"I have artism" - an exhibition of artwork and craft to mark World Autism Awareness Day
“I have artism” - an exhibition of artwork and craft to mark World Autism Awareness Day
Saturday 29th March - Sunday 6th April in The Oxford Arms Barn
To mark World Autism Awareness Day on Wednesday 2nd April, The Oxford’s barn is hosting an exhibition of artwork and craft born from the mind of an autistic teenager. Visit during any of our events that week to see the work of Arley, a talented young local artist! We’ll be open Saturday 29th March, 5-9.30pm, Sunday 30th March, 12-4pm, Wednesday 2nd April, 10am-12.30pm, and Sunday 6th April, 12-4pm.
Kington Castaways, with Beccy Haydon of The Border Bean
April’s Kington Castaways will feature special guests Beccy Haydon with Shaun from The Border Bean in Kington, a music-loving couple who enjoy travel, watching live music, and, of course, good food! Beccy and Shaun will be sharing music and stories from their lives.
Castaways starts at 2pm, bar and café open 12-4pm
Kington Folk Club Sunday Session
Join us for Kington Folk Club’s regular Sunday Sessions on 13th April. This month’s live music comes from Aberystwyth duo Brenig. Free entry, bar and café open 12-4pm, music from 1pm.
The Second Kington Marmalade Competition
The Oxford Arms is delighted to host the Second Kington Marmalade Competition on 27th April, in association with Festive Foods from the Borders! The marmalade theme will carry through the afternoon, with marmalade cakes and snacks of many kinds available from the Caravan Café, marmalade cocktails from the bar, and our regular Creative Workshop will take place from 2-4pm with a focus this month on lino printing in oranges and lemons design.
To enter the marmalade competition, pick up an entry form from The Grapevine on Kington’s High Street, or Bee’s Knees Cookshop, Church Street. The deadline for entry is 5pm, Wednesday 23rd April.
Judging will commence at 12.30pm. Creative Workshop 2-4pm, live 100 Club draw at 3pm, bar and café open 12-4pm.
Creative Workshop - Slavic-style pysanky eggs
Creative Workshop - This month, create Slavic-style pysanky eggs ready for Easter!
Sunday 30th March, 2-4pm. Suggested donation £5
Join Sarah in The Oxford’s barn this Sunday to decorate eggs in the pysanky style
Plus live 100 Club draw at 3pm!
Bar and café open throughout
RNLI charity quiz night
Charity quiz night in support of the RNLI
With food from Lockdown Dhaba
Saturday 29th March - Registration from 6pm. Quiz from 6.30-9.30pm. Entry £5pp
Food available 5-9pm
Bar open throughout
Join us for a charity quiz night & prize raffle in support of the RNLI.
Delicious vegetarian & vegan Indian food from Lockdown Dhaba will be served in the courtyard from 5-9pm!
Source painting workshop
Sunday 23rd March, 2-4pm. Painting from Inner Source, a taster workshop with Hilda Church. Try source art painting—an approach to process painting using childlike materials, like poster paint and newsprint, that engages with your inner child’s intuition. Inspired by the work of Aviva Gold, therapist and artist. Open to all, 18+, no artistic experience required!
This free taster session will be followed by seven community art sessions, Thursday 6.30-8.30pm. Course dates 3rd, 10th, 17th, 29th April, 1st, 15th, 22nd May.
Kington Folk Club Sunday Session
Kington Folk Club’s Sunday Session for March features live music from O’r Galon. The café will be serving food with a St. Patrick’s Day theme. The bar will be open throughout!
The Oxford is closed this Sunday
The Oxford Arms will be closed this Sunday, 9th March. Apologies for any inconvenience!
Join us next Sunday, 16th March, for live music from O’r Galon at Kington Folk Club’s Sunday Session. 12-4pm. Bar and café open throughout.
Sunflower Social - Hidden disabilities support group
Do you live with a hidden disability? Introducing Sunflower Social, the hidden disability support group meeting once a month at The Oxford Arms.
Join us on Wednesday March 5th to meet others and build your support network. Simply drop in to The Oxford’s barn between 10am-12.30pm, for free tea or coffee and biscuits, and an opportunity to build connections with others living with similar circumstances.
If you know someone living with a hidden disability who would benefit from this group, please share this event with them!
Let's Dance!
SUNDAY 2ND MARCH - 11AM-3PM - Let’s Dance at The Oxford
Join us this Sunday as the UK’s biggest ever dance event comes to The Oxford! Try out taster sessions of line dancing, jive, belly dancing, seated ballet, chakra, and more.
All sessions are free with no booking required - just drop by our courtyard and barn this Sunday and have fun! Every age and ability are welcome.
