Looking for an event to feature? Here’s our pick of the best events coming-up in September. As ever, please check individual websites for the latest details.
Heritage Open Days
8-17 September 2022
www.heritageopendays.org.uk
England’s largest festival of history and culture is back for 2023. Every September thousands of volunteers across England organise events to celebrate the nation’s history and culture – all of which are free to explore. The national website lists all events by county, but there are also some more local roundups from some of our destinations:
East Yorkshire –
Hull –
Lincolnshire –
Stoke-on-Trent –
HULL
Botanical Blueprints Exhibition
Studio Eleven
Until 5 November 2023
Free entry
https://studioeleven.co.uk/botanical-blueprints/
A Freedom Festival exhibition featuring cyanotype prints by Angela Chalmers, using a 19 Century printing process and camera-less photography techniques, and stunning sculptural ceramics by Adele Howitt.
Circus Zyair
East Park
6 – 10 September 2023
Tickets from £12.99
www.visithull.org/whatson/circus-zyair/
A thrilling new circus show featuring 30 adrenaline-fuelled performers from across the globe. From fearless acrobats to daredevil stuntmen, Circus Zyair guarantees maximum thrills with its performers risking life and limb on a daily basis for your entertainment.
Humber Science Festival
University of Hull and across the city
7 – 10 September 2023
Free entry
https://scifest.hull.ac.uk
Shows, tours and workshops celebrating science in its broadest sense, including maths, medicine, engineering, technology, innovation and history of science including The Periodic Dinner Table show, How the Universe will end show and a Chemistry Escape Room.
Hull Street Food Night
Zebedee’s Yard
28 September 2023
Free entry
www.visithull.org/whatson/hull-street-food-nights/
Catch the last event of the year, as street food returns to the street in the 2017 UK City of Culture. More than 30 high-quality local food vendors and a host of bars turn Zebedee’s Yard and Princes Dock Street in to a nightime piazza with bistro tables and chairs, music and entertainment.
EAST YORKSHIRE
Tour of Britain
Goole to Beverley
5 September
Free to spectate
The East Riding of Yorkshire will host a full stage of the Tour of Britain, the UK’s leading cycle race, for the first time ever. The region will welcome over 100 of the world’s best riders for stage three of the race, which will take place from Goole to Beverley. From Goole town centre the race will wind through East Yorkshire’s towns and countryside before finishing at the racecourse on Beverley Westwood
Walking East Yorkshire Festival
9 – 22 September 2023
www.walkingeastyorkshirefestival.co.uk
Celebrate the ‘Great Outdoors’ with a packed programme of activities at the annual festival. Whether a walker, cyclist, horse rider, nature lover or history enthusiast, the festival showcases a whole host of activities over 14 days.
Land Sand Stone Art Festival
Bridlington and Sewerby Hall
9 – 10 September 2023
A weekend-long celebration of the seaside town’s coastline through creative connections to nature, the festival is organised by Responsible Fishing UK in association with Visit East Yorkshire. Artists from across the UK and beyond will once again be working with natural, recycled and up-cycled materials to create eye-catching temporary artworks.
Bridlington Comic Con
Bridlington Spa
10 September 2023
Tickets: £8 adults, £5 children
A day for comic fans of all ages, with special guests from TV and movies, cosplay contest, comic artists and authors, prop displays, retro video gaming and arcade machines and a creative zone for adults and kids, plus plenty more besides.
Gaia comes to Beverley
Beverley Minster
8 September – 1 October
Free entry (except on Saturday 23 September when there is a Retro Fair event with a £3 per person charge)
https://beverleyminster.org.uk/gaia/
East Yorkshire’s minster town of Beverley already counts a heavenly masterpiece as one of its top visitor attractions, but from this month, it will become home to another celestial spectacle. Gaia, a giant three-dimensional illuminated touring artwork from British artist Luke Jerram, will ‘float’ inside the Minster as part of a special exhibition.
Wold Top Oktoberfest
Wold Newton
30 September 2023
Tickets – £17 (includes 1 free pint). camping £12 per night per pitch
Enjoy a taste of the Yorkshire Wolds with Wold Top Brewery’s award-winning ales, brewed on the Mellor family farm using both home and wold grown barley – but with a twist for October. Back by popular demand will be its specially brewed Oktoberfest beer, while there will also be German food with a Yorkshire twist and an Oompah Band.
