What's On in Shepton Mallet is brought to you by the Bath & West Showground — home to the biggest events in Somerset — and La Bella Italian Restaurant.

The Shepton Mallet diary is covering quite a bit of ground this week, from creative poetry at the library to classical music and a collectors' fair at the Bath & West Showground large enough to trigger several waves of childhood nostalgia.

This week has quietly filled the local diary with just enough reasons to leave the house — which is mildly inconvenient if you had planned a perfectly respectable week of doing absolutely nothing. From creative workshops and community meet-ups to theatre productions and collectors' fairs, there is a fairly mixed bag happening across the area over the next few days.

Things begin on Thursday 5 March at Shepton Mallet Library with the Found Poetry Club – Workshop for Adults from 10.30am to 12.30pm. Led by Polly Hall, the session explores "found poetry", which involves creating new poems using words taken from existing printed texts such as books or newspapers. It is described as a relaxed and experimental workshop with all materials provided, so you can simply turn up, try a few creative techniques and see what sort of poetry emerges from the page.

On Friday 6 March, the Bath & West Showground will host International Women's Day 2026 between 9.15am and 12.45pm. The free event will include a panel of speakers sharing their experiences around the campaign theme #GivetoGain. The session will be hosted by former Environment Minister Rebecca Pow, alongside speakers from organisations including Voices for Life and Love British Food. There will also be tea, coffee and pastries beforehand, which historically tends to help people feel enthusiastic about a 9.15am start.

Sunday 8 March brings two very different events locally. At the Bath & West Showground, the Toy & Train Collectors Fair will take place with more than 300 stalls selling models, toys and collectables. Early bird entry opens at 8.30am, with general admission later in the morning. For collectors, this is a chance to hunt down that one elusive model they have been searching for. For everyone else, it is usually a slightly alarming reminder of just how many of your childhood toys are now classed as 'antique'.

Also on Sunday 8 March, Tabernacle Chapel in Alhampton near Shepton Mallet will host CarmenCo – Passionate Arias and Fiery Instrumentals, with performances scheduled for 4pm and 6pm. The trio CarmenCo — Emily Andrews on flute and mezzo vocals, alongside guitarists David Massey and Francisco Correa — will perform arrangements of arias and instrumental pieces from a range of operas. The evening will also offer an early preview of music from a new theatre production expected to tour the South West later in 2026.

On Monday 9 March, things become slightly more low-key but no less useful. The Street Carers Group will meet in the rear rooms of the Crispin Centre in Street. The free gathering is designed for people who regularly care for someone in an unpaid capacity, offering a chance to socialise, swap experiences and hear from visiting professionals who provide advice and information. Anyone attending for the first time is asked to call ahead, which is always a sensible move before turning up to any meeting full of strangers.

advertisement

From Tuesday 10 March through to Saturday 14 March, Wells Little Theatre will stage The 39 Steps. The play blends Alfred Hitchcock's thriller with quick-fire character changes and inventive stagecraft. It follows a man whose fairly ordinary life becomes dramatically less ordinary after he meets a woman who claims to be a spy. When she is murdered, he suddenly finds himself caught up in a nationwide manhunt involving a mysterious organisation known as "The 39 Steps". As plots go, it moves briskly from "quiet night in" to "running across the country while being chased by people who definitely mean business."

Also on Tuesday 10 March, Caryford Hall will host Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera: The Golden Age of Mexican Painting. The special interest morning organised by the Arts Society Mid Somerset includes two lectures by Chloe Sayer exploring the work of the two artists, with a mid-morning break for coffee and cake included — which, again, rarely hurts attendance.

Finally, from Tuesday 10 March to Friday 13 March, Dragonfly Theatre in Radstock will stage Annie. Set in 1930s New York during the Great Depression, the musical follows a young girl living in an orphana ge whose fortunes change when she is invited to spend Christmas with billionaire Oliver Warbucks. As musical plots go, it involves a surprising amount of singing about optimism given the current circumstances.

If you are planning something locally and want people to know about it, you can nub your event for free here. Wells: https://wells.nub.news/nub-it/whats-on-create. Glastonbury and Street: https://glastonbury.nub.news/nub-it/whats-on-create. Shepton Mallet: https://sheptonmallet.nub.news/nub-it/whats-on-create.