What’s On

Thursday, 16th April: Steeple Talk on Oxford Maps

Saturday, 25th April: Murder Mystery Evening

Friday, 1st May – Sunday, 3rd May:Bookshop Festival

The Early May Bank Holiday weekend celebrates the second year of the Woodstock Bookshop Festival. Run by bookshop staff and local volunteers, the festival in its current format is a mix of fiction, poetry, science, the arts, family-friendly events, and music. Events take place in a variety of town centre venues, including the Town Hall, the Oxfordshire Museum, Hampers Delicatessen, St Mary Magdalene Church and St Hugh’s Centre. The team at The Woodstock Bookshop are grateful to all these neighbours for their support, as well as to everyone in the local community who has helped with planning, organising and taking part.

This year’s Woodstock Bookshop Festival begins on the evening of Friday 1 May with an evening of poetry featuring local poet Esther Lay and typewriter poet Jen Feroze. On Saturday 2 May there will be a bonanza of children’s and family events, including readings by best-selling children’s author Anna Kemp, craft activities led by Denise Beaumont of Alice the Palace Postwoman fame, and a chance for older children to hear exciting Propellor Man tales with authors Gerard Lewis and Lizzie Shannon-Little. Saturday afternoon offers a deep dive into science with field-leading speakers on topics such as proteins, plant genomes and medical advances in heart and brain conditions. Take your seat in the Town Hall to hear more! For fans of crime fiction, Saturday evening has a treat in store, as celebrated local authors Cara Hunter and Simon Mason join forces with new crime writer Anna Beer. On the afternoon of Sunday 3 May a performance by Oxford School of Drama is followed by interviews with distinguished local authors Melanie and Ross King. To round off the festival with a dose of beautiful classical music, on Sunday evening Maria Razumovskaya will perform piano pieces by Franz Schubert. 

Tickets are available from www.ticketsource.co.uk, via the website www.woodstockbookshop.co.uk, or on the door (subject to availability). 

Saturday, 9th – Sunday, 17th May: local Oxfordshire Artweek

Oxfordshire Artweeks this year run from 2nd to 25th May. More than a thousand artists, makers and designers will exhibit and demonstrate in artists’ studios, pop-up galleries, gardens, churches, Oxford colleges and hundreds of other interesting venues. You are invited to drop in and explore for free.

Each week of the festival is different. The first week is for South Oxfordshire, the last week is Oxford City. Our local area, North and West Oxfordshire runs from Saturday, 9th to Sunday, 17th May.

There’s lots to see in Steeple and Middle Aston and nearby villages. Venues are usually open from 11.00am to 6.00pm. But for details of exact opening hours and days, and for many more artists to visit, go to their website https://www.artweeks.org/

Artists exhibiting locally include:

• Benjamin Downing at Old Butchers, Heyford Road, Steeple Aston – oil and acrylic paintings of trees and landscapes
• Deborah Nind at Flitch House, Middle Aston – ceramics
• Polly Pincott & Lisa Jayne Bloomer at The Clocktower, The Hatchery, Middle Aston – oil painting focusing on the natural and living world
• Ed Hathaway at North Aston Farm Shop & Community Hub, The Peach Barns, Somerton Road, North Aston – semi-abstract line drawing and paintings reinterpreting popular cultural imagery through the lens of absurdism and fantasy 
• Farmers and Makers also at North Aston Farm Shop & Community Hub, The Peach Barns, Somerton Road, North Aston – village artists explore farming, food, and life in North Aston
• Art More Lovely at Heyford House, 13 Church Lane, Lower Heyford – exhibits from 11 artists include paintings, textiles, cyanotypes, collage and sculpture. 
• Emma Sian Pritchard at Vine Cottage, Orchard Lane, Upper Heyford – painting
• Stacey Prigent at The Horse and Groom, Lower Heyford Road, Caulcutt
• And for the first time this year, Art in the Park at All Saints’ Church, Middleton Park, Middleton Stoney – 11 artists exhibiting mixed media, painting, photography and printmaking

Thursday, 14th May: Steeple Talk on Dr Radcliffe

Saturday, 16th May: Celebrating Dr Radcliffe concert

Wednesday, May 20th: Football Club AGM

SAFC’s AGM will take place at the Sports and Rec on Wednesday, May 20th at 8.00pm. If you wish to find out more about the club or simply have a say, please do go along. They say they really do want this to be Steeple’s team.

Also, they will be putting together a series of friendlies over the course of the summer months so please get in touch if you wish to play and flaunt your skills before 2026-27 kicks in.

There’s more information about the club as well as contact details on their website page.

Wednesday, 27th May: People’s Emergency Briefing

From the Steeple Aston Environmental and Sustainability  Committee:

The People’s Emergency Briefing film is available only at private screenings. It distills the National Emergency Briefing held in Westminster Hall in November 2025 to an audience of politicians, scientists and business people. The film presents the latest evidence on the nature and climate crisis and its impact on the health, food security and indeed national security of the UK.

The film will be shown FREE of charge on Wednesday, the 27th May at 7.30pm in the Village Hall.  For those who wish to attend a discussion afterwards we aim to include a panel of experts who can comment on issues raised and answer any questions.  ESC hope for a lively discussion and some pointers to help us all navigate the challenges we face.

Email chris.nevile@gmail.com to book your free ticket. 

For more information abut the Briefing, go to https://www.nebriefing.org/

Saturday, 18th July: Tribute Music Festival