LINCOLNSHIRE
Meridian Rocks Festival
Cleethorpes
2 September 2023
Tickets from £35 per person
www.meridianrocks.co.uk
A new tribute festival hitting Meridian Showground in Cleethorpes this September, with some of the world’s leading tribute bands covering the iconic sounds of Oasis, Blur, Arctic Monkeys, The Stone Roses, and The Verve, plus a special DJ set by Happy Mondays legend, Bez!
Lincolnshire Wolds & Coast Churches Festival
2-3 and 9-10 September 2023
www.lincswoldscoastchurches.org
130 churches and chapels from across the Lincolnshire Wolds and Coast open their doors for two weekends this September. Enjoy a beautiful blend of rich architectural heritage, tranquillity and spirituality, vibrant exhibitions and music, and the surrounding Lincolnshire countryside and coastline during the four-day festival.
Gainsborough Heritage Skills Festival
Gainsborough
16 – 23 September 2023
Booking required for some workshops – see website for details
www.discovergainsborough.com/heritage-skills-festival-2023/
Visit the historic market town of Gainsborough for the Heritage Skills Festival and discover traditional, almost forgotten, skills. Take part in workshops, tours, visit the skills fair and market, and explore some of Gainsborough’s oldest buildings during the festival.
Boston Book Festival
21 – 24 September 2023
Ticket from £5, must be booked in advance
www.visitlincolnshire.com/events/boston-book-festival/
Taking place within a small area at venues around Boston’s historic Market Place, the biggest surviving medieval market square in England, the festival aims to champion diverse authors from across the local community, raise the profile of Boston nationally, and create new opportunities for all ages to access and enjoy literature. A full schedule of events ranges from poetry to ‘chicklit’, and from children’s books to historical fiction.
Luna Cinema
Lincoln Castle
21-24 September 2023
Tickets from £17.50 per person
www.lincolncastle.com/events/event/40/the-luna-cinema
Outdoor movie nights you couldn’t script any better – for a September to remember as day turns to night, soak up the atmosphere, pop the bubbly and get ready for cinema under the stars at this Norman gem of a castle. Movies set to sparkle under the stars range from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to Mamma Mia, Top Gun: Maverick and the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Food and drink will also be on sale.
No Limits Festival
Normanby Hall, Scunthorpe
23 – 24 September 2023
Free admission
Visitors to North Lincolnshire can meet illustrators, artists, musicians and poets at the No Limits Festival. Brigg-based independent bookshop, The Rabbit Hole, has brought together a packed programme of events that will see more than 40 acts appear across seven activity zones.
BURGHLEY HOUSE
Silent Disco
16 September 2023
Tickets from £26.28 – must book in advance
https://burghley.co.uk/events/silent-disco
A 90s Silent Disco like no other is coming to the Burghley House for the first time this September. Expect some of the UK’s best 90s DJs playing all your favourite tunes. Sing your heart out and dance the night away with friends surrounded by the incredible, illuminated backdrop of 16th Century Burghley House.
Autumn Wonders In The Gardens
28 September 2023
Tickets: £45 per person
Burghley’s favourite gardening duo will be guiding visitors on another behind-the-scenes tour. Head Gardener Joe Whitehead and Senior Gardener James Knight have made these occasional seasonal tours an unmissable treat and as autumn approaches they will be offering plenty of tips during an exclusive Talk, Tour and Demonstration.
STAFFORDSHIRE
Oktoberfest
Alton Towers
9 September – 1 October 2023
Day passes from £34
www.altontowers.com/explore/events/oktoberfest/
The Theme Park front lawns will be transformed into a Bavarian-themed venue, complete with constant entertainment and oompah band! A cheerful, family-friendly atmosphere…with a German twist!
The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance
Abbots Bromley
11 September 2023
Free to spectate
The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance, performed in Staffordshire since 1226, has survived for almost 800 years, and is now one of the UK’s oldest surviving annual rituals. The Horn Dancers perform their dance to music provided by a melodian player at locations throughout the village and surrounding area. An eccentric annual draw for visitors from far and wide.
