Oktoberfest in Castle Park this Friday, 28 Banksys at the Minories from 10 October, the Colchester Fringe from 21 October, then fireworks on 5 November.

Half term is four weeks off, but Colchester’s diary is already full. Oktoberfest puts a bier tent in Castle Park this Friday and Saturday, and on Saturday 10 October The Minories opens Out of Line, 28 original Banksy works, the same day Firstsite opens a new free photography show. The Arts Centre’s Edgelands festival fills 15 to 18 October, the Colchester Fringe runs 21 October to 1 November, the Mercury’s Jane Eyre runs to the 10th, and the Castle Park fireworks are on Bonfire Night itself, Thursday 5 November.

Every listing below comes from the organiser’s own page or box office, read on 28 and 29 September 2026, and links back to it. Prices appear only where the organiser publishes one. The half term week, 26 to 30 October, has its own page: Colchester October half term covers Shriek Week at the zoo and the Castle’s Halloween programme. For places that are open whatever the month, see things to do in Colchester.

This week

  • First Thursdays: relaxed opening: Thursday 1 October, 3pm to 5pm, Colchester Castle. The Castle turns off its sounds and visual displays for visitors with autism or other sensory sensitivities (Colchester Museums).
  • Megson: Thursday 1 October, doors 7.30pm, show 8pm, Colchester Arts Centre, £20. Seated folk from a duo nominated four times in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards (Colchester Arts Centre).
  • Oktoberfest: Friday 2 and Saturday 3 October, from 5.30pm, Castle Park. A Bavarian bier tent with steins and entertainment, listed on the council’s events site (Colchester Events).
  • The Spooky Magic Show: Saturday 3 October, 11am and 2pm, Mercury Studio. A 50-minute children’s show for ages 4 and up (Mercury Theatre).
  • Colchester United v Luton Town: Saturday 3 October, 3pm, JobServe Community Stadium, Jersey Mike’s Trophy. The club lists its home league game with Port Vale, set for the same afternoon, as postponed (Colchester United).
  • Mark Thomas: 40 in Stand-Up Years: Saturday 3 October, doors 7.30pm, show 8pm, Colchester Arts Centre, £21.50 or £15.50 concessions (Colchester Arts Centre).
  • Haunting Nights ghost hunt: Saturday 3 October, 8.45pm, Colchester Town Hall. A ghost hunt in areas of the building not normally open to the public; ages 18 and over (Colchester Events).
  • Jane Eyre: running to Saturday 10 October, Mercury Theatre. Evenings at 7.30pm (7pm on Thursday 1 October), matinees at 2.30pm on 3, 6, 8 and 10 October. The Mercury’s own production, about two and a half hours with an interval, age guidance 12+; the touch tour is at 1pm on 10 October (Mercury Theatre).

Next week

  • The Delines + Seamus Fogarty: Tuesday 6 October, doors 7.30pm, show 8pm, Colchester Arts Centre, £27.50. Seated (Colchester Arts Centre).
  • Nish Kumar: Angry Humour from a Really Nice Guy: Thursday 8 October, doors 6.30pm, show 7.30pm, Charter Hall. Political stand-up, age guidance 14+ (Colchester Events).
  • Colchester Games Fair: Saturday 10 October, 10am to 4pm, Colchester Arts Centre, free. Tabletop gaming with traders, demo games and a bring and buy (Colchester Arts Centre).
  • Out of Line: Banksy and the Art of Dissent: opens Saturday 10 October and runs to 28 February, 10am to 4pm, The Minories, 74 High Street. Twenty-eight original Banksy works, most lent by John Brandler, alongside more than twenty other street artists. Adults £12.50, concessions from £7 (The Minories).
  • Against the Tide: opens Saturday 10 October and runs to 28 February, Firstsite, free. Photographs and first-hand accounts of what it is like to grow up in coastal Britain (Firstsite).
  • Jen Brister: Reactive: Saturday 10 October, doors 6.30pm, show 7.30pm, Charter Hall, age 18+ (Colchester Events).
  • The Card Show UK: Sunday 11 October, from 10am, Charter Hall. A day of collecting and trading cards (Colchester Events).
  • Mercury Meets Hugh Bonneville: Sunday 11 October, 5pm, Mercury Theatre. An on-stage talk of about an hour and 20 minutes; age 12+, under-16s with an adult (Mercury Theatre).
  • Mark Steel: Work in Progress: Sunday 11 October, doors 7pm, show 7.30pm, Colchester Arts Centre, £17.50. New material, strictly 14+ (Colchester Arts Centre).

