Canterbury Festival runs 16 to 31 October, with Circa's acrobats in the Cathedral nave. Before it, Oktoberfest on 2 October; after it, fireworks on 5 November.

Canterbury Festival takes over the city from Friday 16 to Saturday 31 October, and its biggest nights are in the Cathedral: Anna Lapwood on the organ on the opening night, then Circa’s acrobats hanging from the roof of the nave from 20 to 24 October. Before it, Oktoberfest fills Westgate Hall on 2 and 3 October and the Philharmonia plays Beethoven’s Fifth at the Marlowe. After it comes Kent Cricket’s Fireworks Evening on Thursday 5 November, which now has tickets on sale.

Updated 29 September: Anna Lapwood, both 7.15pm Circa shows and Jacqueline Wilson have sold out, and Daniel Susskind’s festival lecture has moved to Monday 12 October. Fireworks prices are now published: adults £14 early bird, juniors £6.

Everything below comes from the organisers’ own listings, read on 28 and 29 September 2026, and every entry links back to its source so you can check before you set off. For places that are open whatever the month, see our guide to things to do in Canterbury.

This week

  • Maisie Adam: Whatsherface, Wednesday 30 September, 7.30pm, the Marlowe, The Friars. £28. Stand-up from Maisie Adam’s new tour show (The Marlowe).
  • Tom Davis: Spudgun, Thursday 1 October, 7.30pm, the Marlowe. £29. Stand-up from Tom Davis (The Marlowe).
  • John Hegley’s Biscuit of Destiny, Thursday 1 October, 7.30pm, Gulbenkian, University of Kent. John Hegley’s mostly autobiographical poetry and comedy show (Gulbenkian).
  • Laibach, Friday 2 October, 7.30pm, Gulbenkian. The cult band Laibach in concert (Gulbenkian).
  • Oktoberfest Canterbury, Friday 2 October, 7pm to 11pm, and Saturday 3 October, 1pm to 5pm and 7pm to 11pm, Westgate Hall, Westgate Hall Road, CT1 2BT. Three sessions of steins, an oompah band and Bavarian food, over-18s only. Tickets £20 to £90 before fees (Oktoberfest Canterbury).
  • Philharmonia Orchestra: Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Saturday 3 October, 7.30pm, the Marlowe. £35 to £74 (The Marlowe).
  • Jazz Sabbath, Saturday 3 October, 7.30pm, Gulbenkian. Adam Wakeman’s band plays Black Sabbath songs as jazz (Gulbenkian).
  • Fright at the Museum: Tudor Traitors, Saturday 3 October to Sunday 1 November, the Beaney, 18 High Street, CT1 2RA. The museum’s family Halloween puzzle trail, £6 a trail including a prize. It is closed on Mondays except Monday 26 October, and Saturday 31 October is a dressing-up Spooky Day (Canterbury Museums and Galleries).
  • Things I Took from the Dark, told by Reece Shearsmith, Sunday 4 October, 7.30pm, the Marlowe. £46 to £60. The story of a strange house museum behind an ordinary door (The Marlowe).

Two exhibitions are on at the Beaney now. The Making of Marlowe: Poet, Playwright, Provocateur runs to Sunday 22 November in the Special Exhibitions Room (Canterbury Museums and Galleries), and Eerie: The Canterbury Bestiary, young people’s work from the festival’s public engagement programme, is free in the Front Room Gallery to Sunday 8 November (Canterbury Museums and Galleries). The Beaney is closed on Mondays.

Next week

  • Rhys James: Chop Logic, Wednesday 7 October, 8pm, Gulbenkian (Gulbenkian).
  • The Space Race Here On Earth, Thursday 8 October, 6pm, Gulbenkian. A free talk on the competing demands on land, for food, energy and nature (Gulbenkian).
  • Agatha Christie’s The Hollow, Friday 9 to Saturday 17 October, the Marlowe. A Hercule Poirot mystery, evenings at 7.30pm with 2.30pm matinees on Thursday 15 and Saturday 17 October. £19 to £90 (The Marlowe).
  • Mary Coughlan, Friday 9 October, 7.30pm, Gulbenkian. The Irish singer in concert, with a special guest (Gulbenkian).
  • Lemn Sissay: Let the Light Pour In, Sunday 11 October, 7.30pm, Gulbenkian. An evening of spoken word (Gulbenkian).

Later in October

Canterbury Festival, 16 to 31 October

The Canterbury Festival runs for sixteen days of concerts, theatre, circus, talks and family events. Most listings offer a limited number of £10 tickets to under-30s; full prices show at the booking step. Our Canterbury Festival guide covers booking, concessions and the rest of the programme (Canterbury Festival).

