5 wonderful things to do in Bristol this weekend (March 6-8)

Bristol Museum & Art Gallery is transformed into an after-dark experience of universal awe and wonder. Immersed in Starlight lights up the museum’s grand interior with distant nebulae, star clusters and galaxies. These cosmic vistas are real images taken from Bristol by Lee Pullen, the Urban Astrophotographer, and are accompanied by an immersive soundscape by Sam Whitfield from Cyan Music.

The Festival of Stories returns to Bristol for its third edition at SPARKS. A free to attend one-day celebration of live storytelling, creativity, workshops and family-friendly activities—with writers, performers, illustrators, oral storytellers and creative thinkers making an inspiring programme of events. This ranges from screenwriter Nikesh Shukla and folklore storyteller Marcus Fagon to a free flash fiction writing workshop with award-winning author C. L. Taylor.

If you’re looking for ways to support women this International Women’s Day, ‘Ark At She! is a funny, heartfelt celebration of Bristol’s forgotten working-class women (from local comedian Dani Johns), specially created for M Shed to spotlight exciting, quirky and wonderful women who once called Bristol home.

You’ve also got to check out the International Women’s Day Celebration at City Hall, centred around themes of ‘Connection’ and ‘Common Ground’, and what women can achieve together. This uplifting and inspiring event will host over 50 workshops, talks, panel debates, performances and many more activities.

You think you know ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’? Not like this you do! In a tyrannical society, four young lovers flee to the forest where a fierce battle rages between the Fairy King and Queen, Oberon and Titania, over a stolen child. Following 2022’sco-production of ‘Henry V’, Shakespeare’s Globe collaborates once again with the touring theatre company Headlong for a unique spin on one of Shakespeare’s most-loved plays.

Richard Jones, aka The Military Illusionist, won the nation’s heart and mind on ‘Britain’s Got Talent’. For an unforgettable night, ‘The Sound of Magic’ is your golden ticket to a realm of inexplicable feats, unbelievable illusions, and rejuvenating awe.