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Events, Feature

Win Guide to April

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Happiness is a place called Winchester, according to the Royal Mail UK Happiness Index. The survey carried out in early 2019 measured happiness according to eight factors: well-being, life expectancy, earnings, inequality, carbon emissions, crime, deprivation and access to health services. So with our happiness top spot confirmed, let’s find out what’s going on to keep us smiling this month…

Tickets have sold out for Martin Kemp who will be presenting 80’s gold at the Guildhall on Friday 5 April. If you missed out, fear not because the Magic of Motown returns for its third year on 12 April at 7.30pm. Listen to 36 classics amid glittering costume changes, dazzling dance moves and superb musicianship. For details and to book tickets, visit the website here.

Whilst we are on the subject of glitzy costumes, the fashionistas of Winchester will be delighted to hear that Winchester Fashion week takes place this month, 29 April – 4 May. Details will be announced on their website soon so keep an eye out for them here.

The Theatre Royal Winchester have an exciting programme of cultural treats. Rambert 2 will be performing on 2nd April at 7.30pm. Rambert is world famous as Britain’s original dance company. Rambert2 takes the company’s reputation for bold moves with technical virtuosity, and introduces a new generation. Check out the trailer below and visit the website for more details.

David Baddeil’s ANiMALCOLM looks great on 11 & 12 April. Described as a vibrant, energetic and gloriously funny musical from the award-winning Story Pocket Theatre, ANiMALCOLM combines physical theatre, puppetry and the company’s outstanding storytelling style to bring David Baddiel’s magical and wonderfully comic story to the stage. There’s also a Young Theatre Royal workshop opportunity attached to the touring production. Young people aged 7 – 11 years are being invited to the theatre on 10 April to develop animal characters, working as an ensemble and then present a piece on stage. The workshop costs £50 and includes a ticket to see ANiMALCOLM. For full details, visit the theatre website here.

The Winchester Science Centre will be exploring the Science of Sweets this Easter holiday. Tickets are free when you pay for general admission. Described as an epic live science show featuring a sugar flame thrower and exploding fat, the sugary fun takes place daily at 11am, 12 noon, 1pm, 2.30pm and 3.30pm between 5 – 23 April. For more details, visit the website here.

For some egg-citing Easter holiday fun, head over to the Westgate Museum for an Easter trail, 10am – 4pm over the school holidays, 6 – 20 April. The City Mill will also be hosting its annual trail, in partnership with Cadbury, 6 – 18 April. Winchester Cathedral is offering a free Easter trail for children aged 4 – 11 years. Chawton House will also be hosting an easter egg hunt and other appropriately themed activities.

Last but not least, don’t forget to visit Sparsholt College for their annual Easter Bunny Event. This year, Superbunny is visiting the village, 19 – 20 April. Meet real rabbits, dress up as your favourite superhero or villain and enjoy games and craft activities. There will also be a trail on offer too with a chocolate prize. For more details, visit the website here.

We’ll be bringing you more updates on Twitter @Win_Guide throughout the month. Have an eggcellent time, one and all!

Events, Feature

Win Guide to April

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April is going to be a great month in Winchester.  Easter is upon us, and the city is gloriously decorated with vibrant spring flowers.  Here’s our Win Guide to some of the events to enjoy this month:

William the Conquerer is coming to the Railway Inn, 8 April.  This isn’t a lazarus moment for the Norman King, but the Americana band whose album Proud Disturber of the Peace and will be out on 4th August.  There’s plenty to look forward to at Winchester’s music venue, including the longest running Open mic night, Roots every Monday at 8.30pm and a Poetry Platform, 4 April at 8.30pm. For full listings and details, visit the Railway website here.

There’s a treat at the Chesil Theatre this month in the form of the classic Victorian thriller ‘Gaslight’ by Patrick Hamilton, running 1 – 8 April. Tickets are available to book here and this is the trailer:

The Corner House have set up a Jazz night in collaboration with the Winchester Jazz Festival team.  There will be live music on a Thursday evening from 7.30pm.  The Richard Abrahams Duo will be playing on 13 April.  For more details, visit here.

