Ignition Gloucestershire exists to help the churches, charities and community organisations in the southern part of Gloucestershire reach out into their communities by helping them curate events and festivals that are well run and managed efficiently and effectively.
Ignition was set up in 2006 to organise a major inter-church event which took place in a 1800-seater Big Top in Stratford Park, Stroud, over 4 days in June 2007 and attracted thousands of guests. ‘Ignition07’ included a mammoth picnic and one of the largest set of Sunday School classes ever witnessed in the area with a great deal of creativity!
Since then Ignition has been at the heart of joy-filled events across the District, in particular bringing to life almost a decade of Free Family Fun Days in Stratford Park. Following the Global COVID-19 Pandemic Ignition launched a brand new Festival celebrating all things Wonderful: The Festival of Wonder began in November 2022 and has captured the hearts, minds and spirits of the local community ever since. Find out more at festivalofwonder.org or see it for yourself on Youtube
The heart of Ignition from the beginning was to put on events of a high standard which would be creative, fun, fully inclusive and accessible not only to those of the faith community but also to those who would not normally attend church and/or those who had little or no faith. At the same time we want to provide a forum for faith communities to learn and explore more about what it means to be missional in our culture, bringing the church and different communities of all faiths and none together in partnership and to challenge the sacred/secular divide. That ethos remains as we continue to showcase the Festival of Wonder and other associated events.