Kent Life

Easter Days Out

Spring into Easter

2-5 April

Tickets: contact venue

01622 765400

Leeds Castle, Maidstone

Make an Easter bonnet, then follow the Easter bonnet trail through the grounds, which will lead you to the Bunny Burrows.

Victorian Easter Weekend

2-5 April

Tickets: �7-�30

01843 842168

Quex Museum, nr Margate

Step back in time for a traditional celebration that includes a fairground, strong man, egg hunt and the chance to make bonnets and boaters. One ticket covers the whole weekend.

Thanet Beer Festival

2-3 April

Tickets: free to card-carrying CAMRA members

branch@thanet-camra.org.uk

Winter Gardens, Margate

About 200 real ales, ciders and perries, plus hot and cold food, on sale from noon until 10.30pm – or until the beer runs out on Saturday!

Easter Bunny Hunt

4 April

Tickets: �2

01580 291726

Biddenden Vineyards

Find clues around the vineyards and collect your chocolate treat, then let mum and dad stock up on award-winning wine and cider from the on-site shop. Adults can enter the Star Trek competition and be in with a chance of winning a bottle of cider.

Easter Trail

4 and 5 April

Tickets: Normal admission price, plus �2 per participating child

01732 866368

Quebec House, Westerham

Come and celebrate Easter at the home of General James Wolfe by going on an Easter trail set in the beautiful grounds. Once you have completed the trail, wander around the property and discover more about this talented military man and the dramatic battle that won America, and his tragic death.

Get an Easter Spring

7 April

01580 879820

Tickets: �3

Bedgebury Pinetum

Hunt the Easter Bunny and make a chick card to take home. Just two activities on offer over the Easter period at Bedgebury Pinetum. Families can enjoy a self-guiding trail around the site, as they hunt for that elusive rabbit, as well as marvel at the wildlife, flora and fauna that surrounds them. No booking necessary.

Chocolate Club

16 April

Tickets: �20

01732 866368

Chartwell House, Westerham

Definitely not for the faint-hearted. If your passion is chocolate, this is the place for you.

Come and enjoy a chocolate-themed lunch in the company of fellow sweet-toothed fans. Might be advisable just to have a light breakfast, so you are ready for all that comes at lunch.

Unique Events

Quadrophenia

3 April

Tickets: �12

01843 832019/01843 867281

Carlton Cinema, Westgate

For just one day, the Carlton Cinema will be sent back in time to the 1960s with a special screening of legendary film Quadrophenia, appearances by writer Paolo Hewitt and Roger Burton, Quadrophenia's costume designer, and a chance to experience the legendary Ronie Lane Mobile Recording Studio in which The Who recorded their original Quadrophenia concept album.

Fun quiz evening

10 April, 7.30pm

Tickets: �10

01732 360189

Weald of Kent Grammar School, Tonbridge

Raise money for the Hospice in the Weald and test your brainpower, too, in this fun quiz evening.

Ticket price includes a ploughman’s dinner. Table of six to eight people preferred. More details from Sue Hansell (see above).

British Eventing

24 to 25 April

Tickets: Depend on classes entered

01474 812121

Nurstead Court

Staged in 400 acres of farmland at Nurstead Court, competitors and spectators are guaranteed a wonderful weekend full of equine action as the horses are put through their paces.

Entertainment

The Rat Pack Live From Las Vegas

1 April to 4 April

Tickets: From �22

01322 220000

The Orchard, Dartford

Join the coolest cats in town, as Frank, Sammy and Dean swing back to The Orchard and dazzle audiences with a song and dance show like no other. With such timeless hits as Witchcraft, Mr Bojangles, Fly Me To The Moon, how can you not have the time of your life?

Family Events

Japanese culture and arts

12 April

Tickets: contact venue

01892 872746

Chiddingstone Castle, Edenbridge

Famous for its collection of Japanese antiquities, Chiddingstone Castle is offering the opportunity to discover some of the links that the castle has with the Far East. Find out about some of the festivals or try your hand at some traditional Japanese art.

Tulip Fever

20-27 April

Tickets: Contact venue

01622 765400

Leeds Castle, Maidstone

See the grounds of Leeds Castle explode into colour as the ground is carpeted with a riot of colour thanks to thousands of tulips. The interior of the castle continues the theme with stunning tulip arrangements complementing the d�cor.

Music

Popular Classics

28 March

Tickets: �20 to �32

01322 220000

The Orchard, Dartford

Featuring classical favourites such as Mozart's Marriage of Figaro Overture, the Royal Philarmonic Orchestra will be conducted by maestro Simon Wright, and award-winning pianist Lucy Parnham will make an appearance.

The Solid Silver 60s Show

30 March

Tickets: �21 and �23

01322 220000

The Orchard, Dartford

This event promises a wonderful trip back to the swinging sixties in the company of Dave Berry, Mike Pender, Brian Poole, Peter Sarstedt, Vanity Fare, The Swinging Blue Jeans and very special guests, The Troggs. Expect Wild Thing and a wealth of 60s specials.

Kent Music in Medway & Kylie Tribute Show

Latin American Jazz

9 April, 7.30pm

Tickets: �10 (concessions available)

01634 338338

The Brook Theatre, Chatham

Kent Youth Jazz Orchestra plays a

one-off special afro-Cuban and Latin American evening of music with special guests Snowboy and the Latin Section.

