20 things to do in Bristol this week, August 7-13 2023

Monday: North Street Games Night, Hen & Chicken
If you live in the North Street area, you’ll know of the popular touring board games night that makes its way up and down the street (and more recently to various venues around the city). There will be a large selection of games on offer, and there is even an opportunity to contact the organisers in advance and request they bring a specific title.

 

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Monday: Lie down & listen… Float on a cloud, The Mount Without
You’ll feel as if you’re floating on a cloud after experiencing ‘Lie down & Listen’ – a blissful Tibetan bowl sound healing and lying down classical concert experiences coming to Bristol this August 6 & 7th.

As you Lie down and Listen on soft mattresses in the stunning Mount Without in Bristol you can gaze  up at the ceiling painted with clouds. Afterwards you’ll feel  relaxed,  blissed out, reenergised and you’ll likely sleep better than ever before.

Lie down and listen – photo: The Mount Without

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Monday-Thursday: Oppenheimer, Watershed
Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer is an IMAX®-shot epic thriller that thrusts you into the pulse-pounding paradox of the enigmatic man who risked destroying the world in order to save it.

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Now-September 3: Find Shaun the Sheep at Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm!
Download the free Hide & Sheep AR trail app and find Shaun the Sheep around the Zoo. Included free with admission.

Aardman x Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm – photo: Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm

Tuesday: Sand Time and File Space, Centrespace Gallery
An experimental exhibition from Joe Timothy Coleman at the central Bristol gallery. After running the seminal Jacques Derrida’s “Of Grammatology” (examining the none too simple notion of deconstruction) through various language translation/AI auto correction softwares to mangle the texts, he’s pasted some of the most interesting/poignant outcomes onto sheets of A4 paper on the walls, which he encourages visitors to tear down and take home, as they will be replaced with new ones.

An example of one of the pieces on display at Sand Time and File Space – photo: Centrespace Gallery

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Wednesday: The Comedy Box presents: Dane Baptiste: Bapsquire (Edinburgh preview), Hen & Chicken
Following his award-nominated tour ‘The Chocolate Chip’; Dane Baptiste returns with a brand new show and mentality.

Most of us are supposed to mellow with age, and Dane shouldn’t be the angry black man the media portrays him to be at times. But the more things change, the more they stay the same. Dane Baptiste is now a grown-ass man. No longer ‘Daneger’, ‘Joke Dza’, ‘ASAP Bap’, or any of his old, bad-boy aliases, Dane now presents a mature comic for comedy palettes. Dane Baptiste is BAPSQUIRE.

“Powerful and persuasive” Fest Magazine
“Masterfully crafted” The Herald
“A striking set” Guardian
“Observational comedy at its finest” The Independent

Dane Baptiste at Hen & Chicken – photo: Comedy Box

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Monday-Thursday: Kokomo City, Watershed
With this luminous, directorial debut, Grammy-nominated producer and singer-songwriter turned documentarian D. Smith opens a window into the lives of Black transgender women sex workers in America.

Kokomo City – photo: Watershed

Wednesday: Quade + Sunglasz Vendor + Doggish, The Lanes
A dose of free entry alt/experimental rock from three exciting up and coming Bristol based groups. Blending acoustic and electronic elements, the trio of bands share similarities and differences in their sounds, but if one thing is for certain, you’ll find a new favourite in headliners Quade with their definitively unique sound.

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Thursday: After Hours, RWA
Experience After Hours this Thursday (10 Aug), a wonderful opportunity to visit the galleries after closing and soak up the atmosphere and art, with drinks, music, and creative activities. Enjoy the stunning view from our balcony. Come straight after work with friends, and meet new, like-minded people, or surprise your partner with a very special date night. Local musician, Olive Haigh will be performing at this event.

RWA After Hours – photo: RWA

Thursday-Sunday: Bristol Intternational Balloon Fiesta, Ashton Court
With mass ascents both in the morning and evening, and days of entertainment sandwiched in between, the Balloon Fiesta is one of the most anticipated events of the Bristol summer calendar. Free to enter on the sprawling Ashton Court Estate – with car parking available if you are driving – expect everything from skydiving parachute displays to balloon inflation races. Buy Sky Lounge tickets for the best view of proceedings.

Friday: Haunted & Hidden walking tour, City Centre
The evening tour, exploring the darker side of the city centre, won the 2022 TripAdvisor ‘Certificate of Excellence’. Having been running for 18 years, it’s one of the longest running Bristol tours, and you’ll learn about Clifton’s dwarf highwayman, a haunted cinema, and locations from some of your favourite films and TV shows. Bristol24/7 members also get discounted tickets to these tours – become a member today!

