All you need to know to plan your best-ever November days out, from fireworks to Christmas fairs
The Kent Life Diary Christmas events
Festive Fair
20 to 21 Nov
Tickets: Entry fee + additional �2 for fair
Tel: 01622 765400
Leeds Castle, Maidstone
How about a Christmas shopping excursion that will be fun for all the family? Look no further than Leeds Castle’s Festive Fair, which is being held in the grounds of the historic building. There will be everything on offer from stocking fillers and gift ideas to crafts and fashion. Of course, there will also be a special area devoted to mouth-watering festive foodstuffs and some Christmas tipples for you to enjoy.
Christmas Fair
20 Nov
Tickets: 50p
Tel: 01634 831163 (for more info)
Wisdom Hospice, Rochester
Start your Christmas shopping early and help a good cause at the same time.
There will be stalls selling a wide range of festive treats, including jewellery, handbags, candles, soaps and cakes. The Friends of the Wisdom Hospice’s range of Christmas cards and goods will also be on sale, and there will be plenty of games to try. And for those that believe, Father Christmas will be making time in his busy schedule to visit.
Christmas Parade
25 Nov
Tickets: free
Tel: 01622 356580
Fremlin Walk, Maidstone
Father Christmas, Reindeer, children’s characters, panto acts, elves, snowmen and the bog countdown to a Christmas light switch-on. This can only mean one thing: Fremlin Walk’s Christmas Parade is back again. Make sure you get down there and enter into the festive spirit.
Unique Events
Folkestone Book Festival
5 to 13 Nov
Tickets: Varies
Tel: 01303 858500
Quarterhouse, Folkestone
Alexei Sayle, Germaine Greer, Ron Moody, Peter Snow and Brian May are just a few of the well-known names taking part in this year’s book festival at Folkestone. There will also be a short story competition and a specially created free event for children – Scientriffic – as well as live music, comedy and creative writing workshops and film screenings. This year’s event also marks the launch of the Folkestone Anthology.
A Morning With… Sarah Raven and Juliet Nicolson
5 Nov and 19 Nov
Tickets: �30 for each event
Tel: 01580 710700
Sissinghurst Castle, Biddenden
For those of you with a passion for exotic plants, don’t miss your chance to spend a morning with the gardening and cookery writer Sarah Raven (5 Nov). Quiz her on the best flowers for your garden and when to start planning for next season. Alternatively, in the week after the anniversary of the burial of the Unknown Soldier, Juliet Nicolson will be talking about her latest book, The Great Silence, 1918-1920, Living in the Shadow of the Great War (19 Nov)
Outdoor Events
Electric Forest
Until 7 November
Tickets: Contact venue
Tel: 01580 211 781
Bedgebury Pinetum, Goudhurst
See the trees in a brand new light, quite literally. The trees will be specially illuminated by an expert visual arts team, and the walk (appx 2km in length) will be further enhanced by music and interactive installations dotted about discreet locations throughout the trail. It will be a sensory experience that taps into your senses and will allow you to lose yourself in an ‘electric’ dream or two as you take on the trail.
Autumn Sundays
Until 31 Oct
Tickets: �5 (50p child)
Tel: 01580 241344
Hole Park Gardens, Cranbrook
Take a trip through the tranquil environment that is Hole Park Gardens as autumn edges ever closer to winter, and glimpse the transformation, as the leaves change colour from greens, to reds, yellows and golds and eventually drop to the floor.
Stardust Memories
19 Nov
Tickets: �10 (Frant Stores)
Tel: 01892 750665 or 01892 750845
The Church of St Alban, nr Tunbridge Wells
Martin Nicholls and the Broadway Band, along with special guest, trumpet virtuoso
Andy Woon, will be playing some of the music from such legends as Hoagy Carmichael, Louis Armstrong and Bix Beiderbecke. The evening will feature such standards as Stardust, Georgia, The Nearness of You, Lazy Bones and many, many more.
Italian Food Market
5 to 6 Nov
Tickets: Free
Tel: 01622 356580
Fremlin Walk, Maidstone
Go Italian on bonfire night this year thanks to the Italian Food market in Fremlin Walk. Rustle up some Italian delicacies and make your bonfire night not only go with a bang, but a Continental sizzle as well. You can choose from mouth-watering traditional foodstuffs and whole lot more besides.
Fireworks festivals
Dunorlan Park
6 Nov
Tickets: �6 and �4 (on the gate)
Tel: 01892 515 675
Dunorlan Park, Tunbridge Wells
One of the biggest attractions that Tunbridge Wells has to offer is once again upon us. In the wonderful setting of Dunorlan Park, the fireworks festival is a must-see if you are in the area. The lake act as a perfect reflective surface for all the fireworks action going off in the sky, and thanks to the marvellous restoration work carried out in the park, it is now a perfect locale for such an event.
Leeds Castle Fireworks
6 to 7 Nov
Tickets: from �17
Tel: 01622 765400
Leeds Castle, Maidstone
A stunning foreworks display set to some foot-tapping film scores, the Leeds Castle Fireworks Spectacular is hailed as one of the most dramatic displays in kent. Of course, it is helped no end by the fact that the Castle itself supplies one of the most awe inspiring backdrops you could dream of.
Bonfire and Firework Spectacular
6 November
Tickets: �6.50 to �8.50
Tel: 01622 763936
Kent Life, Maidstone
Gasp as fire breathers light the grand bonfire and then join in the countdown for the fireworks to start. A wonderful celebration of all things that go whiz and bang. There will also be a ‘Tunnel of Doom’ glow sticks galore and fire performers throughout the evening. Of course, there will be plenty of food and drink to keep you warm should it get a little nippy
Comedy
Ross Noble: Nonsensory Overload
8 to 9 Nov
Tickets: �21
Tel: 01892 530613
Assembly Hall, Tunbridge Wells
Back from his travels in Australia, Noble returns to British shores and gets back to what he is good – and renowned – at: spinning forth hilarious nonsense just to make you laugh. Don’t miss your chance to see one of the brightest comedians on the UK circuit at the moment.
