The Abingdon Operatic Society will perform Carousel by Rodgers & Hammerstein from Tue 11 – Sat 15 April at the Amey Theatre.

The Rotary Club of Abingdon are organising the 40th World Poohsticks Championship at Sandford Lock on May 28th. Buy tickets to compete at https://poohsticks.uk/. Money raised will go to Yellow Submarine, the charity that believes people with learning disabilities and autism deserve to live life to the full.

The Friends of the Abingdon Abbey Buildings Trust have a National Lottery grant to fund the project’s development phase to bring the Abbey Buildings into full use as a community hub, cultural venue and heritage attraction. The delivery phase and a further grant will depend on successful completion, local support, and fundraising.

The first AbiBinit! Litter pick of the season will be on Sat 29th April, from 10 am at Abingdon Lock to clean up the river and river banks.

The Abingdon Army Cadets are returning to strength after the pandemic disruption. They meet at their Abingdon base at Crabtree Place, Audlett Drive, on Thursday from 19:00- 21:30 and want volunteers and cadets.

Monday Night is Monday Club at Fitzharris School. It is a social club for adults with learning disabilities and a place to meet, chat, and play games. It is friendly and great fun, and they are looking for people to help. Peter Knight is the Club Leader, and if anybody is interested in knowing more, I can let you have his details.

The Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers are happy to hear from those that may want to join them. Details are at http://atmd.org.uk/. They will next be performing on Easter Saturday, 8th April: Abingdon EggStravaganza (Market Place).

Their lego mastery has gone beyond the model of the County Hall with the lego morris dancers. They also have a hat decorated with lego flowers.

The Abingdon Cycle Club (formerly the Outdoor Traders Cycle Club) meet at the Behind Bars Bike Shop or the Market Place in Abingdon for rides on Saturday and Sunday, with an additional ride on Wednesday evenings when light.

The Abingdon and District Model Railway Club had their annual ABRAIL exhibition at Abingdon and Witney College at the start of March. A Yorkshire dock layout was on display at the Clubs and Societies Day.

They have weekly meetings to run, build and talk about model railways and have two exhibitions annually. I believe they said they will have their fiftieth anniversary next year.

The Abingdon Guild of Town Criers has eleven town criers. They are volunteers who love this town. So consider whether you have a voice you can project, a sense of drama, and a love of the town. The Guild may offer you an audition.

The Abingdon Clubs and Societies Day was at the Guildhall in Abingdon today. There were 33 stalls in 4 assembly rooms, and I will feature some of them over the next four days.

Thames Ridge Scouts provide activities for hundreds of young people across Abingdon, Appleton, Chilton, Didcot, Dry Sandford, Hagbourne, Harwell, Marcham, Kingston Bagpuize and Sutton Courtenay. They are looking for leaders to help.

Abingdon Community Walks help people to be more active with walks led by friendly leaders. Their organised walks help people to get fit, explore Abingdon, and make new friends. Contact them through vivboorman531 @ btinternet.com.

The Oxfordshire Chinese Brush Painting Group meet online and in person for lessons on practising this ancient art. During and since Covid, they have lessons from a master in China. For more information contact ocpb.art @ gmail.com.

The latest initiative from Healthy Abingdon is to set up a junior park run over a 2 km course, and they are looking for volunteers to help from 8:40 to 9:40 each Sunday. Training will be given. Contact information at https://healthyabingdon.org.uk/.

Abingdon Carousel Family Center in South Abingdon helps young families. They also have a SEND group (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities). They have 241 families currently involved at the centre and need more volunteers as they get more popular. They are supported by grants from Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council and others but still need help fundraising.

A small group of Abingdon residents have set up an organisation called Madrina Oxfordshire to help young people who could not otherwise afford it, to go to their school or college prom. They picked up the idea from a very successful scheme running in Birmingham.

They are asking people to donate used Prom dresses, suits and accessories for students who might otherwise not be able to attend their Prom. This is especially relevant given the cost of living crisis but also helps reduce our environmental impact. They now have support from a local business (BH&O Solicitors) and from the Shopping centre management who have given them a space for storing (and displaying) the donations.

This dress was displayed at John Mason School in an art exhibition in 2013 ( from the blog archives).