Masks, music and creative mischief brighten Shepton Mallet’s August

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

Shepton Mallet has art, clay, mask-making, outdoor singing, repair experts and forest-school adventures ahead. Families can invent a mythical creature, rescue a toaster and build a den, which is the sort of wildly efficient day planning we can all get behind.

So, anybody claiming there is nothing going on locally is going to need a stronger argument.

On Thursday, 6 August, the Commemorative Lantern Float will take place on the Bishop's Palace moat in Wells. The annual candle float marks the 81st anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. People are invited to gather from about 8.30pm on the entrance side of the moat, with the candles due to be launched at around 8.50pm after dusk. A short ceremony will follow.

The event is organised by the Mid-Somerset CND and Peace Group as a time for commemoration, reflection and thought about the future.

Also beginning on Thursday, Satellites 2026 comes to the Bath and West Showground. The five-day Christian youth event, organised by Youthscape, is for young people aged 12 to 18. Youth groups camp together and join morning and evening gatherings, with activities based around seven core values intended to support their faith beyond the festival. Five days of camping, group activities and large gatherings should keep everyone busy enough that even "my phone is on two per cent" may briefly lose its dramatic power.

On Friday, 7 August, Art Bank Summer Fridays: Creative holiday fun with Rose and Vix begins at the Art Bank, 13 High Street, Shepton Mallet. The child-led sessions are for children aged eight to 12 and may include art, clay, cooking, outdoor learning, games, free play, making and experimenting. They have been designed with neurodivergent children in mind, with priority given to neurodivergent children and those who would benefit from a smaller, more supportive creative environment where places are limited.

Sessions run from 10am to 2pm and cost £10 per child, plus a booking fee. Further dates are planned for Friday, 14 August and Friday, 21 August. Children should bring a packed lunch, while squash and water will be provided. Those who require one-to-one support must be accompanied by a parent or carer. It is four hours of art, clay and creative freedom, otherwise known as giving the dining table at home a richly deserved afternoon off.

Friday evening brings another Summer Late Opening at The Bishop's Palace. The Palace and its 14 acres of gardens will remain open from 6pm to 8pm, with last entry at 7.30pm. Visitors can bring a picnic, settle on the lawns and explore the grounds after the usual daytime opening. Tickets are listed at £8.75 for adults and £4.40 for children through the Great British Summer Savings scheme. Further evenings are scheduled for Friday, 14 August, Friday, 21 August and Friday, 28 August. A picnic beside a medieval Palace and moat is an admirably confident upgrade from balancing a sausage roll on your knee in the park.

Also on Friday, the PRP Gospel Choir at Wells Methodist Church meets from 7.30pm to 9pm. Musical director Emma Wheat leads the monthly sessions at Wells Methodist Church, Southover, with participants learning songs in three-part harmony. Music is taught by ear, so there is no need to read music or have previous singing experience. People of any faith or no faith are welcome, and an in-house live band accompanies each session. Admission costs £10 on a drop-in basis. No audition, no intimidating sheet music and a live band already prepared to make everyone sound more impressive. Efficient.

Saturday, 8 August is where the diary really starts showing off. Wells Pride 2026 returns for its third year, with events taking place across the city centre. The celebrations begin at The White Hart on Sadler Street, where people can gather from 10am until midday for brunch and a meet-and-greet with host Alisha B. From midday, participants will assemble with the long rainbow flag on Cathedral Green before the parade travels down High Street to the Recreation Ground bandstand.

The procession will benefit from its first road closure this year, allowing it to travel fully through the city centre. Participants are encouraged to bring costumes, banners, whistles and drums. Subtle entrances are not forbidden, exactly, but they may struggle to compete.

Entertainment at the bandstand starts at 1pm, with singers, dancers and speakers appearing during the afternoon. The announced line-up includes Gurt Dog, James Harriman, Violent May and The SinicTones. There will also be a small market and a Wells Pride stall with raffle prizes donated by local businesses. From 8pm, the celebrations will move to The Sheep and Penguin on Tucker Street for a Kiki, with Pride cocktails also planned.

The Pride flag is expected to fly from Wells Town Hall during the event.

Also on Saturday, a Hiroshima Exhibition will be held on Wells Cathedral Green from noon until 4pm. The exhibition is part of the programme organised by the Mid-Somerset CND and Peace Group and follows Thursday evening's commemorative lantern float. Visitors are welcome to attend and reflect on the 81 years since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Over in Shepton Mallet, Hybrid Selves: Make your own mask, claws and tail will take place at Shepton Mallet Library from 10am to 1pm.

Artist Kirsten Madeira-Revell and writer Polly Hall will invite families to invent mythological hybrid creatures inspired by their backgrounds, interests, families and dreams. Visitors can make masks, tails, paws and claws, with all materials provided. No experience is needed, all ages are welcome and the session is free to attend on a drop-in basis. The workshop is being held ahead of Somerset Art Weeks Festival 2026. Part animal, part mineral, part fruit or something completely unclassifiable — conventional biology has been politely asked to wait outside.

The Shepton Mallet Repair Cafe will also return to the Art Bank from 11am to 1pm. Volunteer repairers will examine broken or damaged items and offer advice. Previous successful patients have included fans, weighing scales, raincoats, lamps, kettles, toasters, speakers, clocks, a slow cooker, a cassette player and a wooden stool. Repairs are free, although donations towards running costs are appreciated. There is no guarantee that every wounded toaster will make a triumphant return, but it deserves the chance to present its case.

