Turning Thursdays into the most cultural night of the week

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THE Wilson is launching a free public event tonight which will see Cheltenham’s cultural quarter come alive for the evening.

The opening First Thursdays event – run alongside our partner venues, Badlands Records, Malone’s Vintage, The Stable, Boston Tea Party and Incom Gaming at 2Pigs – will see art and cultural events will stay open until 9pm or later.

As the name suggests, it will run on the first Thursday of every month.

First Thursdays will be a cultural hub for food, music, performance, art and retail all taking place in venues within walking distance from each other and happening outside of traditional working hours.

The public are invited to explore and culture hop between all the venues.

There is no tour, schedule or guided walk, the route is up to you. We simply help you figure out what to see and where to go by highlighting what is happening.

At the opening event, The Wilson will have live artist demonstrations and a retro-inspired music installation.

Help the Wilson Visitor Experience Team curate a Spotify playlist by suggesting tracks from our collection of records which will be available for download after the event.

We also host Maman Goes Pop, a pop-up market with an incredible array of unique products.

Shirley Halse from the Wilson Arts Collective will present a solo show entitled Poetry 101, presenting a poetic re-education – taking all the poetry you (probably) hated at school and giving it a thorough reassessment.

From classroom classics like your Shakespeare and your Keats to modern poetic heroes like Carol Ann Duffy and Ke$ha, this will be a modern and unconventional course. No uniform required.

The Wilson Arts Collective will be displaying an exhibition of art work in celebration of 70 years of the NHS.

Museum by Torchlight gives you the opportunity to explore the museum with torch in hand as we cloak the galleries in darkness.

There’s also a special object talk on the subject of tiaras with curator Sophia Wilson.

At Badlands there will be a preview listening party for the Bob Dylan box set, More Blood More Tracks, that is released on November 2.

There’s also a free drink to customers and some extra discounts for First Thursdays only.

Incom Gaming over at 2Pigs are hosting a board game night aimed at exploring new table top games and meeting new people.

You can play for free from a wide selection of demo, board and card games. So come on down and roll dice, throw down cards and explore a world of games.

Keep your eyes open for the official #Firstthursdayschelt Facebook events page for the line-up of what’s to come at future events, along with a map of participating venues.

There is no tour, no schedule or guided walk, the route is up to you. We simply help you figure out what to see and where to go