5 Wonderful Things To Do In Bristol This Weekend (January 23-25)

Bristol Comedy Festival isn’t just one reason to smile this January. More than 150 comedy shows are taking over various venues in Bristol, including shows from Taskmaster‘s Maisie Adam, Bristol’s very own Jayde Adams, author and stand-up Mark Watson, critically-acclaimed podcaster Milo Edwards and breakout winner of So You Think You’re Funny, Finlay Christie. Discover a mix of nationally-recognised performers and rising stars, including Jonny Pelham, Harriet Dyer, Fatiha El-Ghorri, Sara Barron, Bella Hull and Stuart Goldsmith, alongside international acts such as Sam See and Celya AB.

Luke Jerram’s stunning artwork, Helios, has been installed at Jubilee Pool for a world-first. You can swim beneath (or look poolside) the touring artwork of the Sun, a fusion of solar imagery, animated lighting and a surround sound composition. Measuring five metres in diameter, it features 72dpi detailed imagery of the Sun’s surface at an approximate scale of 1:278 million, meaning each centimetre of the internally lit spherical sculpture represents 2780km of the Sun. Get your tickets here.

Calling all Fleetwood Mac fanatics! If this January has brought you down, break The Chain and add a little Gold Dust to your evening with a Candlelight concert. The live, multi-sensory musical experience brings the music of Stevie Nicks and co. to Bristol City Hall under the gentle glow of candlelight this weekend—with a string quartet performing Everywhere Go Your Own Way, Rhiannon and more.

Many will be gathering at home to tuck into haggis, shortbread and a wee dram of whisky or two, before belting out Auld Lang Syne and reading aloud Scots poetry for Burns Night—the annual celebration of the poet Robert Burns. Everywhere from No. 4 Clifton Village to Spirited Bristol, Carmen Street Wine, Recatch Community Garden and The Square Club will help bring Bristol’s Scottish communities together.

With a decade of live music and late-night dancing under its belt, Old Market Assembly turns 10—with The Bristol Hornstars, one of the city’s most loved jazz bands, bringing the noise. If that wasn’t enough, throughout the week, tuck into discounted £10 pizzas, while the Snug Gallery will showcase never-before-seen photographs from the venue’s earliest days. To secure your ticket to the party, head here.