About What’s Up Stratford | Who We Are & What We Do

What’s up, Stratford is a simple idea:

Make it easy to see what’s actually happening in Stratford-upon-Avon. Today, this week, and beyond.

Whether you live here, work here, or you’re visiting for the first time, we want you to be able to open one site and instantly see the good stuff: events worth leaving the house for, places that are genuinely worth your money, and stories from the people who keep the town ticking.

Who’s behind it?

What’s Up Stratford is run by Alex Harrington, a journalist, business consultant and lifelong Stratford regular who kept noticing the same problem: brilliant events not being advertised, independent businesses closing and locals constantly saying they had no idea what was going on in their own town.

Instead of letting great nights out, quiet walks, family events and small businesses slip under the radar, Alex decided to build one place that pulls it all together.

What we do

On What’s Up Stratford you’ll find:

  • Current events – the shows, markets, gigs, workshops and one-off happenings you can actually go to.
  • Places worth knowing about – cafés, pubs, restaurants, shops, venues and stays we’d happily send our own friends to.
  • Guides and round-ups – “this weekend”, school holiday ideas, seasonal picks, and neighbourhood spotlights.
  • Local stories – features on the people, projects and independents that give Stratford its character.

The categories you see across the site – from what’s on, to food and drink, to outdoor walks – are all built around how real people actually plan their time.

How we choose what to feature

We’re not trying to be a mystery critic or a faceless listings site.

  • We prioritise local, independent and interesting.
  • We highlight things that are useful to residents first, and great for visitors as a bonus.
  • We clearly label anything that’s paid for or sponsored – if someone has paid to be featured more prominently, you’ll know.

Community events and independent businesses can always submit details to be listed. Bigger promotional pushes sit in clearly marked partner slots.

A mix of local knowledge and clever tech

Stratford moves fast – new events pop up, menus change, venues launch and close.

To keep up, What’s Up Stratford uses:

  • Local eyes and ears – walking the town, talking to business owners, reading the boards and flyers.
  • Smart tools – to help spot new events, tidy up information, and keep listings up to date.

That means less time copy-pasting and more time making sure what you see on the site is accurate, useful and worth your evening.

For locals, visitors and businesses

  • If you live here: we want this to be the tab you keep pinned when you’re wondering what to do at the weekend.
  • If you’re visiting: we want to help you see more than just the obvious postcards, and spend your time (and money) well.
  • If you run something in Stratford: we want to send you the right people – the ones who will love what you do.

You can:

  • List your business or event using the forms on the site.
  • Say hello or suggest something via the contact page.

What’s next?

Stratford is the starting point. The goal is simple: if something good is happening here, we don’t want you to miss it.

If we do our job well, What’s Up Stratford becomes a habit – the place you check before you make plans.

And if you ever think we’ve missed something, or could be doing a better job representing the town, Alex would genuinely like to hear from you.

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