TO MAY 25: Rabbit trail at the Curtis Museum, Alton. Explore the museum while you try to find the rabbits. Free entry, donations welcome. Call 01420 82802.
TO MAY 30: ‘Scratching the Surface’ exhibition by local art group Borderlands at the Allen Gallery, Church Street, Alton. Open 10.30am-4.30pm, Tuesday to Saturday. Free entry.
TO MAY 30: ‘Of Land and Flower’ exhibition of contemporary watermedia paintings by Hampshire artist Libby May at the Allen Gallery, Church Street, Alton. Open 10.30am-4.30pm, Tuesday to Saturday. Free entry.
TO JUNE 24: ‘Woman’s Hour Craft Prize’ exhibition of work by the 12 finalists in the competition Run by BBC Radio 4 and the Crafts Council at Mottisfont Art Gallery (National Trust), near Romsey. Featuring some of the most innovative and exciting craft makers in the UK.
MAY 11: Alton Rock Choir will performing at St Lawrence Church, Alton, to raise money for Treloar’s College and the Organ Redeployment Fund (for St Lawrence), 7.30pm. Tickets £10 in advance or £12.50 on the door. Available from St Lawrence parish office, Resurrection Furniture Shop, 24 High Street, Alton, or Anne Cairns on 07913107790.
MAY 11: Alton U3A monthly coffee morning at the Allen Gallery, Church Street, Alton, 10.30am. Non-members welcome.
MAY 11-12: The Medstead Players present The Golden Age of Radio, a light-hearted radio variety show, at Medstead Village Hall, 7.30pm. Licensed bar. Tickets £8 from the Handy Stores or call 01420 563424. Visit medsteadplayers.co.uk.MAY 11-12: Ropley Horticultural Society plant sale, Coffee Room, Church Street, Ropley. Open Friday 2pm-5pm, Saturday 9.30am to 1pm. Locally-grown bedding, specimen plants, vegetables and perennials. Call Jill on 01962 772425.
MAY 12: Hampshire farmers’ market on Alton High Street, 9am-2pm.
MAY 12: Alton Lions craft market in Cross and Pillory Lane and the Market Square, 10am-3pm.
MAY 12: Alton Local Food Initiative seedling swap. Part of Lions craft market in Cross & Pillory Lane, Alton, 10am-3pm. Bring seedlings to swap or collect some for a small donation.
MAY 12: Medstead Gardeners’ Club annual plant sale at Medstead Village Hall, 10.30am-12.30pm. Bedding and basket plants, shrubs, perennials, fruit bushes, vegetable plants, herbs. Admission 50p. Visit medsteadgardenersclub.xyz.
MAY 12: May market at Alton Methodist Church, 10am-noon. Stalls to include plants, books, home baking and fancy goods. Coffee and cakes. Free admission.
MAY 12: Family open day to coincide with the re-opening of the Gilbert White and Oates Collections at Gilbert White’s House Museum in Selborne by BBC presenter Tom Heap, 11.30am. Featuring African dancing from the Lions of Zululand throughout the day in the garden. Site open from 10.30am. Freen entry to museum and garden. Fun, nature-inspired activities until 5pm.
MAY 13: Alton Ramblers meet 8.40am at Alton station entrance for a 12-mile walk led by Chester and Mui, starting 9.30am from Farnham station entrance (SU844465). Joining the St Swithun’s Way to Alton through farmland and countryside. Bring food and drink. (Part of Alton’s Walking Festival). Call 01420 23323 or visit altonramblers.org.uk.
MAY 13: Alton’s 35th annual 10-mile road race, starting 10.30am from the driveway of Treloar College, Holybourne, and taking runners through Holybourne, up hill to Binsted, on to Blacknest and Bentley before returning via Bentley, Isington, Binsted and Holybourne to finish at Eggar’s School. Entry £15 for UKA-attached runners and £17 if unattached. To enter online, visit altonrunners.co.uk. If the race limit of 700 hasn’t been reached it will be possible to enter on the day, for £2, at the late-entry desk at Eggar’s School. Run by Alton Runners and Alton Lions.
MAY 13: Hymns in the Wood service at the Church in the Wood, Bramdean Common, 4pm.