11am - Line Dancing with Debby
11.30am - Belly Dancing with Alanya
12pm - Groove with Elly
12.30pm - Jive with Cool Moves
1pm - Seated Ballet with Abbie
2pm - Dance for Joy with Christine
2.30pm - Chakra with Georgie
Let’s Dance is a national campaign to inspire everyone in the UK to embrace dance as a way to improve their health, connect with others, and have fun.
Our cafe and bar will be open throughout the event.
March events at The Oxford
Sunday 2nd March, 11am-3pm. Let’s Dance! Performances and half-hour taster sessions of different dance styles, including line dancing, belly dancing, jive, dance for joy, and chakra. Bar and café open throughout.
Wednesday 5th March, 10am-12.30pm. Sunflower Social - A hidden disabilities support group and network, meeting monthly in The Oxford’s barn on the first Wednesday of the month during our regular Places Of Welcome opening hours.
Saturday 8th March, 10.30am-12.30pm, and Wednesday 12th March, 6.30-8.30pm. Create a stunning mandala while practising mindfulness in this free workshop with Wonky Mandalas.
Sunday 16th March, 12-4pm. Kington Folk Club Sunday Session - a chilled live music session in the barn, bar and cafe open throughout!
Sunday 23rd March, 2-4pm. Painting from Inner Source, a taster workshop with Hilda Church. Try source art painting—an approach to process painting using childlike materials, like poster paint and newsprint, that engages with your inner child’s intuition.
Saturday 29th March, 6.30-9.30pm. RNLI/Oxford Arms charity quiz night.
Sunday 30th March, 2-3pm. Creative Workshop - paint colourful Pysanky eggs
And more to come in April and May, including our annual marmalade competition and history events!
Plus our regular opening hours: Places of Welcome, every Wednesday 10am-12.30pm - drop in for a conversation and hot drink; Bar and café opening, every Sunday 12-4pm.
Creative Workshop
This month: Make clay pots using the coiling method!
Drop-in to this relaxed craft session in the barn of The Oxford Arms, and learn how to make decorative pots with air-dry clay, using the traditional “coil” method - see an example of the finished article below!
Our cafe and bar will be open for food and drinks.
No booking necessary, materials provided, payment by donation
Gypsy Jazz with Kington Folk Club
Kington Folk Club are joining us with live gypsy jazz band Fiddlebop!
Music starts at 7.30pm.
Origin Pizza’s woodfired pizza van will be serving from 6pm, and the bar will be open 6-10pm.
Workshop: Building Health Habits
THURSDAY 13TH FEB - 10.30AM-11.30PM - Healthy habits workshop
Want to build healthy habits, but finding that life gets in the way? Join a free workshop in the Oxford’s barn for practical tips and tricks that actually work!
About your workshop leader: Tamsyn Cowden is a nurse with many years experience. She recently completed a BSLM accredited course in Lifestyle Medicine and currently carries out health checks in Herefordshire.
Community Q&A
Community Q&A - Sunday 2nd February, 2-3pm
Join us in The Oxford’s barn to ask your questions to the OAK team and learn more about:
Plans and timeline for renovation work at The Oxford
What our National Lottery Heritage Grant is funding
How we’ll be developing our events program and more in 2025
Bring your questions and have your say!
Our bar and cafe will be open 12-4pm for refreshments.
Can’t make the event but have questions about the project? Email your questions to info@openarmskington.co.uk, or just put them through The Oxford’s letterbox. A full transcript of the Q&A will be shared on our website and social media following the event.
February events at The Oxford
Another bumper month at The Oxford includes live gypsy jazz with Fiddlebop (and wood-fired pizzas), workshops to help with healthy habits and creativity, an opportunity to find out more about OAK’s plans for the pub, another in our series of Kington Castaways, and a new social group for people living with hidden disabilities!
We’re open every Wednesday for Places of Welcome, and our bar and café is open every Sunday 12-4pm.
Drop-in Health Clinics
Drop by for tailored advice on heart health, stopping smoking, mental and physical health and wellbeing and more, from a range of professional healthcare teams from:
Healthwatch Herefordshire
Social prescribers
TALK community hub
Age UK
…and more
Community Q&A
Community Q&A - Sunday 2nd February, 2-3pm
Join us in The Oxford’s barn to ask your questions to the OAK team and learn more about:
Plans and timeline for renovation work at The Oxford
What our National Lottery Heritage Grant is funding
How we’ll be developing our events program and more in 2025
Bring your questions and have your say!
Our bar and cafe will be open 12-4pm for refreshments.
Can’t make the event but have questions about the project? Email your questions to info@openarmskington.co.uk, or just put them through The Oxford’s letterbox. A full transcript of the Q&A will be shared on our website and social media following the event.
