What's On in Essex

Langdon Home Education Group

Venue: Langdon Nature Discovery Park Centre

Website: www.essexwt.org.uk

Home education sessions will help your child develop a range of practical and social skills, whilst learning about wildlife. In relaxed outdoor settings, children can be themselves and work together to...

Guess How Much I Love You - A Garden Adventure

Venue: RHS Garden Hyde Hall

Website: www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/hyde-hall

The Guess How Much I Love You Garden Adventure is a trail inspired by the book of the same name. The trail contains a series of activities that encourage children to learn through play, using the senses...

Woodland Adventure Days

Venue: Audley End Railway

Website: www.audley-end-railway.co.uk

Enjoy off-peak, great-value days, where you can make use of the adventure playground, explore the fairy walk and ride on one of the trains! The perfect day out for parents and grandparents to take the...

Exhilarating family fun

Venue: Essex Outdoors Harlow

Website: www.essexoutdoors.com

Discover family friendly leisure activities and school holiday kids clubs to keep the kids entertained or embark on a memorable adventure to for all the family to enjoy. Harlow is an oasis of urban adventure,...

Great Notley Country Park Junior Parkrun

Venue: Great Notley Country Park

Website: www.explore-essex.com

Join this free, weekly 2k run aimed specifically at juniors aged 4 to 14 years-old. Parkrun organise free, weekly, 2km timed runs around the world for children. They are open to everyone and take place...

High Ropes Quiet Sessions

Venue: Nuclear High Ropes

Website: www.nuclearhighropes.co.uk

Embark on a uniquely tailored adventure where tranquility meets thrilling heights! The exclusive Quiet Sessions have been thoughtfully designed to cater to individuals with Special Educational Needs (SEN),...

Little Monkeys Sessions

Venue: Nuclear High Ropes

Website: www.nuclearhighropes.co.uk

The new High Ropes Little Monkeys Sessions are crafted with your comfort in mind, offering access to the lower high ropes levels where you can build confidence at your own pace. Conquer your fears and...

May half term at Harlow Leisurezone

Venue: Harlow Leisurezone

Website: www.harlowleisurezone.co.uk

Enjoy fun activities such as Lazer Tag Challenge and the Mega Activity Day. Book a session at Kidzz Kingdom soft play, VertiGo Climb Challenge or Urban Limitz Adventure Trampoline Park. There’s also...

Northlands Junior Parkrun

Venue: Northlands Park

Website: www.parkrun.org.uk/northlands-juniors

A free, fun, and friendly weekly 2k event for juniors (4 to 14 year olds) held every Sunday at 9am. Free to join but you must register before you first go along. The aim is to have fun so go along and...

SEN Club

Venue: East Hanningfield Village Hall

Address: The Tye, East Hanningfield

Website: www.facebook.com/sen.club.2024

SEN Club is a lively, fun club for children with special needs and their families. There are a variety of activities for children to explore including toys, crafts and biscuit decorating. The children...

Young Farmers Club

Venue: Lambourne End

Website: www.lambourne-end.org.uk/youngfarmersclub

The young farmers will be in a group of 12 and led by one member of staff along with additional team leader volunteers. The club aims to provide opportunities for young people to develop and participate...

Home Education Forest School

Venue: Danbury Country Park

Website: www.explore-essex.com

Aimed at home educated children, this series of six sessions at Danbury Country Park includes nature activities, forest crafts, imagination, physical play and building things.Children have the opportunity...

Twelfth Night

Venue: Castle Park

Website: www.colchester-events.co.uk

Shakespeare in the Park returns to Castle Park Theatre in the Lower Bowls Green with the annual celebration of the great outdoors, great food and drink, and of course great theatre.

Twelfth Night - Outdoor Theatre

Venue: Hylands Estate

Website: www.ticketsource.co.uk/tlcm/twelfth-night

Join The Lord Chamberlain’s Men for Shakespeare’s greatest romantic comedy, Twelfth Night. With a history stretching back to William Shakespeare’s original company, they present this joyous play...

Brake's Kids Walk

Venue: Nationwide

Website: www.brake.org.uk

Take part in Brake’s Kids Walk to learn important road safety messages and shout out for children to have the right to make safe and healthy journeys. Sign up to take part in 2025 and receive your FREE...

A Midsummer Night's Dream - Outdoor Theatre

Venue: Cressing Temple Barns

Address: Braintree

Website: www.quantumtheatre.co.uk

Quantum Theatre's ever-popular production of Shakespeare’s most enduringly popular play of love and intrigue, magic and celebration set on that most dangerous of nights when fairies are abroad and nothing...

