Events
There are many fun family events across the borough each month.
Hosting an event
If you would like to add an event to this page, please e-mail your details to Leisure Services.
If you are planning to hold any event, there are a number of organisations that you, as the event organiser, need to request permission from and consult.
Country Park events
Events take place in Haysden Country Park and Leybourne Lakes Country Park throughout the year.
View our Country parks events booklet.
Tonbridge Events
Please download our Tonbridge events poster
Rotary Club of Tonbridge events
The Rotary Club of Tonbridge run a number of events as listed on their newsletter.
RecycleForAll Roadshows
The RecycleForAll team are holding a number of roadshows where you can chat to them about the introduction of new recycling services.
Tonbridge Town Team’s Food Festival
23 - 24 May 2020
Situated in the town’s beautiful castle grounds close to the banks of the picturesque River Medway. The event will be open from 11am to 6pm on both days.
Try, taste and buy from more than 50 stallholders selling a delicious range of food and drink produced in and around Kent and from across the globe. Discover delicious cheeses, breads, cakes, sweet treats such as fudge and marshmallow; locally roasted coffee and specialist teas as well as other food related stalls.
For more information please visit: http://tonbridge-ourtown.org.uk/
Tonbridge Summer Carnival
14 June 2020
This year's event will take place on Sunday 14 June 2020 and promises to be another great afternoon of fun for all the family.
This popular annual event begins with the usual carnival procession through the High Street.
The carnival procession will include bands, walking groups, floats and majorettes, and will leave Avenue Du Puy at 12.30pm and proceed through the town to Tonbridge Castle. The Mayor of Tonbridge and Malling and the President of Tonbridge Lions Club will judge the entries in each category. After the procession, the fete will be held on the Castle Lawn and in Castle Walk during which the winning procession entries will be announced and trophies awarded.
The carnival day is organised each year by Tonbridge Lions Club with support from Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council. Money raised at the event is distributed to local charitable causes and to Lions Club charities.
Tonbridge Music Weekend
3 - 5 July 2020 Tonbridge Castle
A weekend of music on the Castle Lawn.
For more information please visit: http://tonbridgemusicweekend.com/
Out of the Box, La Marzocco
11 July 2020
La Marzocco returns to Tonbridge Castle in 2020 building on the success of its coffee roasters village and demonstrations , bringing together coffee houses from around the country. More details to follow.
Tonbridge Lions Car Tour
12 July 2020
Tonbridge Lions Classic Car Tour.
For more information and to take part please visit: http://www.tonbridgelions.co.uk/car-tour-2017.html
Luna Cinema
19 - 21 July 2020
This summer, The Luna Cinema transforms the grounds of the majestic Tonbridge Castle into an impressive setting for open air cinema.
Tonbridge Castle is steeped in 900 years of English history, and we invite you to come and enjoy a unique cinematic experience; watching classic films on a giant screen in one of Kent’s most ancient sites.
To book please visit http://www.thelunacinema.com/tonbridge-castle/4592091961
Illyria - HMS Pinafore
23 July 2020
Award Winning Outdoor Theatre Company Illyria brings Gilbert & Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore to Tonbridge Castle. Set on board the warship HMS Pinafore, the opera cheerfully mocks such Great British institutions as Class, Patriotism and the Royal Navy. Josephine the captain's daughter is in love with Ralph a common sailor, but her father wants her to marry Sir Joseph Porter, First Lord of the Admiralty. The couple are caught as they elope from the ship and Ralph is locked in the ship's dungeon. Only when certain revelations are made by Buttercup, a dockside vendor, can everyone end up freely marrying their true hearts' loves. This wonderful comic opera gets the complete Illyria treatment, faithfully performed with the full score by a reduced cast on a beautiful nautical set.
Enjoy the Open Air Theatre on the Castle Lawn, bring a picnic or enjoy the tea, coffee and light refreshments available on the night.
For tickets visit: www.illyria.co.uk
Illyria - The Further Adventures of Dr Dolittle
4 August 2020
Award Winning Outdoor Theatre Company Illyria brings The Further Adventures of Doctor Dolittle to Tonbridge Castle. Following the phenomenal success of 2018's tour of The Adventures of Doctor Dolittle, Illyria is delving back into Hugh Lofting's amazing stories to bring you a brand-new musical adaptation of the Doctor's FURTHER adventures with Jip the Dog, Dab Dab the Duck, Gub Gub the Pig and Polynesia the Parrot. Where in the world will they go? Will they even stay on this world?! Which new animals will they help along the way? Will the Rats still have pithy observations to make? Is Gub Gub still dreaming about cake? As in our 2018 production, The FURTHER Adventures of Doctor Dolittle features a fully orchestrated score, amazing puppets and a plethora of songs that our audiences will be singing along to for years to come
Enjoy the Open Air Theatre on the Castle Lawn, bring a picnic or enjoy the tea, coffee and light refreshments available on the night.
For tickets visit: www.illyria.co.uk
Illyria - Much Ado About Nothing
28 August 2020
Award Winning Outdoor Theatre Company Illyria brings Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing to Tonbridge Castle.