January Creative Cafe - Winter lanterns
Creative Cafe is back for 2025, and we’re kicking the year off by making winter lanterns. Sarah will guide you through the process of making the lanterns - just add a string of LED lights to make your home extra cosy during the rest of the dark winter days. They’d be a great addition to your garden in summer, too!
All materials provided, with a suggested donation of £5 per session. All ages and abilities welcome.
The event will take place in the heated barn at the back of The Oxford.
Burns Night - Ceilidh in the barn
Celebrate Burns Night with a traditional Ceilidh band and barn dance, and not-so-traditional pizza from The Doughzy Mares
Bar and food from 6pm
£5 donation for the Ceilidh on the door
DJ Night with DJ Polo
DJ night in the barn with DJ Polo and special guests - bar open from 6pm, music from 7pm onwards
Plus loaded jackets and nachos from Lovely Spudly, served from 6pm
Free entry, all welcome!
Creative Writing Course
Writer and author Sarah Star is returning with another 6-session course, suitable for all: whether you’re a creative writing beginner, looking to hone your skills, or just need a push to get going!
Course dates will be 6-8.15pm, Feb 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th, and March 6th and 13th, £5 suggested donation for each class
Not sure if the course is for you? Join a FREE TASTER SESSION - Sunday 19th January - 2-3.30pm
New Year's Eve at The Oxford
NEW YEAR'S EVE - LIVE MUSIC & BAR - 6-10PM
Still not made plans for New Year's Eve this Tuesday night? Join us at The Oxford for live music in the barn from 6-10pm: acoustic melodies from LIV42DAY, plus guaranteed entertainment from alternative folk duo Diego Brown & The Good Fairy
The bar will be serving Hobsons, Lucky 7, Robinson’s, Staropramen, wines and soft drinks - and you're welcome to bring your own food or order in a takeaway. All ages (and dogs) warmly welcomed to our heated barn and marquee 🥳
Sunday Session with Mr H
Kington Folk Club presents a Sunday Session with bluesy singer-songwriter Mr H.
Mr H is a Singer Songwriter who is best known for his wordy Jazz/Blues musical collaborations with Hawkwind Saxophonist Nik Turner and his recording sessions with John David of Rockfield and Berryhill Studio's fame.He has occasionaly appeared in festivals such as Green Man, The Acoustic Festival of Britain, The Guitar Greats Festival, Aber Jazz Festival, Tenby Blues Festival and Hay on Wye's How The Light Gets in and supported Jerry Donahue, Gordon Haskell and Wishbone Ash to name but a few.
His writing style has been compared to Chris Rea,Tom Waits,Van Morrison,Charles Bukowski and Dave Gilmour and in 2025 he will be celebrating over 50 years of songwriting,recording and performing with random solo acoustic gigs throughout Wales and the Uk.
Not a great fan of social media he currently has two Website Albums "The Ballads and Blues of Mr H" and "The Rock and Pop of Mr H" in total 72 tracks,with a free download of his current single "Friends For A While" which is slightly removed from his usual style.
Christmas Creative Cafe
Join Sarah and a friendly group of crafters for the final Creative Cafe session of 2024. We’ll be making air-dried clay ornaments - just in time to decorate your Christmas tree!
You’ll find us in the Oxford Arms barn with the heating on!
Materials provided - Payment by donation
Carols in the barn with Churches Together
Who doesn’t love a festive singalong - and a mulled wine?
Join us at 5pm for a carol concert with Churches Together, and enjoy all the classics in our atmospheric barn.
Kington Winter Food Festival - events at The Oxford
The epic Kington Winter Food Festival is here, and we’re hosting some brilliant food stalls and events at The Oxford Arms!
11am-5pm - fancy some Japanese soul food or traditional Indian street food? Miniyaki’s and Lockdown Dhaba are setting up shop for the day in our yard
11.30am - dress your four-legged friends up as much as they can tolerate to enter our CHRISTMAS BEST DRESSED DOG COMPETITION!
12.30pm & 2pm - the angelic Whitton Voices are serenading us with a selection of festive favourites and Christmas classics
2-4pm - keep your family entertained with a selection of Christmas crafts for children (and adults!) in our barn
Kington Castaways with Geoff Cooper
Sunday 1st December - 2-4pm - Kington Castaways
Author and local legend Geoff Cooper as “Nicky” shares stories from her eventful life and the music behind them.
Bar and cafe open 12-4pm, Castaways session starts at 2pm
Live music from Lake & RJ's Smoke Shack
Saturday 30th November - 6-10pm - Live music & RJ’s Smoke Shack
Acoustic session with incredible young singer-songwriter Lake, plus RJ’s legendary burgers and waffles
Free entry
Reggae night
Swap the November weather for island vibes in our barn this Friday as Steve M spins his reggae mix from 7-10pm