The fabulous John Godber Company and Theatre Royal Wakefield present The Empty Nesters’ Club at the Theatre Royal, 6-8 April.  If your children have left home and the nest is empty, this is the group for you! There’s lots of Young Theatre Royal projects to enjoy this month too.  Keep an eye out for Sasha Regan’s all male ‘The Mikado‘ by W.S Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, 24 – 29 April.  It’s a timely chance to have a giggle at British Institutions with the G&S brand of musical wit. 

Dulwich Opera Company will be visiting St Paul’s Church on 29 April for ‘A Night at the Opera’, evening of operatic arias, duets, and trios, including music by Mozart, Bizet, and Rossini.  Visit here to book tickets online and the evening starts at 7.30pm. The company brings professional artists to smaller venues in an annual season of touring work, and it sounds like a rare opportunity to experience opera in an intimate space, close to home.

So, there are some egg-celent events to look forward to this month.  But we must not forget the Easter festivities.  There will be several egg hunts taking place throughout the city and at nearby attractions.  The National Trust will be continuing its annual Cadbury’s easter egg trail at local venues including the Winchester City Mill, 14 – 17 April.  The Easter bunny hop will be taking place throughout the city, 8 – 23 April.  This is an annual event where families can crack a code by exploring local participating venues to win a treat. Pick up your form from the Winchester Tourist information centre.  The Westgate Museum will be running its annual egg hunt, with clues hidden among the museum displays.  It’s a free hunt with a treat for egg-splorers.

Finally, don’t miss Sparsholt College’s Easter Bunny weekend, 14 – 17 April.  Find Humpty Dumpty on an Easter Trail, meet the Easter Bunny and Animal Characters from Nursery Rhymes. Enjoy lots of craft activities including Easter baskets and make your own pea-green boat. There will also be plants for sale grown by the Horticulture department, refreshments, face painting and pony rides.  For more details and to buy tickets, visit here.

We’ll be bringing you more tweets and tips @Win_Guide throughout the month.  Enjoy the sunshine one and all.

Feature

Win Guide to January

January – the month of belt tightening and post-festive blues. Here are a few suggestions from the Win Guide to brighten the month:

Fugitive OrchestraTreat yourself to a meal at the Winchester Canteen on 12 January and you’ll be entertained whilst eating by the ‘Fugitive Orchestra’ described as a fusion of Alternative, Jazz-infused, Bluesy Hip-Pop, which draws inspiration from the likes of Paul Simon, Jeff Buckley, Elvis Costello, Kate Bush and many others. Music Set times are 7.15 – 8pm and 8.15pm- 9pm.

Cirque du Glow8-10 year olds are in for a treat by the sounds of it with Cirque du Glow at the Discovery Centre.  Creative Palaver have put together a programme over 10 weeks offering coaching in outdoor performance skills, circus skills, graffiti, costume making and much more.  All that sounds a bargain at £30 for 10 weeks.  Visit here for more details.

Fancy joining the Green Man Book Club?  A group meet and chat over a glass of something on the 1st Wednesday of every month at 7.45pm at, you’ve got it, the Green Man Pub on Southgate Street. Drop an email in advance to organisers, with full details available here.

Reindeer MonologuesGallows Productions return to the Theatre Royal with the Reindeer Monologues by Jeff Goode.  Definitely an adult comedy, put the festivities well and truly behind you with some reindeer rumours about the real North Pole.  Tickets are a tenner and performances are at 7.30pm on 19 & 20 January.

Sparsholt College will be holding a Lambing weekend on the 30 – 31 January. It’s a fun family event offering the chance to see the fluffy bundles of joy as they enter the world and also explore the college tractors and farm machinery, whilst having your face painted, riding a pony and enjoying a selection of food.  Visitors are warned to wrap up warm as it’s getting a bit wintry out there. Entry is £6 for Adults and £4 for children, or family tickets are available at £16 for 2 Adults and  2 Children, under 3’s are allowed in for free.

