Shepton diary brings climate action, dance sessions and a weekend of ribs

What's On in Shepton Mallet is brought to you by the Bath & West Showground — home to the biggest events in Somerset

Mid-Somerset has clearly looked at the calendar, rolled up its sleeves and decided that nobody is staying in unless they have made a very firm commitment to the sofa.

From emergency-service football to mythical beasts at the cathedral, Wells has clearly not left the diary alone. Across Glastonbury, Street, Wells and Shepton Mallet, the next few days and weeks bring choirs, craft fairs, charity football, family trails, dance sessions, climate action, a regeneration opening, garden history, sauna evenings and monster trucks. Subtle? Not always. Varied? Absolutely.

St John's Church in Glastonbury gets the week singing on Friday, 17 July, with the Summer Concert at St John's Church, Glastonbury. Street Sings, Wookey Choirworks and Street Men and Doulting Choir will come together for an evening of live choral music, with a bar and raffle also available. Tickets cost £10 and will be available on the door, with proceeds going to local charity, including Sing2Breathe. Choirs, a raffle and a good cause: Somerset has entered its comfort zone and brought a programme.

Downside Abbey at Stratton-on-the-Fosse also gets a musical turn on Friday, 17 July, with Come and Sing with Sir John Rutter. The evening is for people who love singing and can read a bit of music, with Sir John Rutter directing a selection of choral works and Julian McNamara accompanying on piano and organ. Copies of the music will be available on arrival, registration starts from 6pm, and tickets cost £15 plus booking fee, or £10 for under-18s and students. It is basically singing in the car, except with better acoustics, sheet music and considerably less risk of missing the high notes at a roundabout.

The Bath & West Showground then turns the volume up from Friday, 17 July to Sunday, 19 July, as Rock n Ribs 2026 brings smokehouse barbecue, rock and country music, monster truck shows, family activities, USA-style vehicles, wrestling, line dancing, BMX stunts and eating contests. Anyone after a whisper-quiet weekend may need to look elsewhere. Anyone after ribs, engines and entertainment that does not apologise for itself should be quite happy.

At Wells Football Club on Saturday, 18 July, Avon and Somerset Police will face Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service in Wells charity match pits police against fire crews. Kick-off is at 1pm, with the match being held in support of The Fire Fighters Charity and Miscarriage UK. Organisers are encouraging residents, families and friends to come along and support both teams. It is all for charity, of course, but if anyone believes local bragging rights are not involved, they may also believe referees are universally thanked at full-time.

Crispin Hall in Street gets its turn on Saturday, 18 July, when Street Creative Market brings more than 20 stalls to the High Street. Organised by Sophia of Bywater Blooms Events, the market is one of three being held in Street this year, with handcrafted goods, original artwork, local bakes and independent makers from across the region. Entry is free, and visitors can browse, meet the makers and enjoy tea and cake. That is not shopping. That is shopping with a reward system.

Over in Glastonbury, Saturday, 18 July, also brings the opening of the first stage of the Glastonbury regeneration project opens first stage at Baily's Buildings on Beckery Old Road. The public event starts at 2pm and marks the completion of work to refurbish the West Building into new commercial space. Visitors will be able to see the work carried out so far and find out more about future phases planned for the project.

The Baily's Buildings celebration will include local choirs coming together to perform Jerusalem, the poem by William Blake set to music by Hubert Parry in 1916. Visitors are being encouraged to join the choirs in singing, with the performance filmed as part of the event. Choirs taking part include Avalon Free State Choir, Brue Boys, Glastonbury Community Choir, Glastonbury Male Voice Choir and Street Sings. The event is public and open to anyone who wants to attend, making it one of those rare occasions where joining in loudly is not only tolerated, but actively requested.

Heal Somerset, near Witham Friary, is asking everyone to slow down on Sunday, 19 July, with The Great Pause: A Nature Immersion Experience. The event, at Lower West Barn Farm, Bindon Lane, BA11 5HH, is described as the first mass nature bathe on a UK rewilding site and is open to all ages. It is free to attend, with a suggested £10 donation per person to support Heal's work. Arrival is from 2.30pm, with a briefing at 3pm, the immersion from 3.30pm to 4pm, and an optional bring-your-own picnic afterwards. Participants are asked to bring a blanket or something else to lie on. The plan is to be still and listen to nature, which may be the most rebellious thing anyone does all week.

