The Literature Festival runs 9 to 18 October and The Wilson reopens with a free party on the 23rd. Plus Annie, racing, three fireworks nights and the Robins.

Cheltenham’s autumn has two big dates. The Literature Festival takes over the town from Friday 9 to Sunday 18 October, and The Wilson reopens its museum with a free community party on Friday 23 October, followed by a week of free events through half term. Around them the Everyman has Annie, Paranormal Activity, Twelve Angry Men and We Will Rock You. The jump racing season opens on the 23rd, there are three fireworks nights in the first week of November, and The November Meeting follows on 13 to 15 November.

Updated 1 October: past events removed; added the Cotswold Life Home and Gift Show, Banff Mountain Film Festival, Halloween parties at The Wilson and Dunkertons, Richard Ayoade, Nativity! and The November Meeting. Dear Evan Hansen’s Saturday evening has sold out, and the English Symphony Orchestra’s 1 October concert is no longer listed by the Town Hall.

Every listing below comes from the organiser’s own box office or event page, read on 1 October 2026, and each one links back so you can check before you set off. For places that are open whatever the month, see things to do in Cheltenham.

This week

  • Cotswold Life Home and Gift Show, Friday 2 and Saturday 3 October, 10am to 4pm, Cheltenham Racecourse. A new indoor show for home, interiors, gifts and local food. Under-16s go free (The Jockey Club). More in our story on the show.
  • Present Laughter, Friday 2 October at 7.30pm and Saturday 3 October at 2pm and 7.30pm, Everyman Theatre, Regent Street. Tracy-Ann Oberman and James Dreyfus star in Noel Coward’s comedy, directed by Lindsay Posner. Saturday was on limited availability (Everyman Theatre).
  • Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour (Blue Programme), Friday 2 October, 7.30pm, Cheltenham Town Hall, £19 (Cheltenham Town Hall).
  • Dear Evan Hansen, to Saturday 3 October, 7.30pm, plus 2.30pm on Saturday, Cheltenham Playhouse, Bath Road, £28. CODS stage the musical. Saturday evening is sold out; Friday had 14 seats left on 1 October (Cheltenham Playhouse).
  • Sister Queens, Friday 2 October at 7.45pm and Saturday 3 October at 2pm and 7.45pm, Everyman Studio. A play about Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots (Everyman Theatre).
  • Getting Triggy With It: Matt Parker Does The Maths, Sunday 4 October, 7.30pm, Cheltenham Town Hall, £28 (Cheltenham Town Hall).

Next week

  • The Rock Orchestra, Monday 5 October, listed from 5.30pm to 8.30pm, Cheltenham Town Hall, £39 to £72. An orchestra playing the music of iconic rock bands (Cheltenham Town Hall).
  • Annie, Tuesday 6 to Sunday 11 October, 7pm Tuesday to Saturday, 2pm matinees on Thursday and Saturday, and 2pm only on Sunday, Everyman Theatre. The touring West End production. The performances we checked were down to their last few seats on 1 October (Everyman Theatre).
  • Cheltenham Literature Festival, Friday 9 to Sunday 18 October, venues across the town. More than 500 events, at venues including the Everyman, the Town Hall’s Pillar Room, the Parabola Arts Centre and the Queens Hotel (Cheltenham Festivals). Our Literature Festival guide has the line-up and the venues.
  • Cheltenham Farmers’ Market, Friday 9 October, 9am to 2pm, the Promenade. See regular events below.
  • Flying The Icons, Saturday 10 October, 7.30pm, Cheltenham Playhouse, £15. Three former instructor pilots on their flying careers, in conversation (Cheltenham Playhouse).
  • Cheltenham Town v Salford City, Saturday 10 October, 3pm, the EV Charger Points Stadium (Cheltenham Town FC tickets).
  • Finlay Christie: Champagne Casanova, Sunday 11 October, 7.30pm, doors 6.30pm, Cheltenham Playhouse, £19. A Howlers Comedy Club night with the Live at the Apollo comic (Cheltenham Playhouse).

