WOWFest's Carmina Burana Fills Wells Cathedral Tonight
Issue #18 | Saturday 11 July 2026
Good morning, Mendips! Tonight Wells Cathedral hosts the flagship concert of WOWFest's fifth Wells Orchestral Weekend — full orchestra, mass choir, and Orff's thunderous Carmina Burana. It's a packed weekend all round too, with Somerstock, Priddy Folk Festival and the Giant Flea Market all in full swing, plus news of Wookey's brush with TV fame and a shortlist snub for three of our towns.
📸 WOWFest's Carmina Burana Fills Wells Cathedral - Today's featured event
📅 What's On This Week — across the Mendips, Sat 11–Wed 15 July
Frustration as Somerset Towns Miss Out on UK Town of Culture Shortlist
Wookey Filming Brings TV Crews to the Village
Wells Restaurant Niche Opens a New Chapter After Sudden Change
Wells Man Sentenced Over Knife and Slingshot at Cheddar Gorge
🌡️ Weather — Wells BA5 forecast
🎻 Featured Event: WOWFest Fills Wells Cathedral with Carmina Burana
Tonight is the big one for WOWFest 2026, the Wells Orchestral Weekend now in its fifth year. At 7pm, a full symphony orchestra and mass choir fill Wells Cathedral for Carl Orff's Carmina Burana — one of the most dramatic pieces in the classical repertoire, performed by young musicians drawn from the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Brazil and the USA. Tickets range from free to £15 via the Wells Cathedral box office, making a genuinely spine-tingling evening accessible to the whole family.
WOWFest was founded to give young performers a stage to make music together and fall in love with what organisers call 'England's smallest city'. Patron Charles Hazlewood has backed the festival since its early years, and this weekend around 300 musicians are passing through Wells — rehearsing, busking in the Market Place and filling Cedars Hall, St Cuthbert's and St Thomas' with music before tonight's grand finale under the Cathedral's vaulted ceiling.
If tonight leaves you wanting more, the festivities continue on Sunday with the Leon Fleisher Academy's young pianists at St Thomas' Church (2pm, free) and a free afternoon of performances from three youth orchestras in the Bishop's Palace gardens from midday, with entry free after 3pm.
All week (11–15 Jul)
Wookey Uncovered — Wookey Hole Caves, Wookey. Family-friendly guided heritage tours of the ancient caves and Victorian papermill, running all summer through 30 September. wookey.co.uk
Harry Brockway: Ways With Wood — Somerset Rural Life Museum, Glastonbury. Wood engravings, woodcuts and sculpture from the Glastonbury-based artist, Tue–Sun 10am–5pm through 2 September. Details
Mythical Creatures Trail — Wells Cathedral. Family trail through the Cathedral, included with admission, running daily 9am–4.30pm through 1 September. wellscathedral.org.uk
Tuner — Strode Theatre, Street. New-release thriller screening through 16 July. Book tickets
Saturday 11 Jul
WOWFest: Carmina Burana — 7pm, Wells Cathedral. Full orchestra and choir performing Orff's dramatic classic — tonight's Featured Event above. £0–£15, Wells Cathedral Box Office.
WOWFest: Irish Chamber Orchestra Youth — 2pm, St Cuthbert's Church, Wells. Free afternoon concert from the youth ensemble. wowfest.org.uk
Somerstock — from 11:50am, Somerton Sports Field. Day two of the two-day family music festival, headlined by The Beatles Dub Club, Rusty Shackle, Pet Needs and Snappa, across two stages and a marquee. somerstock.co.uk
Priddy Folk Festival — Priddy village green. Day two of three, with Dervish, Melrose Quartet and Dallahan across seven stages. priddyfolk.org
SWTA: ELEVATE — Strode Theatre, Street. South West Theatre Arts' whole-school dance showcase, day one of two. Book tickets
Hilliard Society Miniaturists Exhibition — Wells Town Hall. Final day to catch this year's showcase of miniature art in pencil, watercolour and oil. Free admission. wellstownhall.co.uk
Shepton Mallet Repair Cafe — 11am–1pm, The Art Bank, 13 High Street, Shepton Mallet. Free on-the-spot repairs for electricals, clothing, jewellery and more. Details
Butterfly Identification Workshop — 10am–1pm, Heal Somerset, near Frome. Guided walk with wildlife guide Nick Patel through Heal's rewilding landscape. From £30. Book tickets
Sunday 12 Jul
WOWFest at the Bishop's Palace — from midday, Bishop's Palace Gardens, Wells. Three youth orchestras close out the WOWFest flagship weekend in the Palace gardens; free entry after 3pm. bishopspalace.org.uk
WOWFest: Leon Fleisher Academy — 2pm, St Thomas' Church, Wells. Young pianists from New York's Leon Fleisher Academy perform; free entry, retiring collection. wellsyouthmusicfest.co.uk
Giant Flea Market — Bath & West Showground, Shepton Mallet. Over 250 indoor and outdoor stalls of vintage furniture, clothing, crafts and more. bathandwestshowground.com
Eliza Carthy: The Songs of Martin Carthy — 7pm, Cheese & Grain, Frome. Eliza Carthy pays tribute to her father's songbook. cheeseandgrain.com
Priddy Folk Festival — Priddy village green. Final day, with the traditional Sunday procession featuring the Lost Giants of Cornwall. priddyfolk.org
SWTA: ELEVATE — Strode Theatre, Street. Final day of the dance showcase. Book tickets
Frome Festival — venues across Frome. The 25th anniversary festival's final day, closing ten days of music, art, food and talks. fromefestival.co.uk
Monday 13 Jul
No new one-off events today — the All week regulars continue (Wookey Uncovered, Harry Brockway: Ways With Wood, Mythical Creatures Trail and Tuner at Strode Theatre — see All week above).
