September

Kite Festival

High fliers of the kite world, enthusiasts, artists and anyone else who wants to get involved meet early in the month at the Bristol International Kite Festival at Ashton Court Estate. The ensuing spectacle is exciting, dramatic and fun and well worth a day out.

Open Doors Day

About 60 buildings in Bristol ranging from courts to a refuse recycling plant that are normally partly or wholly closed to visitors open their doors. Many of the buildings are famed for their architecture. Bristol Doors Open Day 2004. (See Open Sesame chapter).

Organic Food Festival

There’s food for all tastes at the Organic Food Festival on Bristol Harbour side. Organic food can be bought at a special market while celebrity chefs dish up their favourite recipes.Organic Food Awards

Bristol Half-marathon

International runners compete in the Bristol half-marathon. The route passes many historic buildings.Visit Bristol

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October

Wildlife films

Wildscreen Festival is a week-long celebration early in October at the Watershed Media and Arts Centre on the dockside when international film-makers screen their latest wildlife productions. There are also debates, masterclasses and an awards ceremony for the best films.Wild Screen

Legal Sunday

High Court judges in scarlet robes and Circuit Judges wearing purple sashes join bewigged barristers, and solicitors for Bristol Law Society’s annual Legal Service. There are also lawyers from many European countries with their distinctive robes, pillbox hats and long white jabots. They process from the Council House to the Cathedral for the service at 11am on the second Sunday in October.

Redcliffe Pipe Walk

You can join the Vicar and parishioners of St. Mary Redcliffe on a walk-about to commemorate the church’s oldest gift. This was a water supply provided by Lord Robert de Berkeley in 1190. It was piped from his spring on a hilltop at Knowle to Redcliffe, two-and-a-half miles away. The Pipe Walk each Autumn – either at the end of October or early November – follows the course of the pipe. First-timers on the trek are ceremoniously bumped on a marker stone in Victoria Park. Telephone 0117 9291487.

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November

Fireworks display

A spectacular fireworks display takes place on Bristol Downs on the Saturday nearest November 5. There are also, of course, scores of other displays throughout the city and beyond.

Winter Carnivals

Somerset’s Carnival Season gets under way from November 5th, raising funds for charity. This is thought to be the largest illuminated procession of carnival floats in the world. The circuit includes Bridgwater (some 130,000 line the streets here) North Petherton, Shepton Mallet, Midsomer Norton, Burnham–on–Sea, Taunton and Wells – all on different nights. The season ends at Weston–super–Mare. Dates and times can be found at Somerset Carnivals

School´s Founder´s Day

There´s a splash of colour in Bristol city centre on the third Friday of November when hundreds of pupils from Red Maids´ School, Westbury on Trym, wearing traditional cream poke-bonnets and red cloaks, process from Bristol Bridge to Bristol Cathedral for a Founder´s Day Service at 11am.

Christmas Lights

There´s entertainment all day in the city centre as Bristol´s Christmas lights are switched on by the Lord Mayor around 5:30pm one Saturday in November. Christmas trees and lights are switched on too in the many towns around Bristol. See local press for various dates.

Christmas Market

During the last week in November and the first week in December there´s a magical Christmas atmosphere in the area around Bath Abbey. A Christmas Market with traditional wooden chalet stalls, strolling players and entertainers takes place here.

Advent Service

Churches all over Bristol have services marking the start of Advent – many designed for families – on the last Sunday in November. St. Mary Redcliffe is packed for its Great Advent Procession, which starts in darkness and continues by candlelight as the choir move around the church during the service, which starts at 6:30pm.

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December

There´s a seemingly endless round of Carol services and concerts in churches everywhere throughout December. Many are candle–lit. One of the most popular is St. Mary Redcliffe´s Christingle Service at 4pm on Christmas Eve. Children receive an orange (representing the world) which is covered in small fruits and topped by a candle, symbolising Jesus Christ.

Mummers Play

A few miles east of Bristol is the village of Marshfield where at 11am on Boxing Day the Marshfield Mummers perform a medieval morality play. This is a ten minute pageant enacting death and rebirth at the winter solstice. It all takes place in the village streets.

The Lord Mayor´s Year

The Lord Mayor of Bristol has 1,000 appointments during his or her year of office ranging from meeting Royalty on visits to the city to calling at schools and hospitals. Mayor-Making Day is normally the third Tuesday in the month, with a special ceremony in the Council House, College Green. Tickets are needed for this from the Council´s Press Office.

One of the Lord Mayor´s first major events is the Rush Sunday Service at St. Mary Redcliffe. The date is dependent on Easter but is always on the 50th day after that. For this service, Bristol´s first citizen wears full civic regalia of scarlet robe edged in fur, a feather tri–corn hat, gauntlet and chains of office. He or she arrives at the church in a horse–drawn open carriage with a mounted police escort. The church floor is covered in rushes in keeping with medieval tradition. Rush Sunday is often said to be Bristol´s most spectacular and colourful civic event.

The Lord Mayor can also be seen in full regalia at:

Harvest Bristol – St. Stephen´s Church, City Centre – September.

Legal Sunday – Bristol Cathedral, College Green – October

Remembrance Sunday – The Cenotaph, Colston Avenue – November

Roman Catholic Civic Service – Cathedral Church of SS Peter and Paul, Pembroke Road, Clifton, late January/early February

Passion Sunday – Lord Mayor´s Chapel, College Green