Stratford upon Avon Blog

Stratford Armouries, Gospel Oak Lane, Pathlow,
Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. CV37 0JA

The show opens 10.00 am on all three days.
ADMISSION: Adults - £6.00 O.A.P. - £5.00 Child - £2.00 Family - £ 12.00
(Includes access to the Stratford Armouries Museum) Car Parking FREE

Saturday – official opening of the show by the Town Mayor 2pm
Sunday – Gymkhana - Starting at 2pm various classes for 8 & under, 14 & under & open
Sunday – Old Sodbury Sortout
Sunday & Monday - Wyre Forest Animal Trust Dog Show. Starting at 2pm

This is the first time that this type of Event has been held at the Stratford Armouries, which is a truly unique museum and visitor centre set in 86 acres of rolling Warwickshire countryside. The galleries house a range of world-class exhibits that will amaze the whole family: - Exhibits include a life-size elephant in full armour, and arms from the medieval to the modern and everything in-between. From Leonardo Di Vinci’s crossbow and the world’s oldest cannon to World War Two anti-aircraft guns and rockets.

This new venue has attracted hundreds exhibitors. Including Vintage and Classic Cars, Tractors, Commercial and Military Vehicles, Steam Traction Engines, Motorbikes and Cycles. Stationary Oil Engines, and a large selection of Displays ranging from Corgi Models, Treen and other wooden items to old clocks and dolls, dolls prams and accessories and the Lincoln County Regulators depict the American Wild West 'bad guy's'.

There will be arena events throughout the weekend including the Celestine Dog Agility Team, from Yate, Bristol, who will be putting the dogs through their paces. Also the Berkley Owls, with Flying displays taking place over the weekend.

Open even Clay Pigeon shooting will be taking place, plus Trade Stalls, Refreshments, Bar, and much more.

For more information visit www.shakespearesrally.com
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On Saturday April 24th, the people of Stratford will welcome guests from around the world in celebration of the 446th birthday of our greatest playwright, William Shakespeare . Building on the success of last year’s Birthday Celebrations, the 2010 programme of activities will bring together the unique traditions at the heart of the famous annual event and an array of creative and diverse talent, to stage an action-packed weekend of drama and festivities for everyone to enjoy.

From 10am, the streets of Stratford will fill with music and entertainment to create a vibrant party atmosphere for both residents and visitors. The town centre will be a hive of activity with theatre groups performing ‘Shakespeare Live!’, and the much loved traditional contribution from the Shakespeare Morris Men. There will also be country dancing by local primary school children, as well as representatives from the Girl Guides, who are also celebrating their centenary year. Ambassadors and guests from all over the world will join the people of Stratford in the traditional Birthday Procession led by the Band of The Royal Engineers as it makes the symbolic journey through the streets from Shakespeare's Birthplace to lay flowers at his grave in Holy Trinity Church. The action will pause briefly in the town centre for the all-important ceremony, at which flags from nations around the world will be unfurled.

This year, spectators and members of the public are invited to join the special ‘people’s procession’ as it winds its way to the Bancroft Gardens , complete with carnival samba bands, colourful banners and giant puppets. Buzzing with musicians in costume, circus performers and wandering Shakespearean actors, the people’s procession promises to set the scene for the rest of the day’s events. The town will be alive with activities to watch or take part in throughout the day, marking an unmissable event for the region.

Activities:

There will be a special party for the under fives in the Great Garden of
New Place offering up mask and fairy wing making, as well as a magical ‘wishing tree’ in the Bancroft Gardens.
As in previous years, there is a full programme of street entertainment throughout the centre of the town celebrating the rich artistic tapestry that is Stratford, including local amateur and professional artists performing everything from madrigals to belly dancing.

People can have their portrait taken wearing masks created by local artists continuing the theme of Masquerade, taken from the RSC’s Birthday production, Romeo and Juliet.

The Shakespeare Houses will be celebrating Shakespeare’s Birthday with special activities at each of the five magnificent properties that tell the story of his life in Stratford. At Shakespeare’s Birthplace, visitors will be treated to some celebratory ‘Mead Sampling’ to get them in the party spirit; while at Anne Hathaway’s Cottage there will be a giant birthday card for people to sign.

This year also sees the start of an incredible archaeological excavation, ‘Dig for Shakespeare’, at New Place Gardens, once the site of Shakespeare’s final home where he died on his birthday in 1616. Visitors can get their hands dirty and sift their own spoil in search of clues about Shakespeare mysterious later years.

As part of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s contribution to the Celebrations, the RSC is organising a special Birthday Challenge. Visitors to the town will be encouraged to join together at various points during Saturday to wear special masks and deliver the famous balcony scene speech from Romeo and Juliet (Romeo, Romeo, Wherefore art thou Romeo?).
The masks – based on the ones that Romeo and Juliet wear when they first meet - will be available to download from the RSC’s website, www.rsc.org.uk/birthday. RSC actors will also perform the scene live during the Birthday Celebrations in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Anyone who is not able to get to Stratford will be able to make a video of themselves performing the speech and upload it to YouTube. Further details are available on www.rsc.org.uk/birthday

Other RSC events on the Saturday include actors reading sonnets on the Chain Ferry between 12-4pm, stage fighting demonstrations and other activities for families in Waterside Space. RSC Head of Voice, Lyn Darnley, will develop performances of Shakespeare with local groups that will be performed around Stratford on Saturday.

The traditional RSC Birthday performance, taking place in The Courtyard Theatre on the Saturday at 7.15pm, will be Romeo and Juliet, directed by Rupert Goold and featuring Sam Troughton and Mariah Gale in the title roles.

Useful Information:

In partnership with Chiltern Railways, there is a late night “Shakespeare Special” train leaving Stratford-upon-Avon at 11.20pm on Saturday 24 April, travelling to London Marylebone station. All standard train tickets are valid on this service.

To find out more please visit www.shakespearesbirthday.org.uk
For general enquiries about this year’s celebrations contact birthday@shakespeare.org.uk
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Playing different types of music can affect how customers behave and, most importantly, how much they spend.

Hearing classical music in a café can make customers spend more or hearing traditional French music in a supermarket increases sales in French wine.

These are two examples of how music is used in commercial settings to influence customer behaviour that will be discussed at a FREE public event ‘The tills are alive’ at the Holiday Inn, Stratford upon Avon on the 13th April (6.30-7.30pm). The event has been organised by the British Psychological Society (BPS) as part of its prestigious annual conference.

‘The tills are alive’ will be presented by top consumer psychology and music experts Professor Adrian North and Professor David Hargreaves who take a scientific and fun look at how customers are influenced in different ways by different music.

David explained ‘Music can be a powerful trigger for commercial use – we all know of annoying but catchy tunes being used on TV and radio to worm their way in to our consciousness. This event delves deeper and explores the other various ways music can be used in commercial settings.’

Press are invited to attend and interviews can be arranged with both presenters. Please add to event listings.

‘The tills are alive’ is part of the Society’s ongoing Public Engagement activities.

Dr Graham Powell, of the BPS, explained: ‘The Society is keen to undertake activities that will engage the public with psychology. ‘The tills are alive’ is part of our aim to demonstrate the versatility and importance of psychology in everyday life.’
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