Tuesday 14 Jul
Another quiet day for one-off events — see All week above for what's running.
Wednesday 15 Jul
Nothing new today either — see All week above for what's running.
🗓️ Coming Up
Queen by Candlelight — Wells Cathedral, Thu 16 Jul, 7:30pm. Candlelit concert of Queen's greatest hits. Book tickets
The Godney Gathering — Godney, near Glastonbury, Fri 17–Sat 18 Jul. Somerset's home-grown music festival returns with The Pigeon Detectives, Reverend and the Makers and The Wurzels. thegodneygathering.com
Wells Tortoise and Hare Run — Wells Rugby Club, Sat 18–Sun 19 Jul. Wells Classic Motorcycle Club's 15th annual charity ride for the air ambulance and blood bikes.
Othello — Bishop's Palace, Wells, Sun 19 Jul. Open-air Shakespeare in the Palace grounds. £12–£56. bishopspalace.org.uk
Glastonbury Pride — Tor Leisure, Sun 26 Jul. Pride returns in its new, larger home with music, performances and a parade. glastonburypride.co.uk
🎬 This Week at Wells Film Centre
Moana [PG] — new from Friday 10 July
Toy Story 5 [PG]
Minions & Monsters [U]
Let us promote your event - FREE
Click Here for details
English lessons - from the Uxbridge English Dictionary
B
Balderdash
A race for the folically challenged.
Baloney
The shin bone.
Bambino
An admonishing statement to a young deer.
Banquette
A very small bank.
Barbecue
A long line of plastic dolls.
Barometer
An instrument for measuring the size of wheelbarrows.
📰 In Other News . . .
🏆 Frustration as Somerset Towns Miss Out on UK Town of Culture Shortlist
Wells, Glastonbury and Shepton Mallet were among nine Somerset Council area towns that applied for the UK's first Town of Culture 2028 title — and all missed the 15-town shortlist, out of 400 applicants nationwide. Visit Somerset's Giles Adams called the result "frustrating," suggesting the competition tilted toward northern England. Each shortlisted town gets £60,000 to develop a full bid, with an eventual winner receiving £3m for cultural events.
🎬 Wookey Filming Brings TV Crews to the Village
Film crews spent two days shooting in Wookey last week, with road closures and a warm welcome from the "film-friendly" parish council. Locals believe the production is linked to BBC comedy-thriller "Am I Being Unreasonable?", starring Daisy May Cooper. Resident Anna Richards, whose mother's home was used for exterior shots, said the shoot had "given everyone something to talk about for weeks."
🍽️ Wells Restaurant “Niche” Opens a New Chapter After Sudden Change
Niche, the popular Wells restaurant, has issued a heartfelt statement to customers after the sudden departure of its head chef and business partner left owner Sue Ali "uncertain" about its future. Sue credited loyal regulars with helping the business through the transition, saying many had become "genuine friends" over the years. She said Niche is now looking ahead "with confidence" as it enters its next chapter.
🌡️ Wells BA5 Weather — Week of 11 July 2026
It's a scorcher across the Mendips this weekend and it isn't letting up — expect wall-to-wall sunshine and highs of 29–31°C every day from Saturday right through Wednesday, with just a small chance of thundery showers overnight Monday into Tuesday morning. The heat finally breaks later next week as rain moves in from Thursday, but for now it's shorts-and-sun-cream weather for WOWFest, Somerstock and the rest of this weekend's outdoor events.
Contact Mendy the Mendiplodocus
Paul Branston, Editor
Hi, I’m Paul Branston and I publish the Mendiplodocus every morning, Monday to Saturday. Each issue goes out to a growing base of thousands of local residents who want to keep up to date with events and local news. If you have events or news to share or you have a local business to promote, please get in touch.
Let us promote your event - FREE
Click Here for details
07912 499433