Basildon Pretty Muddy Kids

Venue: Gloucester Park

Website: https://raceforlife.cancerresearchuk.org

Pretty Muddy® Kids is a fun-packed muddy obstacle course for children aged 6-12 (over 1.2m tall). The young fundraisers climb, crawl and slide their way around the course at their own pace, accompanied...

Pipes in the Park

Venue: Castle Park

Website: www.colchester-events.co.uk

Around 200 pipers and drummers will be descending on Colchester’s Lower Castle Park and children can enjoy the inflatables, bungee trampolines and other fun activities. Entry to the park is free, so...

Taylormania

Venue: Towngate Theatre

Website: www.towngatetheatre.co.uk

The show has already taken ‘Swiftie’ fans across the world by storm, and features all of Taylor’s much loved hits including Shake It Off, Blank Space, Love Story, You Belong With Me, Look What You...

Visit the Vulcan on Father’s Day

Venue: London Southend Airport

Website: www.avrovulcan.com/events

Visit the Vulcan on Fathers' Day is a great time out for Dad on his special day. He can get a close-up look at Vulcan XL426 in its hangar and for an additional fee can climb inside for a guided tour of...

Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Venue: Cliffs Pavilion

Website: www.trafalgartickets.com/cliffs-pavilion-southend

The multi award-winning show has been performed hundreds of thousands of times including multiple runs in the West End and on Broadway, international tours in over 80 countries worldwide and has become...

Foodies Festival

Venue: Hylands Park

Website: www.visitessex.com/whats-on

Watch MasterChef champions cooking in the Chefs Theatre. Learn how to make show-stoppers in the Cake and Desserts Theatre with Bake Off winners. Try exciting flavours in The Tasting Theatre, meet Artisan...

Taylormania

Venue: Chelmsford Theatre

Website: www.chelmsfordtheatre.co.uk

Katy Ellis plays tribute to one of the leading contemporary artists of our time Taylor Swift. A self professed Swiftie, Ellis takes to the stage with a live band and dances promising to perfectly encompass...

A Midsummer Night's Dream - Outdoor Theatre

Venue: Green Island Gardens

Website: www.quantumtheatre.co.uk

Quantum Theatre's ever-popular production of Shakespeare’s most enduringly popular play of love and intrigue, magic and celebration set on that most dangerous of nights when fairies are abroad and nothing...

Professor Slug's House of Bugs

Venue: Colchester Arts Centre

Website: www.colchesterartscentre.com

Get as strong as an ant! Teach a bee how to buzz! And help a dung beetle make a pooey perfume for its big date…This interactive show is packed full of colourful puppets, catchy songs, and educational...

Sense and Sensibility

Venue: Hedingham Castle

Website: www.hedinghamcastle.co.uk

This funny, fast-paced and faithful new adaptation from the critically-acclaimed Pantaloons Theatre Company features live music, audience interaction, romance and heartbreak.Enjoy a night of fabulous theatre...

Dino Discovery Day

Venue: Colchester Zoo

Website: www.colchesterzoologicalsociety.com

Discover extinct species from millions of years ago, from gigantic carnivores to the graceful herbivores, as well as the chance to meet and greet the dinosaur friends along with their keeper. Advance booking...

Hopefield Hoedown

Venue: Hopefield Animal Sanctuary

Website: www.hopefield.org.uk

Round-up your family for a weekend of Americana entertainment. Includes live country and western musicians and singers, line dancing, mechanical rodeo bulls for children and adults, traditional fun fair...

The Smeds And The Smoos

Venue: Cliffs Pavilion

Website: www.trafalgartickets.com/palace-theatre-southend

Soar into space with this Olivier Award-nominated adaptation of the much-loved book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. Music, laughs and interplanetary adventures for everyone aged 3 and up, from Tall...

Summer Fest

Venue: Harrow Lodge Park

Website: www.haveringmind.org.uk

On Sunday there will be a range of tribute acts on the main stage such as Taylor Swift and Harry Styles, with festival production that kids will love - confetti, bubbles and more! Think live shows, including...

Jigsaw Chelmsford Summer Camp

Venue: Brian Close

Website: www.jigsaw-arts.co.uk

Learn, rehearse and perform a show in a week to family and friends on a professional stage! With sibling discounts available too it's the perfect place to keep your budding performers entertained this...

Bubble Rush

Venue: Carver Barracks

Website: www.ehaat.org/support-us-get-involved/events/bubble-rush

Bubble Rush is a foamy adventure where you’ll be surrounded by vibrant clouds of frothy fun at every turn! The course begins with a bubble blast at the start line, followed by four epic Bubble Stations...