Come to this special Dorchester Abbey Festival service with guest speaker Patrick Watt, CEO of Christian Aid. Patrick has vast experience within the third sector. He previously worked for Oxfam, Action Aid, and Save the Children on issues of education, global health, debt and trade, and aid policy. He has degrees in Theology from the [...]
Quintessential children's concert tickets £7 adults / £5 children A fun family concert! Would you like to take your children to a concert but you’re worried in case they make a noise during the performance? Would you like to know more about wind instruments and ask the players questions? This is the children's concert for [...]
Have prosecco with your Mad Hatter's afternoon cream tea for an extra £3 1 hour teas starting at 2pm / 3.15pm / 4.30pm Tumble down the rabbit hole to enter the world of Alice in Wonderland and eat a delicious cream tea with incredible cakes and surprising sandwiches in the Rectory Garden. An hour full [...]
Food & Gift Fair Saturday 7th May 10am – 5pm Food & Gift Fair Sunday 8th May 12noon – 5pm Entry £1 Whether you're looking for locally sourced food, a special gift or unique craft decorations for your home, you'll be spoiled for choice. Dorchester Food & Gift Fair makes a perfect day out for [...]
A rare opportunity for autistic schools to enjoy the therapeutic effects of music live in the Abbey with professional musicians from the Orchestra of St John's (OSJ) as part of their Music for Autism programme. For over 20 years, under the committed leadership of John Lubbock, Music for Autism has provided a programme of accessible workshops delivered in [...]
Come and meet some of the team from Daybreak - a dementia day care charity with centres in Greater Leys, North Oxford, Kidlington and Littlemore Find out more about the power of art to reach those with dementia in conjunction with the "Science Together" Project at Oxford University Listen to a live solo performance of "world [...]
Superb vocalist Cate Cody returns to entertain with her sophisticated 1930s style jazz supported by a great quintet of multi award winning players; pianist Dave Newton (voted best Jazz Pianist 16 times), Trevor Whiting - Reeds (Chris Barber, Ken Colyer), Dave Green, double bass (Humphrey Lyttelton, Stan Tracey) and Charlie Stratford on drums (Berklee College of Music) Be [...]
Merry Hell & Jackie Oates and Megan Henwood are a double bill of brilliant folk night artists guaranteed to give you a joyful, uplifting evening of superb music. Merry Hell Multi-award winning Merry Hell offer joyful, uplifting folk-rock, with a message for troubled times. Native to the North-West of England, the 8-piece musical charabanc was [...]
May Morning Singing from 9am Free May Morning Breakfast from 8.30am £5 (must be booked in advance) Two a Part Continuing the annual tradition, Dorchester’s a cappella group will welcome May by singing from the Abbey tower and then in the Abbey. Proceeds from this event go to this year’s charity Daybreak and to The Pride [...]
Dorchester Duck Race Ducks £5 (£12 for 3) The Dorchester Duck Race is now an essential village event for all ages. Buy a duck, customise it and launch it down the river from the Hurst Water Meadow to a nail biting finish next to the Abbey. Prizes for the first ducks home! Ducks available to [...]
A special celebration for families to wake up the Teddy Bears who slept over in the Abbey on Saturday night! You can bring any Teddy Bears who were too shy or too little to sleep over to enjoy the service as well. Featuring the amazing Puppet Pedlar and her friends with fun, songs and prayers [...]
£5 tickets for audience only This Open Mic evening is a great evening out for all ages watching (and sometimes participating in) eclectic performances in a lovely friendly atmosphere. The Village Hall bar will be open! All are welcome to come and perform! The open mic is for any solo, duo and SMALL ensemble performances [...]
Brave volunteers will abseil down the 100 foot Dorchester Abbey tower to raise money for the Festival charities - Dorchester Abbey and Daybreak Come and cheer them on! Watch this space for details of who is taking part and links to sponsor them
Tickets only needed to enter a dog - spectators FREE! A fun day out for all the family and your dog held in the beautiful grounds of Dorchester Abbey. The show ring will be a calm and safe area for your dog to take part in the classes throughout the day. There will be a [...]
Dorchester Festival will feature a mystery outside Art Installation this year, on the theme of "Optimism". Designed, constructed and painted by members of our Dorchester on Thames community, it will be located on three sites around the Village and will bring a smile! All sites will be readily accessible from the road but if you [...]
Dorchester Artists including Adrian Brooks Ed Metcalfe Sophia Stewart-Liberty Patricia Drew Rosie Southon Alison Rosby Chris Ellis Tracey Lester and Bill Maish will be exhibiting their work in the Dorchester Abbey Guest House. 25% of all sales will go to the Festival Charities - Dorchester Abbey and Daybreak More details of their work will be [...]
Scarecrow trail maps (minimum donation) £3 from Lily’s Tearoom or the Festival Tent Sports and Pastimes Take a trail around this lovely village and peek into gardens and windows to see what sports and pastimes the scarecrows represent. Can you guess what they are? Maybe it's an Olympic event, a favourite board game or a fun [...]
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