Shepton Mallet residents can get practical on Monday, 20 July, when Somerset Wildlife Trust brings Act to Adapt: Practical Action in a Changing Climate to the Art Bank Café, 13 High Street, from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. The free workshop is intended to begin the process of creating a community climate adaptation plan for the town. Residents will work together in groups to discuss how Shepton Mallet is being affected by climate change and what could be done locally, including responses to flooding, extreme heat and other changing weather pressures. Drinks will be available to buy from the café, and some free snacks will be provided. A Monday evening meeting with a clear purpose and snacks is already ahead of many Monday evening meetings.

Henton Village Hall hosts Mediumship Evening with Nikki Kitt on Monday, 20 July, at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £14, and the listing describes Nikki Kitt as a spiritualist medium touring the UK with psychic and mediumship evenings. Those going along may want to keep an open mind, although whether the spirits can explain where all the missing pens go remains sadly unconfirmed.

Caryford Hall, BA7 7JJ, takes the calendar back much further on Tuesday, 21 July, with The Arts Society Mid Somerset Lecture: The Garden in Ancient Egyptian Art. Lucia Gahlin will speak about the importance of gardens to the ancient Egyptians, as shown through their art. Coffee is available from 10.15am, members attend free and visitors pay £8. Ancient gardens, art history and coffee before lunch: all the pleasure of horticulture, with no need to clean mud off your shoes.

Make the Sunshine Studio in Shepton Mallet has ASCEND Dance running from Tuesday, 2 June to Tuesday, 21 July. The bi-weekly inclusive dance sessions are for young people who are d/Deaf, disabled or neurodiverse, with sessions listed from 5.15pm to 6pm. Upcoming dates include 2, 9 and 23 June, and 7 and 21 July. Parents and support workers are welcome to stay and join in. Disabled parking is available outside The Art Bank, with Regal Road Car Park also nearby. Small group sizes, sensory movement and space to take part properly: a much better plan than pretending everyone learns the same way.

Wells Cathedral has let the creatures loose for summer, with Mythical Creatures running from Monday, 6 July to Tuesday, 1 September, from 9am to 4.30pm. The trail invites visitors to search the cathedral for dragons, griffins and other legendary beasts inspired by the books in the medieval library. Entry is included with standard admission to Wells Cathedral or with a valid admission pass. It turns out the medieval library has let the creatures out, which is exactly the kind of problem Wells Cathedral can make look educational.

Somerset Rural Life Museum in Glastonbury is hosting Harry Brockway: Ways With Wood Exhibition, celebrating the life and work of Glastonbury-based artist Harry Brockway, who lived from 1958 to 2024. The exhibition features wood engravings, woodcuts and wooden sculpture. It is free with Museum Unlimited, while normal admission applies. Admission is listed as £11 for adults, £9 for concessions, £5.25 for children aged five to 17, and free for under-fives. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday, from 10am to 5pm. It is a reminder that wood can do far more than become a wonky shelf, despite what some of us have proved at home.

The Bishop's Palace and Gardens in Wells has Secret Supper Club at The Bishop's Palace dates listed through 2026, including 8 January, 12 February, 12 March, 9 April, 14 May, 11 June, 9 July, 13 August, 10 September, 8 October and 12 November. The listing describes a three-course dining experience at £40 per person, with food available from 7.30pm and last orders at 9pm. Guests are asked to contact the café in advance to confirm their meal choice, with booking essential and a non-refundable £5 deposit per person required. A password over a medieval drawbridge is also mentioned in the listing, because apparently dinner can and should come with a little drama.

Adults who fancy moving, laughing and meeting others can try Sunshine Sisters Dance at The Make the Sunshine Studio, 17 High Street, Shepton Mallet, BA4 5HT. The class needs no previous experience and is led by Mandy Redmond, with creative movement followed by tea, coffee and a chat. Sessions are listed on Thursdays from 1.45pm to 2.45pm from 7 May, with a one-week break for half term at the end of May. No experience needed, no performance required and tea afterwards. This is the kind of exercise class that understands adults have been through enough.