New World Symphony

10 April, 7.30pm

Tickets: �14 & �12 (concs. available)

01634 338338

Central Theatre, Chatham

Kent County Youth Orchestra will play Dvorak’s New World Symphony.

Broadway Showstoppers

11 April, 7.30pm

Tickets: �12 & �10

(concessions available)

01634 338338

The Central Theatre, Chatham.

Kent Youth Choirs and Kent Youth Wind Orchestra come together for a one-off concert in celebration of Broadway Showstoppers, with everything from A Bernstein Tribute to Les Miserables. This will be the first time this year that the two county groups have joined forces.

Italian Sacred Music

24 April, 7.30pm

Tickets: �15 (�5 for full-time students)

01474 816684

Rochester Cathedral, Rochester

Gravesham Choral Society and Orchestra will be staging its spring concert in the wonderful surroundings of Rochester Cathedral. There will be performances of Rossini's Stabat Mater and Puccini's Messa di Gloria. Soloists include Sophie Bevan and Juliet Schiemann, Nichoals Ransley and Martin Robson.

Fiddler on the Roof

28 April to 1 May

Tickets: �16

01689 820448

The Stag Theatre, Sevenoaks

Petts Wood Operatic Society is celebrating its 75th anniversary with a a version of the much-loved Fiddler on the Roof. Packed with classics, including If I Were A Rich Man and Matchmaker, this is a fitting choice to celebrate such a milestone. John Coleman plays Tevye, coming to terms with a changing world as a Russian Jew in the early 20th century.

Theatre

Witness for the Prosecution

12-17 April

Tickets: Various

01892 530613/01892 532072

Assembly Hall, Tunbridge Wells

Mistress of suspense Agatha Christie has captivated readers for decades, and now one of her mysterious masterpieces comes to Tunbridge Wells. Leading the cast is Foyle's War star Honeysuckle Weeks, with Denis Lill, Ben Nealon and Robert Duncan. When Emily French is found dead, Leonard quickly becomes the prime suspect. Can he clear his name? Is he guilty?

WIN Dinner at the Hotel du Vin

If you would like to enjoy a three-course dinner* for two people at Hotel Du Vin, opposite the Assembly Hall, before watching a performance such as Witness for the Prosecution, just answer the question below:

Q: Who played Romaine Vole on the 1957 film adaptation of Witness for the Prosecution?

**Dinner includes a side dish per person with main course, excludes drinks, and must be taken mid week.

Send your answers to:

editor@kent-life.co.uk or on

a postcard to

Hotel du Vin competition,

Kent Life, Baskerville Place,

28 Teville Road, Worthing, West Sussex BN11 1UG.

Closing date: 30 April 2010.

Conferences

Keeping the lights on

20 April

Tickets: �20 for CPRE members/ �100 for non-members

01303 815180

The Pines Calyx, St Margaret's Bay, near Dover

Aimed at demonstrating new ways to conserve and generate energy, with guest speaker Sir Crispin Tickell, expert on climate change.

London Life

Irving Penn Portraits

Until 6 June

Tickets: �25 (�20 concessions)

0844 579 1924

National Portrait Gallery

Irving Penn is one of the most influential and prolific photographers of the ‘fashionable and the famous’, as the New York Times once said.

With more than 120 images on show, spanning a 70-year career, this exhibition perfectly demonstrates his unique style and approach to capturing the ‘great and the good’ on film. Figures Penn shot include Edith Piaf, Pablo Picasso, Truman Capote and Christian Dior.

Women Beware Women

20 April to 8 June

Tickets: From �10 to �30

020 7452 3000

National Theatre

As part of the Travelex season, The National Theatre is putting on this black comedy, which moves along at light speed. This Jacobean work has everything – power, corruption and lust – in spades. A twice-divorced widow conspires against her sex within the Italian court. Harriet Walters stars alongside Samuel Barnett.

Rhod Gilbert and the cat that looked like Nicholas Lyndhurst

23 to 24 April

Hammersmith Apollo

Tickets: �22

08448 44 47 48

The self-styled Welsh misery returns to the London stage with his latest show. The ‘curmudgeon from Carmarthern’ is renowned for poking fun at the fakery of modern life, as well as taking a pop at his (usually beloved) Welsh homeland. Packed with gags galore and a whole host of amusing anecdotes, make sure you don’t miss one of comedy's best talents.

Kings and Rogues

23 April to 2010

Tickets: contact venue

020 7401 9919

Shakespeare's Globe

This year’s season at the Globe focuses on those roguish and regal characters that pop up so frequently in Shakespeare's works. Often acting as counterbalances to each other, Shakespeare’s monarchs can be cruel and cold or deliciously mischievous, while his rogues can often turn out to be the voices of reason among much chaos and upheaval. Plays being performed throughout the season include Henry IV, The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry VIII, but the season opens with the legendary play, Macbeth. Don’t miss your opportunity to revel with the Regents as they play havoc with their subjects.

DON'T FORGET

To plan your journey, visitwww.nationalrail.co.uk andwww.tfl.gov.uk/tube

To plan your journey, visitwww.nationalrail.co.uk andwww.tfl.gov.uk/tube

Got an event on that readers of Kent Life would love to go to?

Send all the details in to: goodtimes_kent@hotmail.com.