Viking Festival
Drayton Manor
15 September – 1 October 2023
See website for ticket details
www.draytonmanor.co.uk/theme-park/events/vikings-festival
The ultimate family Viking Festival featuring fire eaters/jugglers, Viking drummers, late night rides, DJ party and themed food & drink.
Gaia
Lichfield Cathedral
22 September – 5 November 2023
Admission: £5 adults, £3 children
www.lichfield-cathedral.org/what-s-on/gaia
Measuring seven metres in diameter and suspended inside the nave of Lichfield Cathedral, Gaia features high-resolution NASA imagery of Earth’s surface; an opportunity to see our planet floating and rotating in three dimensions. Internally lit, it comes into its own during the evening and visitors can also join special evening events to see Gaia and the Journey Through Creation installations when the Cathedral would usually be closed.
Tamworth Food Gusto Festival
Tamworth Castle Pleasure Grounds
23 – 24 September 2023
Admission: £2.50, under 12-year-olds free entry
www.foodgusto.com/tamworth-food-gusto-festival/
Bringing together local food and drink producers with high quality musical performances that promote up and coming acts from the area, the festival offers a great range of hot food along with shopping opportunities and family entertainment.
Leek Blues & Americana Festival
Leek Town Centre Venues
27 September – 1 October 2023
See website for ticket details
Five days of free shows in town centre venues, street performances and headline acts including Nine Below Zero, Fine Lines, Climax Blues Band and Debbie Bond.
STOKE-ON-TRENT
Future Fest
World of Wedgwood
2 September 2023
Free entry
www.worldofwedgwood.com/content/future-fest-2023
Filled with immersive shows, activities for the kids, street food, artisan market and workshops, hands on educational talks from the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust and live music acts. New for 2023 is the Kids Corner, with a variety of shows and workshops.
British Ceramics Biennial
23 September to 5 November 2023
www.britishceramicsbiennial.com
One of the UK’s biggest ceramics celebrations is heading back to the spiritual home of British pottery this autumn and in a new venue – a historic church built ‘by the potters, for the potters’. Staged every two years, the British Ceramics Biennial has grown to be the country’s single largest contemporary ceramics event, and for the eighth time it will take place across Stoke-on-Trent, a world capital of ceramics.
HAMPSHIRE
The Big Eat
Royal Victoria Country Park, Southampton
Free entry
8-10 September 2023
https://hampshirestreetfoodawards.co.uk/
The Hampshire Street Food Awards are back and bigger than ever, culminating in the best being crowned at a huge food celebration at The Big Eat Festival. Enjoy food and drink from the best traders in the county, along with a host of entertainment across the three days including fun fair, silent disco and live music.
West Meon Music Festival
14 – 17 September 2023
Various prices
https://westmeonmusic.co.uk
This year’s West Meon Music Festival, now in its 13th year, promises a wide range of classical music to appeal to all tastes: favourite chamber pieces, song and piano recitals, early music and composers from Monteverdi to Mahler, Schubert to Schoenberg.
Southampton International Boat Show 2023
15 – 24 September 2023
Tickets from £26 per person
www.southamptonboatshow.com/
Now in its 54th year Britain’s largest festival of boats, is back and bigger than ever. From paddle boarders to super-yacht fanatics, there is something for everyone.
Portsmouth Formula Kite European Championships
19 – 24 September 2023
Free to spectate
This exciting discipline of kiteboarding will make its Olympic debut at Paris 2024, and Europe’s best riders are expected to be in Portsmouth as they vie not just for the title of European Champion but also as they aim to qualify their nations for the Olympic Games. Eastney beach provides the perfect viewpoint to watch the high-octane racing, which will take place just a few hundred metres from the shore. The Event Village will feature music, food and drink stalls, kids activities and a big screen to view all the action on the water.
Evening Owls
Hawk Conservancy Trust
23 and 30 September 2023
Tickets: £21.50 per person
www.hawk-conservancy.org/evening-owls/
This autumn, join the Hawk Conservancy Trust for a special evening with their owls. As night falls, visitors will experience the owls’ graceful, silent flights in and out of the darkness over their Savannah Arena and amongst woodland. Before the flying displays, there will be chance to explore parts of the grounds to meet some of the other owls.