Young people can also get moving at Make the Sunshine Studio through LUMEN Dance Collective. The weekly term-time sessions are led by Mandy Redmond from Adventures in Dance and are designed for young people to make friends and explore dance. The listing says sessions run on Thursdays from 4.30pm to 5.30pm, with a free trial available. People can email the organisers for more information, although the full email address has not been confirmed in the supplied material. Confidence, movement and friendship are the idea here, which beats standing at the side pretending to check your laces.

Babies, toddlers and pre-school children have their own creative session at Make the Sunshine Studio, where Connect Play Create for Under 5s offers movement, songs, stories, sensory props and imaginative play. The sessions are led by Emma-Jayne Gray and are for children with parents and carers. The listing says there is no session on 22 June. It is child-led, which any parent of an under-five will recognise as less of a format and more of a governing system.

Rock Farm on Windsor Hill Lane in Shepton Mallet is the setting for Soulfired Lates. The evening sauna sessions launched on Friday, 5 June, with standard sessions listed at £12.50, or £9 for members. Private hire is listed at £90, or £75 for members. The listing says private hire is available by email, although the full email address has not been confirmed in the supplied material. A Friday evening sauna is one way to sweat out the week, which is healthier than glaring at your inbox until Sunday night.

The Bishop's Palace and Gardens is also opening later on selected summer evenings with Summer Late Openings at The Bishop's Palace. Public dates listed are 5, 12, 19 and 26 June, 10 and 31 July, and 7, 14, 21 and 28 August, from 6pm to 8pm, with last entry at 7.30pm. The late openings do not run on 3, 17 and 24 July. Tickets are listed as £8.75 for adults and £4.40 for children. Friends of the Palace also have exclusive access dates listed on Thursday, 11 June, Thursday, 9 July and Thursday, 6 August. A summer evening in the Palace gardens with a picnic does sound suspiciously like someone has planned a calm life.

Wells Methodist Church is home to Pop Rock Pub Contemporary Choir, which is listed as running from 16 June 2022 to 29 December 2028. The choir is described as a lively, upbeat, non-auditioned group singing well-known pop and rock hits, with a live band at every rehearsal. New singers are welcome, and the listing says people often socialise afterwards at Fosso Lounge. No audition is required, which is excellent news for anyone whose enthusiasm has always arrived slightly before the note.

The same venue also hosts PRP Gospel Choir at Wells Methodist Church, led by musical director Emma Wheat. The listing says the choir launched on Friday, 5 April, with sessions on the first Friday of each month from 7.30pm to 9pm. Songs are taught by ear, so there is no need to read music, and sessions cost £10 as a drop-in. People of any faith or none are welcome. That is Friday night with harmonies, live accompaniment and no sheet music panic, which is a public service in itself.

At Unit 8, Charlton Estate, Shepton Mallet, Shepton Mallet Men's Shed offers companionship, practical activities and the chance to learn and share skills. The group runs on Tuesdays from 9am to noon, Wednesdays from 9am to noon, and Thursdays from 9am to 4pm. Members also take on projects that support the wider community. It may be called a shed, but this is less about pottering at the back of the garden and more about people getting together, making things and quietly keeping half the town's benches standing.

Wells Town Hall is the venue for South West craft fair. The supplied listing says it will be the organisers' second craft fair at the town hall, with more stallholders showcasing their work. A date and time have not been confirmed in the supplied information, so visitors should check the event listing before making plans. Craft fairs remain high-risk environments for anyone who says they are only going to look and then leaves with handmade gifts for people they have not met yet.

Doulting Village Hall hosts Summer Craft Fair from noon to 7pm on Friday, 26 June. The listing mentions activities for children, refreshments and a falconry display in the churchyard. It also includes information about donations of medical supplies, mobility aids, toiletries, dry and tinned food, pet provisions, household appliances, shelter gear and electronics for Somerset Aid for Ukraine. Clothing cannot be accepted because containers are full. The date appears to sit outside the main July diary supplied, so readers should check the current listing before attending. A craft fair with falconry, though, is the sort of detail that reminds everyone Somerset is never entirely predictable.