  • Kent College Lecture: Daniel Susskind, What Should My Children Do?, Monday 12 October, 5.30pm, Great Hall, Kent College, Whitstable Road, CT2 9DT. The economist on preparing children for a world changed by AI. It was advertised for 15 October and has moved, so it now falls before the festival opens (Canterbury Festival).
  • Anna Lapwood, Friday 16 October, 8pm, Canterbury Cathedral. The opening concert: she plays the Cathedral organ, and because the audience cannot see her, a live video feed is projected on a big screen in the nave. Sold out (Canterbury Festival).
  • The Glenn Miller Orchestra, Friday 16 October, 7.30pm, Great Hall, Kent College, Whitstable Road, CT2 9DT. The official orchestra plays the big band’s 1930s and 1940s music (Canterbury Festival).
  • Mary Portas: I Shop Therefore I Am, Friday 16 October, 7.45pm, Augustine Hall, Rhodaus Town, CT1 2YA. On shopping, risk and business as a creative act (Canterbury Festival).
  • Death of Gesualdo, with The Gesualdo Six, Monday 19 October, 7.30pm, Great Hall, Kent College. A staged, multimedia concert telling the story of the composer Carlo Gesualdo (Canterbury Festival).
  • Circa: Eternity, Tuesday 20 to Saturday 24 October, Canterbury Cathedral. Australian acrobats hang from the roof of the nave to music by Arvo Pärt. Seven shows: 7.30pm from Tuesday to Thursday, then 7.15pm and 9.30pm on Friday and Saturday. Both 7.15pm shows have sold out; the others had seats on 29 September. Advised for ages 10 and over (Canterbury Festival).
  • Braimah Kanneh-Mason and Sophia Rahman, Wednesday 21 October, 7.30pm, Great Hall, Kent College. Violin and piano recital (Canterbury Festival).
  • Britten Sinfonia’s Surround Sound Playlist, Tuesday 27 October, 7.30pm, Canterbury Cathedral. More than 100 musicians with Tenebrae play around an audience lying on mats in the nave. Floor tickets are pay what you can, £15 to £55 (Canterbury Festival).
  • Canterbury Festival Family Takeover, Saturday 31 October, 10am to 4pm, Malthouse Theatre, CT2 7JA. Free and ticketed family shows and workshops all day, including Jacqueline Wilson at 2pm, which has sold out (Canterbury Festival).

Also in late October

  • Marlowe and Spycraft, talk, Saturday 17 October, 11am to 12.30pm, Learning Lab, the Beaney. Nadine Akkerman on Marlowe and Elizabethan espionage, then a letterlocking demonstration by Daniel Smith. £6, or £5 for members (Canterbury Museums and Galleries).
  • Paranormal Activity, Tuesday 20 to Saturday 24 October, the Marlowe. A haunting thriller about a couple who move from Chicago to London to escape their past. Evenings at 7.30pm, matinees at 2.30pm on 22 and 24 October. £19 to £82 (The Marlowe).
  • Gregory and Peti’s Creature Trail, Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November, Canterbury Cathedral, during opening hours. Find the animals in the stone and stained glass. Included with admission, and children go free (Canterbury Cathedral).
  • Nish Kumar: Angry Humour From a Really Nice Guy, Sunday 25 October, 7.30pm, the Marlowe. £29 (The Marlowe).
  • Embroider a Beast of the Bayeux, Monday 26 to Friday 30 October, 11am to 3pm, Canterbury Cathedral. Stitch one of the Bayeux Tapestry’s animals; included with admission (Canterbury Cathedral).
  • High Society, Tuesday 27 to Saturday 31 October, the Marlowe. The musical, evenings at 7.30pm with 2.30pm matinees on 28, 29 and 31 October. £32 to £98 (The Marlowe).

Half term has its own page: October half term in Canterbury.

November

  • Sylvia, Monday 2 to Saturday 7 November, the Marlowe. The show about the activist Sylvia Pankhurst, evenings at 7.30pm with 2.30pm matinees on 5 and 7 November. £18 to £85 (The Marlowe).
  • Kent Cricket’s Fireworks Evening, Thursday 5 November, from 5pm, St Lawrence Ground, Old Dover Road, CT1 3NZ. The district’s big bonfire night display, with live music and a food village. Early bird tickets are £14 for adults (£16.50 once they go) and £6 for ages 4 to 15; the £12.50 priority tickets have sold out, and last year the whole event sold out (Kent Cricket). More on our Canterbury fireworks page.
  • Marlowe vs Shakespeare, talk, Saturday 7 November, 11am to 12.30pm, Learning Lab, the Beaney. Rory Loughnane of the University of Kent on the two playwrights born weeks apart in 1564. £6, or £5 for members (Canterbury Museums and Galleries).
  • Courtney Pine: Out of the Ghetto, Saturday 7 November, 8pm, Gulbenkian. Billed as a modern-day jazz story (Gulbenkian).
  • East Bridge Chorale: Brahms, A German Requiem, Sunday 8 November, 6pm, Gulbenkian (Gulbenkian).

Further ahead, the Marlowe’s pantomime opens on 27 November (Canterbury panto), and the Cathedral’s Christmas services are on our Cathedral Christmas page.

Regular events

  • Canterbury parkrun, every Saturday at 9am, from the Pavilion, Parkwood Road, University of Kent, CT2 7SR. Free, but register once before your first run (parkrun).
  • Whitstable parkrun, every Saturday at 9am on Whitstable Promenade. Free, register first (parkrun).
  • Herne Bay Market, every Saturday, 10am to 4pm, Mortimer Street (Visit Canterbury).
  • The Goods Shed, the daily farmers’ market next to Canterbury West station, Station Road West, CT2 8AN. Open Tuesday to Saturday 9am to 6pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm, closed Mondays (The Goods Shed).

Getting there

The Marlowe, the Beaney and the Cathedral are all inside the city walls, within ten minutes’ walk of each other. The Gulbenkian, Kent College and the parkrun are up the hill on the Whitstable Road side of the city. Our parking page has the car parks and park and ride sites, and the roadworks and travel page lists closures and rail engineering work before a weekend trip.

Send us your event

Running something in Canterbury, Whitstable or Herne Bay? Email hello@canterburylive.co.uk with the date, time, venue, price and a photo. Listings are free, and we add them to this page and to the diary on our What’s On section.

Sources