MAY 14-20: Cakes4Cancer. Find the star baker in your office and support families affected by cancer. Play ‘Faked or Baked’. Sign up and order your free fundraising kit at wessexcancer.org.uk/cakes4cancer or e-mail [email protected].
MAY 15: Alton Men’s Shed annual meeting at All Saints’ Parish Hall, Queen’s Road, Alton, 10am. All welcome.
MAY 15: Froyle Wildlife meeting 7.30pm at Froyle Village Hall for a talk by orchid expert and photographer Rosemary Webb on Wild Orchids of Hampshire, 7.30pm. More than 30 species can be found in Hampshire in a variety of habitats that include chalk grassland, meadows, fens, marshes and woodland. All welcome. Entry £2 members, £3 non-members. Visit froylewildlife.co.uk.
MAY 16: How do we deliver affordable low-energy buildings? At Energy Alton’s next public talk, Gary Wilburn, managing director of HPW Architecture, will explain how it is possible to build affordable, highly energy-efficient housing, using prefabricated building technologies and integrated renewable energy generation. Alton Community Centre, Amery Street, Alton, 7.30pm. Free entry, bar, all welcome. Visit energyalton.org.uk.
MAY 16: Basingstoke Run in aid of St Michael’s Hospice, starts 7pm from Down Grange Sports Complex (RG22 5SN) for 5k and 10k run around the 62-acre grounds. Online registration at basingstoke-run.co.uk. Children 16 and under £8, adults £12 (£15 late entry on the night).
MAY 16-19: Alton Operatic and Dramatic Society presents Guys and Dolls at Alton Assembly Rooms. A musical fable of Broadway based on a story and characters of Damon Runyan, music and lyrics by Frank Loesser, book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. Tickets from £11, opening night discounts and concessions available, from Wildly Upbeat Printers in Alton or online at aods.org.
MAY 17: Alton Ramblers meet 9.45am in The Bank car park (SU716393) for a seven-mile walk, starting 10am and led by Anne N. Alton Book Walk 7 via Monkwood and East and West Worldham. Part of Alton’s Walking Festival. Call 01420 23323 or visit altonramblers.org.uk.
MAY 18: Alton U3A meet 2pm at Alton Community Centre for a talk by Ann Chance entitled ‘Across America with a Wheelchair’. Although the title is serious, the content has many hilarious moments as Ann relates how she took a physically disabled lady in a wheelchair across America and then in a light aircraft into the Grand Canyon. The talk will give an insight into the difficulties encountered and how Ann dealt with them. Admission £1, all welcome.
MAY 19: Oakhanger Players present ‘Raising Martha’ - a dark comedy by David Spicer at Binsted Village Hall, 7.30pm. Tickets £10 on 01420 489089 or e-mail [email protected].
MAY 19: Grand plant sale at the Allen Gallery, Church Street, Alton, 11am-3pm. All sorts of plants, produce and garden-related objects at bargain prices. Contributions of surplus plants and produce also welcome in advance. Free entry.
MAY 20: Newton Valence village open gardens, 1pm-5pm. Six gardens open varying in size and style, to include a trellis garden, a pergola garden, an English courtyard garden, a walled garden, a garden with a view and a cottage garden. Tea and cake available in the village hall, home produce stall by village pond, plant stall. Picnic areas in parking area, around pond. Assistance dogs only. Entry £5 for adults (under-16s free). Tickets available from parking area. All proceeds to St Mary’s Church. Easy access from A3, Selborne exit, or off A32.
MAY 20: Alton Royal British Legion annual poppy walk, start 9am from the RBL clubhouse in Anstey Park, Alton, for five or 10-mile route. Ploughman’s lunch on completion. Call 01420 257177 or 07771 790228.
MAY 22: ‘Walking into the Picture’ poetry workshop inspired by the watercolours of WH Allen, Alton library, 1pm-4pm. Led by Hampshire Poet Robyn Bolam. Beginners and more experienced writers all welcome. Cost £8. Pre-booking essential at Alton library or call 01420 85734.
* If you have anything you wish to be included in the What’s On column, send details to the Alton Herald, 13 Market Square, Alton, Hampshire GU34 1HD or e-mail [email protected]. The service is free to clubs and charitable organisations.