Claudio loves Hero, and Benedick hates Beatrice. This is just as well, because Hero loves Claudio and Beatrice hates Benedick. Everyone laughs when Don Pedro plays a trick on Benedick and Beatrice, letting each think that they are secretly loved by the other. But it is no laughing matter when Don John plays a trick on Claudio and Hero, deceiving Claudio into thinking that Hero is not faithful to him. Murderous rage is unleashed, and death can be the only solution... Or can it? Perhaps one last trick may resurrect the innocent dead, restore broken relationships -and even create an unlikely union of Benedick and Beatrice!
Enjoy the Open Air Theatre on the Castle Lawn, bring a picnic or enjoy the tea, coffee and light refreshments available on the night.
For tickets visit: www.illyria.co.uk
Summer Band Concerts
A series of free summer concerts will be taking place on the Bailey Lawn at Tonbridge Castle and everyone is welcome to come along.
The concerts, which will be performed by a mixture of amateur and professional bands, have been organised by Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council and will take place between 3pm and 5pm. There is no need to book a ticket – people can just turn up on the day and enjoy the music, bring a picnic or take advantage of the stalls on site.
Every Sunday will feature a different band:
12 July – The Soul Knights
26 July – Jon Hamilton Big Band
2 August – Second Wind Jazz Band
16 August – Invicta Jazz Orchestra
23 August – East Grinstead Concert Band
30 August – Sevenoaks and Tonbridge Concert Band
Heritage Open Days
11 -- 20 September 2020
Heritage Open Days celebrates England’s fantastic architecture and culture by offering free access to
properties that are usually closed to the public or normally charge for admission.
It is a once-a-year chance to discover hidden architectural treasures and enjoy a wide range of tours, events and activities which bring to life local history and culture. Organised by volunteers – usually property owners or managers – for local people, Heritage Open Days is England’s biggest and most popular voluntary cultural event,
attracting some 800,000 people annually. The Heritage Open Days Partnership gives central co-ordination and additional voice to the event which is made possible by funding and support from English Heritage. Locally this event has been co-ordinated by Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council in partnership with The Malling Society and Tonbridge Civic Society. Tonbridge Art Group, Tonbridge Civic Society, Tonbridge Historical Society, Tonbridge Parish Church Bell Ringers and
members from the Jane Austen Society (Kent branch) will be exhibiting at Tonbridge Castle throughout the weekend.
For more details visit www.heritageopendays.org
Tonbridge Town Teams Dragon Boat Race
8 September 2020
Dragon Boat Race Watergate, River Medway, Tonbridge, Kent. The 8th Tonbridge Dragon Boat RaceDear Dragons, Welcome Dragons past and prospective! The 8th Tonbridge Dragon Boat Race will be held on Sunday 8th September 2019. For six years now the Tonbridge Town Team has hosted what many feel to be the Tonbridge event of the year. As in previous years, the event relies on the professionalism and expertise of Dragon Boat Events – the company that supply the boats and equipment. On the same weekend the Tonbridge Medieval Fair will be taking place on the Castle lawn and we at the Town Team will be organising stalls along the newly refurbished River Walk. The Dragon Boat Race will take place in Tonbridge Town Centre on the River Medway at the Watergate (Big Bridge).
Medieval Fair
12 - 13 September 2020 10am-4pm Tonbridge Castle
Visitors are invited to step back in time in the grounds of Tonbridge Castle on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September to enjoy the annual Medieval Fair, which will be open from 10am to 4pm on both days.
Now in its 13th year, the Medieval Fair continues to grow, stepping us back in time, entry is free.
Everyone is welcome and visitors will be able to enjoy a whole host of 15th century sights, sounds and smells which include medieval re-enactments with swords echoing on armour and blades crunching on chainmail as fighters meet in combat. Visitors will come face to face with men-at-arms decked in armour and telling stories of past battles and musical minstrels will serenade their audiences alongside the entertaining antics of Punch and Judy and the merry jester, Bosco.
A full programme of events will entertain the thronging masses each day, and all can join in the fun with archery, become a Knight for the day, medieval crafts and demonstrations, plate spinning and juggling workshops, a hog roast and stalls selling medieval-style souvenirs.
Theatres
EM Forster Theatre
The Box Office, EM Forster Theatre, Tonbridge School, Tonbridge, TN9 1JP
For a full list of shows visp;www.boxoffice.tonbridge-school.co.uk/home/
Oast Theatre
London Rd Tonbridge Kent TN10 3AN
For a full list of show visit www.oasttheatre.com
Happy Tonbridge
A video has been made in Tonbridge to show off its thriving community and put a bit of happiness into the town. Inspired by Pharrell Williams' number one hit Happy, more than 2,000 happy films have been made worldwide and Tonbridge wanted a slice of the action. Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council recognised the film's worth and a Community Enhancement Grant was given to support the launch event. See the full video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEApL1fxZ-U
Jane Austen's Connections to Tonbridge
You can have an MP3 audio guided tour of the monuments in the Church of St Peter & St Paul; these include the tomb of Jane Austen's grandparents, other Austens and people they knew narrated by Louise Jameson. You may also download this guide.
A circular walk of Tonbridge includes local links to Jane Austen. Download a copy of the leaflet.
Farmers' Markets
There are a number of Farmers Markets across the borough.