts, appealing to all ages and interests. With music from jazz, to rock to choral, to a writers' competition, to story-telling, art workshops, children's dance, a farm walk and a photography exhibition - most cultural leanings are catered for over the three week event.

Programme highlights include:

CreativeKIDZ - Saturday morning activities at The Unicorn in Market Square, including art, music, story-time and story-telling:

Deddington Rocks - Friday, 28th June, Market Square 4.30pm - featuring Indigo Child; the Breakfast Men; the Blue Meanies with the George Michael Tribute Band as the finale

Deddington Jazz - Saturday, 29th June, Deddington Church 7.30pm - a selection of music from Sweet Chorus, a tribute to Stefan Grappelli and the Hot Club of France, and Stekpanna and Friends

History Walk - Saturday 22nd June, Castle Grounds 2.00pm - Explore Deddington's rich history with a guided walk around the village and Castle Grounds

Art Exhibition - Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd June, Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th June, The Studio, Hermitage, Market Square 10am-5pm - a chance to view and purchase the artistic talent of the local area

Saturday, June 22nd: Steeple Aston Festival Party

Following last year's success, there will be another Festival Party to raise money for Steeple Aston Pre School. The party will take place on Saturday, June 22nd at Robinsons Close from7.00pm to 1.00am.

There will be an auction of promises which include a week's holiday in an Andalucian villa, a private flight on a light aircraft, a cupcake making course and much more. Once again the DJ will be Jim Tustian and live music will be provided by Harry Pane, returning by popular demand, Tallulah Rendall and the Celtic band Tim Friers and the Mercenaries.

Saturday, July 13th: Oxford Moonlight Stroll

Join the Sobell House Hospice Charity at their annual Oxford Moonlight Stroll on Saturday, 13th July starting at 10.30pm.

This is a nine-mile night-time sponsored walk through the streets of Oxford with all proceeds going to the Sobell House Hospice, which cares for people throughout Oxfordshire affected by terminal illness.