Bouncy Cathedral

It’s the first ever “Bouncy Cathedral” on 31 January in the nave at Winchester Cathedral, with giant games, puppets, drumming and a picnic area. The event will launch ‘Children’s Church’, a brand new Sunday school initiative for 4-11 year olds which will take place on Sundays during term-time.

Stay warm Winchester and enjoy the fun…

Feature

Win Guide to Easter

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Egg-cellent news! It’s Easter time and there’s lots of egg-citing things on offer! Here’s the Win Guide to Easter.

Highclere Castle
Highclere Castle

Highclere Castle is well worth a visit this weekend. Built on the foundations of the medieval palace of the Bishops of Winchester (who owned the estate in Newbury from the 8th century), since 1679 the castle has been home to the Earls of Carnarvon. Never a retiring lot, the  Carnarvons have been noted for Egyptology (the 5th Earl was present at the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb), for an association with HRH Elizabeth II’s race horses (the 7th Earl was racing manager for her majesty) and now synonymous with the thespian equivalent of royalty in the form of Dame Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville et al. as the filming location for Downton Abbey. This weekend, Sunday 5th April, the Highclere team will be holding an Easter Egg Hunt  event to raise funds for local charity Naomi House and Jacksplace. Lady Carnarvon herself will be judging an Easter bonnet parade. Spider-Man and Elsa from ‘Frozen’ will be wandering the grounds, and there will be market stalls, a vintage car display, a climbing wall and zip wire, a petting farm and birds of prey on offer to boot! Tickets are a steal at £5 on the door.

Closer to home, Sparsholt College will be holding an ‘Easter Bunny and Chick’ weekend from Friday 3rd – Sunday 5th April. It’s an Alice In Wonderland – themed affair with a Mad Hatter’s tea party, Easter egg hunt and classic craft activities such as egg painting.  Not forgetting the newly-hatched chicks and young bunnies on display, it sounds like a must visit for families.

Winchester Cathedral - Easter Egg Trail
Cathedral – Easter Egg Trail

Winchester Cathedral will be holding its own ‘Easter Egg Trail’ between the 5th – 19th April.   Ten decorative eggs will be hidden amongst the stunning architecture for ‘eggsplorers’ to discover, and free chocolate prizes can be claimed in the Cathedral gift shop.  Services on Easter Day itself (5 April) will be 8am Holy Communion, 10am Choral Mattins (Preacher: The Bishop), 11.15am Festal Eucharist (Preacher: The Dean) and 3.30 Choral Evensong.

Winchester Bunny Hop
Winchester Bunny Hop

The Winchester Bunny Hop will be celebrating its sixth birthday this year.  It’s a great initiative on the part of Winchester City Council, Winchester Bid and, this year, Chococo the chocolate shop and cafe have rightly got in on the action.  The quiz allows children to hunt for egg-shaped clues hidden in participating shops in Winchester and rearrange them into an Easter themed word to claim a Chococo prize. And if that’s not incentive enough, the Chococo team have recently been hailed as experts in the field of Easter chocolates. Their ‘Robot’ egg was dubbed by the Telegraph as ‘best egg for children’ on 28th March 2015. Even better news: they will be open every day over the Easter weekend. Quiz sheets can be collected from the Winchester Tourist information centre or downloaded here: http://www.visitwinchester.co.uk/winchester-bunny-hop-2015.

Cornflowers Gift Shop
Cornflowers Gift Shop

A spring-time stroll to Kingsgate Village is always worthwhile to walk off the chocolate and browse for an Easter gift, curtesy of Cornflowers Gift Shop, Kingsgate Books and Prints, P&G Wells Booksellers, Kingsgate Wines and of course a visit to the Wykeham Arms for rest and refreshment awaits. Finally, don’t forget to visit to the 17th Century City Mill who will be offering hot cross bun baking on Friday 3rd April, and a Cadbury Eggsplorer Easter Egg trail over the weekend.

Have fun, and stock up on Gaviscon…