Music
Blake
7 Nov
Tickets: �15 and �22.50
Tel: 01322 220 000
Orchard Theatre, Dartford
‘Classically’ bridging the gap between classical and pop, Blake perform such beautiful and popular songs such as Bridge Over Troubled Water and Nessun Dorma. The group’s diverse approach has helped propel them to the forefront of the nation’s attention, which was rewarded when members Humphrey Berney, Jules Knight and Ollie Baines scooped an award at the Classical Brits. Never one to rest on their laurels, Blake have also enjoyed number one albums in South Africa and Australia. Don’t miss your chance to see the group when they arrive in Kent.
Mozart and Durufl� Requiems
20 November
Tickets: �12 (�5 for full-time students)
Tel: 01474 816684
St George’s Church, Gravesend
From Mozart’s stirring opening to Durufl�’s ethereal closing chords, this is an evening of music that will inspire and lift you up to unseen heights. The Gravesham Choral Society, together with some first-rate soloists, and an orchestra conducted by Alan Vincent will be performing these well-known and much-loved pieces of music.
Opera
My Fair Lady
24 to 27 Nov
Tickets: �16
Tel: 01689 820448
The Stag, Sevenoaks
To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Petts Wood Operatic Society, a new version of the well-known My Fair Lady will be coming to the Stag’s stage in Sevenoaks. Well worth a look, in our opinion.
Theatre
Southborough Community Play
12 to 13 Nov
Tickets: �5
Tel: 01892 538378
St Thomas’s Church, Southborough
St Thomas’s is 150 years old this year, and to celebrate such an event, a play will be staged that has been inspired by last year’s performance of Vanishing Elephant. The church space is being used to stage half-a-dozen short scenes that tell the tale of how the church was founded, the construction of the attractive and popular building, and the characters from the local community that have made the place so special.
The Madness of George III
11 to 13 Nov
Tickets: �18.50
Tel: 01892 530613
Assembly Hall, Tunbridge Wells
From the pen of Alan Bennett, The Madness of George III is a brilliant exploration of duty and kingship. It is an epic play about the ties that bind us together as family, as a society and as a nation. Gripping drama, dangerous politics and irreverent comedy collide in a rollercoaster ride where the health of the nation is at the mercy of the mental health of one man.
LONDON LIFE
Journey Through The Afterlife: The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead
4 Nov to 6 Mar 2011
Tickets: �10 to �12
Tel: 020 7323 8299
British Museum
Uncover the spells and incantations needed to guarantee safe passage to the afterlife from the Ancient Egyptians by visiting this wonderfully enlightening exhibition. Drawing on the museum’s substantial collection of Books of the Dead on papyrus, visitors can see beautifully illustrated depictions of the netherworld and the god and demons that dominated Egyptian’s lives at the time. Alongside these documents, there will be displays of funerary regalia and jewellery, kindly provided by other museums across the world.
Spirit of Christmas Fair
3 to 7 Nov
Tickets: Contact venue
Tel: 020 7385 1200
Olympia, Hammersmith
What could be better than completing all of your Christmas shopping in one fell swoop and under one roof? Expect the finest seasonal products, from decorations and home accessories to children’s toys and seasonal grub, and everything in between. Of course, once you have finished shopping you can browse the food hall and tuck into a number of festive goodies, including sweets, treats, and other seasonal consumables. This is a perfect event to get yourself in the mood for Christmas, as well as take all the hassle out of finding that unique present for that special someone.
Bonfire Night in the Capital
5 November
Tickets: Varies
Tel: Varies
Various venues across London
Like your Bonfire Night to go with a bang? The capital offers all manner of events designed to mark the anniversary of Guy Fawkes’ Gunpowder plot. Alongside the traditional approaches of bonfires and fireworks, there will also be funfairs, processions and festivals. There will be huge displays staged across London, including ones in Ravenscourt Park, Victoria Park, and Alexandra Palace, to name three.
Lord Mayor’s Show
13 Nov
Tickets: Free
Streets of London
The Lord Mayor’s Show culminates in one of the biggest, loudest and boldest firework displays in the capital. However, before the bangs and flashes start, there is a mighty procession through the streets of the capital involving 6,000 people, military marching bands, Chinese acrobats, decorated floats and a gilded Stage Coach that the Lord Mayor travels in. A fun family day out that offers something for everyone, whatever there age.
When We Are Married
Until 26 Feb 2011
Tickets: From �19.50
Tel: 0844 412 4662
Garrick Theatre
JB Priestley’s best-loved British comedy returns to the West End, and a welcome return it is. Set in a Yorkshire town in 1908, the play tells the story of three well-to-do couples who were married on the same day in the same church, by the same vicar, who come together to celebrate a quarter of a century of wedded bliss… or that’s the plan. Outrageous revelations, embarrassing secrets, home truths and a huge helping of farce ensure that the plan goes straight out of the window.
London Jazz Festival
12 to 21 Nov
Tickets: Contact venue
Tel: 0844 875 007
Southbank Centre
Now in its eighteenth year, the London Jazz festival attracts thousands of fans and a world-class selection of performers who offer a diverse and eclectic programme of events. The Southbank Centre is the headlining venue, but there will be other events staged across London, including the Royal Albert Hall, the Barbican Centre, and legendary jazz venue Ronnie Scott’s. Tickets will be at a premium for some of the bigger shows, so book early to avoid disappointment.