The Haunted & Hidden tour reveals a darker side to Bristol’s history – photo: Yuup

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Saturday: The Ambling Band – Bristol Beacon Amplified Tour, Windmill Hill City Farm
The Amplified tour is bringing fun, free, family concerts to community centres around Bristol this summer. On Sat 12 Aug we are at Windmill Hill City Farm in Bedminster with music from The Ambling Band, a much-loved bright pink brass band that will be performing a mix of samba, rumba, swing, latin and dance classics. You’ll also have the chance to meet some of the Bristol Beacon team and learn how you can get involved with musical experiences across the city. Whether you are a young musician, want to improve your wellbeing through music, or just enjoy listening to your favourite bands play live – we look forward to hearing from you on the Amplified Tour and welcoming you to our transformed venue this November.

The Ambling Band – photo: Bristol Beacon

Saturday: Beavertown: Summer Collaboration Sessions, Propyard
An unexpected but welcome collaboration, as the London-based brewery heads down to the South West for a stacked daytime lineup at one of Bristol’s largest outdoor party spaces. Both Channel One and Barry Can’t Swim will bring electronic rhythms fused with world/reggae sounds, with Maribou State headlining with their signature blend of mesmerising dance tracks with hands in the air indie moments.

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Ends Sunday: Found cities, lost objects: Women in the city AND Street life, RWA
It’s your LAST CHANCE to see our Main Gallery exhibition Found Cities, Lost Objects: Women in the City, AND Street Life in the Kenny Gallery. Both shows explore the idea of living in a city and what that means, looks, and feels like from a range of perspectives. Discover over 60 artworks from leading women artists, including several Bristol-based creatives. In the FREE to-see Kenny Gallery, step into a diverse collection of urban landscapes as depicted by our Academicians.

Both exhibitions end on Sunday August 13 – photo: RWA

Saturday & Sunday: Explore Bristol’s Quirkiest Corners tour, City Centre
This relaxing weekend tour led by Bristol24/7 Editor, Martin Booth, takes you off the beaten track of the Old City and Castle, learning the stories behind many locations that you almost certainly won’t have known about before – with a stop halfway through the walk at one of Martin’s favourite coffee shops and a copy of one of his Bristol guidebooks for you to keep.

The tour is delivered by Bristol24/7’s editor Martin Booth – Photo: Yuup

And coming soon…

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August 19: Glasshouse summer courtyard party, The Full Moon
After a successful summer courtyard party last year, the GLASSHOUSE crew are back once again for the next instalment of their summer day party projects. DJ SWISHA, Suchi, Dr Dubplate, Fliss Mayo, sadsugar, DJ Ammi & GLASSHOUSE residents present this stacked line up for an all day & night venue takeover at the Full Moon and Attic Bar.

Glasshouse day party poster – photo: The Full Moon

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August 19: Bristol Beacon presents: Jake Xerxes Fussell, Strange Brew
Singer, guitarist, and folk music interpreter Jake Xerxes Fussell has distinguished himself as one of his generation’s preeminent interpreters of traditional (and not so traditional) “folk” songs, a practice which he approaches with a refreshingly unfussy lack of nostalgia. By recontextualizing ancient vernacular songs and sources of the American South, he allows them to breathe and speak for themselves and for himself; alternately inhabiting them and allowing them to inhabit him. In all his work, Fussell humanises his material with his own curatorial and interpretive gifts, unmooring stories and melodies from their specific eras and origins and setting them adrift in our own waterways.

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September 2 & 3: Tales from Acorn Wood, Redgrave Theatre
Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s beloved Tales from Acorn Wood stories are brought to life on stage for the first time in an enchanting lift-the-flap experience by Norwell Lapley Productions. Packed full of toe-tapping songs, puppetry, and all the friends from Acorn Wood, this beautiful show from the team that brought you Dear Zoo Live and Dear Santa promises to be the perfect treat for children of all ages.

Tales from Acorn Wood – photo: Redgrave Theatre

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August 22: Breath Led Tuesdays with Lucy Spragge, The Mount Without
A monthly immersion in transformational breathwork and Kundalini Global Yoga in the stunning candle lit setting of the Mount Without.

Breath is a powerful tool we can harness to regulate the nervous system, release stress and tension in the body, and enter a deep state of calm and presence. When we combine breath and posture it allows us to quiet our minds and open our hearts, expanding our energetic field, and accepting ourselves completely as we are. Some breaths will be energetic, some incredibly soft and gentle. Both will allow us to experience complete stillness.

Breath Led Tuesdays – photo: The Mount Without

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September 8: Paul Young – Behind the Lens, Redgrave Theatre
Paul Young has been a major star for four decades. He broke into the big time 40 years ago when No Parlez went to number one and spawned iconic hits like Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home). Now, on the 40th anniversary of No Parlez, he’s releasing a remarkable new record and publishing his extraordinary memoir, both called Behind The Lens.

Paul Young Behind The Lens – photo: Redgrave Theatre

Main photo: Betty Woolerton

Read next:

• 46 things to do in Bristol in August 2023
• Bristol Circus City 2023 programme launched
• BIMM Institute announce summer school for young people

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