In Glastonbury, The Unfurling opens at Glastonbury Galleries on Saturday. The exhibition by Leanne Ta'iki Anawa runs until Tuesday, 18 August and will be open every day from 11am to 5pm. It can be seen at Glastonbury Galleries, 10A High Street, Glastonbury. Through paintings and illustrations, the artist explores healing, resilience, intuition, grief, growth and renewal. The works bring together myth, nature, spirit, sacred animals, ancient archetypes and dreamlike images of transformation. Visitors are invited to consider the quiet changes which happen during difficult periods and what can emerge when old stories are released.

It is a thoughtful exploration of transformation, rather more convincing than buying a fresh notebook and declaring a personal rebrand before breakfast.

On Tuesday, 11 August, Fun Singing in the Park returns to Collett Park in Shepton Mallet from 7pm to 8.15pm. Helena's informal outdoor workshops cover a variety of musical styles, with every song taught by ear. There is no need to read music, and people can attend one, several or all of the August sessions. A first visit costs £5, with further evenings planned for Tuesday, 18 August and Tuesday, 25 August. Singing outdoors is a fine way to unwind, meet new people and remind the park's ducks that they do not have exclusive rights to the soundscape.

Wednesday, 12 August brings another Wild Wednesdays session to the Somerset Earth Science Centre in Stoke St Michael. The summer holiday club is for children aged five to ten and follows a forest-school approach. Children can explore, play, create and learn through activities including den building, natural arts and crafts and campfire cooking. A five-hour session runs from 10am to 3pm and costs £25. A two-and-a-half-hour session runs from 10am to 12.30pm and costs £16. Concessions are available on a sliding scale, with further sessions planned for Wednesday, 19 August and Wednesday, 26 August. Expect children to return with new skills, outdoor confidence and a stick which has apparently been promoted to a permanent member of the household.

Later that day, the Partial Solar Eclipse Viewing Party will be held on Wells Cathedral Green. Members of Wells and Mendip Astronomers will bring safely filtered telescopes and eclipse glasses, allowing visitors to watch the moon move across the sun without attempting anything inventive involving sunglasses or cereal boxes. The astronomers will be on the Green from 3pm for solar observing. The eclipse begins at about 6.16pm, with maximum coverage of 93 per cent expected around an hour later. The moon is due to move away from the sun's disc by about 8.07pm. Activities and information will also be available, and the event is free. The viewing is weather-dependent, although light or passing cloud may still allow glimpses of the eclipse. The astronomers are ready. The moon is committed. The English weather has yet to return its availability form.

On Thursday, 13 August, the Secret Supper Club at The Bishop's Palace offers a three-course meal behind the Palace's medieval walls. Guests receive a secret password which allows them to cross the drawbridge before dinner. Menus feature seasonal and locally sourced produce, including fruit, vegetables and herbs grown in the Palace gardens. The meal costs £40 per person, with food served from 7.30pm and last orders at 9pm. Booking is essential, with a non-refundable deposit of £5 per person required. Guests must choose their meals in advance.

Mythical Creatures runs at Wells Cathedral until Tuesday, 1 September. Dragons, griffins and other legendary beasts have escaped from books in the cathedral's medieval library, and children are being asked to track them down. The interactive trail is available from 9am to 4.30pm and is included with standard cathedral admission or a valid admission pass. It is an impressively dramatic response to a library management issue, and we fully support it.

School Summer Holidays at The Bishop's Palace continues until Wednesday, 2 September. The programme includes the Splash Play Zone, a family trail, crafting workshops, the Cabinet of Curiosity and other indoor and outdoor activities. All summer holiday activities are included with admission. Discounted day tickets and reduced-price children's meals are also being offered through the Great British Summer Savings scheme.

A splash zone, crafts, curiosities and 14 acres to explore should buy parents and carers at least seven peaceful minutes before somebody asks what is happening next.

At Somerset Rural Life Museum in Glastonbury, Summer Fun on the Farm includes gallery activities, crafts and appearances by visiting animals. Some activities are inspired by the museum's current Harry Brockway exhibition. The Grain Store Café will also be open for light refreshments, because historical learning and the need for cake have always worked perfectly well together. Activities are drop-in and free with a Museum Unlimited Annual Pass unless otherwise stated.

Also at the museum, Harry Brockway: Ways with Wood celebrates the work of the Glastonbury-based artist, who lived from 1958 to 2024. The exhibition includes wood engravings, woodcuts and wooden sculptures, exploring Brockway's career as a printmaker, sculptor, illustrator and stone carver. His illustrations appeared in editions of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and writing by W B Yeats, Philip Pullman, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Mark Twain. Admission costs £11 for adults, £9 for concessions and £5.25 for children aged five to 17.

Children under five enter free, while admission is also included with a Museum Unlimited pass.

At Somerset Coalfield Life at Radstock Museum, Old MacDonald's Farm Trail continues until Tuesday, 1 September. Children can search the museum for farm animals, work out where they live and claim a small free prize after completing the trail. The activity is available during normal museum hours and is included with admission. Tickets also act as annual passes, allowing families to return and try other activities, including the Amy Ammonite Trail and Bob the Miner Trail.

Local organisers can add events free through Wells Nub News, Shepton Mallet Nub News or Glastonbury and Street Nub News.

That leaves more of the event budget available for the essentials: craft supplies, telescope filters, bunting and emergency biscuits.