Later in October

  • Cheltenham Town v Tottenham Hotspur U21, Tuesday 13 October, 7pm, the EV Charger Points Stadium, EFL Trophy (Cheltenham Town FC tickets).
  • Paranormal Activity, Tuesday 13 to Saturday 17 October, 7.30pm, plus 2pm on Thursday and Saturday, Everyman Theatre. The West End stage version of the horror film. Friday and Saturday were on limited availability on 1 October (Everyman Theatre).
  • Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman, Friday 16 October, 8pm, Everyman Theatre. The folk duo, twice named Best Duo at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Limited availability (Everyman Theatre).
  • Halloween in Concert, Sunday 18 October, 7.30pm, Everyman Theatre. A live band plays Halloween hits from Monster Mash to Thriller, with a prize for the best costume (Everyman Theatre).
  • Twelve Angry Men, Tuesday 20 to Saturday 24 October, 7.30pm, plus 2pm on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, Everyman Theatre (Everyman Theatre).
  • Cheltenham Town v Fleetwood Town, Tuesday 20 October, 7.45pm, the EV Charger Points Stadium (Cheltenham Town FC tickets).
  • The Crucible, Wednesday 21 to Saturday 24 October, 7.30pm, plus 2.30pm on Saturday, Cheltenham Playhouse, £20, concessions £16.50. An amateur production by the Playhouse Company (Cheltenham Playhouse).
  • The William Hill Showcase, Friday 23 and Saturday 24 October, Cheltenham Racecourse, Evesham Road. Gates open at 11.15am. The first race is at 1.15pm on Friday and 1.10pm on Saturday. Under-18s race free but need a booked ticket, and FABBAGIRLS play after racing on the Saturday (The Jockey Club). Our racecourse this winter page has every meeting to New Year.
  • Phil Wang: Uh Oh, Friday 23 October, 8pm, Cheltenham Town Hall, £27 to £37 (Cheltenham Town Hall).
  • Cheltenham Town v Newport County, Saturday 24 October, 12.30pm, the EV Charger Points Stadium. Note the early kick-off (Cheltenham Town FC tickets).
  • Halloween Trail at The Wilson, Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November, 10am to 5pm. A trail around the galleries with a treat at the end. Tickets are sold online or at the cafe on arrival (The Cheltenham Trust).
  • The Phantoms, starring Lee Mead, Saturday 24 October, 7.30pm, Cheltenham Town Hall, £39 to £73 (Cheltenham Town Hall).
  • Rude Science, Sunday 25 October, listed from 11am to 2.30pm, Cheltenham Town Hall, £18 to £20. Stefan Gates’ family science show, all disgusting experiments (Cheltenham Town Hall).
  • Dracula: The Panto!, Tuesday 27 October, 2.30pm and 7pm, Everyman Studio. Two performers, a Dame and a naughty Count (Everyman Theatre).
  • We Will Rock You, Tuesday 27 to Saturday 31 October, 7.30pm, plus 2pm on Thursday and Saturday, Everyman Theatre. Cotswold Savoyards stage the Queen musical, with one BSL-interpreted performance (Everyman Theatre).
  • Three Little Pirate Pigs, Friday 30 October, 11.30am and 2.30pm, Everyman Theatre. Sea Legs’ puppet show for young children, its 25th anniversary production (Everyman Theatre).
  • Halloween Party at The Wilson, Friday 30 October, 2pm, The Wilson, Clarence Street, £10 (The Cheltenham Trust).
  • Halloween Party with Tux Fizz Live, Friday 30 October, doors 6.30pm, band 7.30pm, Dunkertons, Dowdeswell Park, London Road, £15. Adults only, ID checked, and limited parking in the overflow car park (Dunkertons).

The Wilson reopens, Friday 23 October

The Wilson art gallery and museum on Clarence Street reopens with a free community party from 5pm to 7pm on Friday 23 October. The ribbon is cut at 5pm, followed by a procession. A party tea and workshops start at 5.30pm, and there is music from 6pm to 7pm. Visitors get the first look at the new collections galleries, with soft drinks, sandwiches and cakes for everyone. It is free but ticketed, and the Trust warns that anyone arriving without a ticket may be turned away if the building is full. A week of free events, workshops and tours follows from 24 October to 1 November (The Cheltenham Trust).

November

  • Dunkertons Fireworks Night, Tuesday 3 November, gates 4.30pm, a 12-minute low-noise display at 6.30pm, Dowdeswell Park, London Road, Charlton Kings, £15, under-threes free but still need a ticket (Dunkertons).
  • Professor Brian Cox: World Wide Tour, Wednesday 4 November, Cheltenham Racecourse (The Jockey Club).
  • Cheltenham Cricket Club Fairview Fireworks Party, Friday 6 November, entry from 5pm, a quieter display at 6pm and the main one at 7pm, Victoria Ground, Princes Street. Adults £12.50 plus a £1 fee, under-18s free. There are no tickets on the gate and no parking (Cheltenham Cricket Club).
  • Cheltenham Racecourse Fireworks, Saturday 7 November, gates 4.30pm, fireworks 7pm, last admission 7.15pm. Advance tickets to 31 October are £11 for 13 and over and £5.50 for ages 3 to 12, rising to £15 and £8.50 (The Jockey Club). All three displays are on our fireworks page.
  • Richard Ayoade: Afterthoughts, Tuesday 10 November, 7.30pm, Cheltenham Town Hall, £32.50 to £47.50 (Cheltenham Town Hall).
  • Nativity!, Tuesday 10 to Sunday 15 November, 7pm Tuesday to Saturday, 2pm on Saturday, 12pm and 5pm on Sunday, Cheltenham Playhouse, £20 to £22.50. A school’s attempt to stage a musical nativity, with a Hollywood producer supposedly on the way (Cheltenham Playhouse).
  • The November Meeting, Friday 13 to Sunday 15 November, Cheltenham Racecourse, from £13.50. Countryside Day, then Super Saturday with the Paddy Power Gold Cup, then Carnival Sunday. Gate and race times are not yet published (The Jockey Club).

Remembrance Sunday falls on 8 November. The council has not yet published its 2026 arrangements, so see our Remembrance Sunday page for last year’s timetable.

Regular events

  • Cheltenham parkrun, every Saturday at 9am, Pittville Park. A free 5k that starts near Tommy Taylors Lane. The nearest postcode is GL50 4RN, and runners are asked to park at the Prince of Wales Stadium (Cheltenham parkrun).
  • Cheltenham Farmers’ Market, the second and last Friday of every month, 9am to 2pm, on the Promenade. In October that is Friday 9 and Friday 30 October (Cotswold Markets).

Getting there

The Everyman, the Town Hall, the Promenade and The Wilson are all within a few minutes’ walk of each other in the town centre. The Playhouse is on Bath Road, and the racecourse is on Evesham Road to the north. Our parking in Cheltenham page has the council car parks and tariffs, and the roadworks and travel page carries closures. Coming by train? See train times to London.

This page is rewritten as organisers confirm new dates. Everything above was read from the organisers’ own listings on 1 October 2026. Dates and times can still change, so use the links before you travel. More in our What’s On section.

Send us your event

Running something in Cheltenham? Email hello@cheltenhamjournal.co.uk with the date, time, venue, price and a photo. Listings are free, and we add them to this page and to the diary on our What’s On section.

Sources