Later in October

  • Wishbone Ash: The Time Was tour: Tuesday 13 October, doors 7.30pm, Colchester Arts Centre, £34, standing (Colchester Arts Centre).
  • Edgelands 2026: Thursday 15 to Sunday 18 October, Colchester Arts Centre. Four nights of leftfield and experimental music: µ-Ziq on the Thursday (£17), Masal on the Friday (£12), headliners Plaid on the Saturday (£20) and Jo Quail on the Sunday (£15, 7.30pm). Shows are 8pm unless stated (Colchester Arts Centre).
  • Eric & Ern: Thursday 15 and Friday 16 October, 7.30pm, Mercury Theatre. A touring comedy show, about two hours with an interval, age 8+ (Mercury Theatre).
  • Luke Combs UK: Thursday 15 October, 7.30pm, Charter Hall. A country tribute show with a five-piece band (Colchester Events).
  • Dark Castle Tours: Friday 16, Thursday 22 and Wednesday 28 October, 5.30pm to 6.15pm and 6.45pm to 7.30pm, Colchester Castle, £12.95. After-hours guided tours of the darker side of the Castle’s history; no admission ticket needed (Colchester Museums).
  • Colchester United v Exeter City: Saturday 17 October, 3pm, JobServe Community Stadium (Colchester United).
  • Indiepalooza: Saturday 17 October, doors 6pm, start 7pm, finish 11pm, Charter Hall. Tribute acts for The Killers, Arctic Monkeys, Oasis, Kasabian, Sam Fender and Kaiser Chiefs (Colchester Events).
  • Colchester Fringe Festival: Wednesday 21 October to Sunday 1 November, Mercury Studio and Colchester Arts Centre. Fringe theatre, dance and comedy, starting with Mother Trucker in the Mercury Studio on the 21st. At the Arts Centre, Tymisha Harris plays Josephine, the one-woman musical about Josephine Baker, on six dates from 23 October (£12, age 16+), and there is a ceilidh night on 27 October (£8). Arts Centre tickets run £8 to £12 (Colchester Fringe; Colchester Arts Centre).
  • The End of the World According to Jonathan Pie: Sunday 25 October, doors 5pm, start 6pm, Charter Hall (Colchester Events).
  • Rhys James: Chop Logic: Sunday 25 October, 7.30pm, Mercury Theatre, age 14+ (Mercury Theatre).
  • The Jeremy Bamber White House Farm Murders: Guilty or Not Guilty?: Wednesday 28 October, 7.30pm, Charter Hall. The investigative journalist Mark Williams-Thomas on the case, staged as an immersive theatre evening (Colchester Events).
  • The Picture of Dorian Gray: Friday 30 October to Saturday 7 November, 7pm, with a 2pm matinee on Saturday 31 October and no shows on 1 and 2 November, Mercury Studio. A visiting musical, about 2 hours 20 minutes with an interval, age 16+ (Mercury Theatre).
  • Colchester United v Walsall: Saturday 31 October, 3pm, JobServe Community Stadium (Colchester United).
  • A Night at the Darts: Saturday 31 October, Charter Hall. Standard doors 7pm, main event 7.20pm, with Gerwyn Price, Chris Dobey, Raymond van Barneveld and Kevin Painter listed, subject to late change (Colchester Events).

November

  • The Music of Tim Burton, Danny Elfman & Beyond: Sunday 1 November, 7.30pm, Charter Hall. The Great British Film Orchestra, presented by Xperience Live (Colchester Events).
  • Colchester Jobs Fair: Wednesday 4 November, from 10am, Colchester Town Hall, High Street. Local employers recruiting in person, with the chance of an interview on the day (Colchester Events).
  • King Coel’s Kittens Fireworks: Thursday 5 November, gates 5.30pm, display 7.30pm, Castle Park. Adults £13, children 5 to 15 £7, children 3 to 4 £1. Details in our Colchester fireworks guide (King Coel’s Kittens).
  • Forbidden Nights: Friday 6 November, 7.30pm, Charter Hall. Ten years of the show, with a free meet-and-greet cast photo included in each ticket (Colchester Events).
  • Michael Spicer: Hope All’s Well: Sunday 8 November, doors 7pm, show 7.30pm, Colchester Arts Centre, £24.50 (Colchester Arts Centre).

Regular events

  • Colchester Market: street traders on Culver Street East and West up to seven days a week, and on the High Street every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 9am to 4pm, with some seasonal variation. The next High Street day is Wednesday 30 September (Colchester City Council).
  • Colchester Castle parkrun: every Saturday at 9am, Castle Park, free; register once before your first run. The next is Saturday 3 October (parkrun).

Before you set off

Charter Hall is inside Colchester Leisure World; the council’s events site lists Leisure World’s own car park for it. For the town centre venues, our parking in Colchester page has the car parks and tariffs, and the roadworks and travel page has closures. Coming by rail, check train times to London for engineering work before a late show.

This page is rewritten as organisers confirm new dates. Every source was read on 28 and 29 September 2026; dates can still change, so use the links before you travel.

Sources

Send us your event

Organising something in Colchester, Wivenhoe, Stanway or the villages? Email hello@colchesterpost.co.uk with the date, start time, venue, price and a photo, and a link to your own booking or information page if you have one. Listings are free, always. We add it to this page and to the dated diary on our What’s On hub.