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You are here > Home > What's On > Family Events

Family Events

For guaranteed fun for all the family check out our list of events taking place across the county.

Whether you are looking for things on this weekend, or looking for what's on today, we have all the amazing events for a great days out with the kids.

Create lasting memories with your loved ones at Durham's family-friendly events. Explore a diverse array of kid-friendly activities, family festivals, and interactive outings that cater to all ages. From educational workshops to entertaining performances, Durham offers a vibrant calendar of events designed to bring families together. Stay informed about the latest family-friendly happenings, and plan your weekends with the exciting array of cultural and recreational activities that Durham has to offer.

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Number of results: 94

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  1. Seaham Stories: A Coastal Walking Tour - Seaham Hall Hotel

    Add Seaham Stories: A Coastal Walking Tour - Seaham Hall Hotel to your Itinerary

    Seaham Stories: A Coastal Walking Tour - Seaham Hall Hotel

    Type

    Type:

    Walking Event

    Seaham

    Step beyond the gates of Seaham Hall and discover the stories, heritage, and coastal beauty that have shaped Seaham through the years, guided by those who know it best.

    Dates

    From:
    19 Sept 2026Open 13:00 -
    More info for Seaham Stories: A Coastal Walking Tour - Seaham Hall Hotel
  2. A child sitting on the ground toasting marshmallows, supervised by an adult - Forest School activities at St Johns Hall Meadowfield.

    Add Noo Noo Forest School - St Johns Hall Meadowfield to your Itinerary

    Noo Noo Forest School - St Johns Hall Meadowfield

    Type

    Type:

    Children/Family events

    Meadowfield

    Forest school for primary age.

    Dates

    From:
    15 Aug 2026Open 10:00 - 11:30
    From:
    19 Sept 2026Open 10:00 - 11:30
    More info for Noo Noo Forest School - St Johns Hall Meadowfield
  3. County Durham Libraries Summer Reading Challenge, 'Bigfoot Beats' at Consett Library, 13th August. Photo of person playing a drum.

    Add Bigfoot Beats - Consett Library to your Itinerary

    Bigfoot Beats - Consett Library

    Type

    Type:

    Children/Family events

    Consett

    Join us for an amazing interactive session with Bigfoot Arts (recommended for children aged 7-11).

    Dates

    From:
    13 Aug 2026Open 10:30 - 11:30
    More info for Bigfoot Beats - Consett Library
  4. County Durham Libraries Summer Reading Challenge Bugs N Stuff at Crook Library. Tuesday 11th August.

    Add Bugs n Stuff - Crook Library to your Itinerary

    Bugs n Stuff - Crook Library

    Type

    Type:

    Children/Family events

    North Terrace, Crook

    Join the Bugman for a hands-on workshop with some amazing animals - cold, warm, hard, soft, rough, smooth, scaly, silky, slimy, hairy and of course tickly!

    Dates

    From:
    11 Aug 2026Open 10:00 - 11:00
    More info for Bugs n Stuff - Crook Library
  5. Little boy in green jacket, peering into binoculars - Nature Spotters at The Bowes Museum

    Add Nature Spotters - The Bowes Museum to your Itinerary

    Nature Spotters - The Bowes Museum

    Type

    Type:

    Children/Family events

    Barnard Castle

    Gather around an indoor campsite to explore the plants and animals that thrive in the museum's surrounding parkland.

    Dates

    From:
    4 Aug 2026Open 11:00 - 12:00
    From:
    18 Aug 2026Open 11:00 - 12:00
    More info for Nature Spotters - The Bowes Museum
  6. Two people working on a large fabric with colourful abstract patterns in blue, orange, and black lines. Focus is on fabric surface.

    Add Pattern and Protest - The Bowes Museum to your Itinerary

    Pattern and Protest - The Bowes Museum

    Type

    Type:

    Family Fun

    Barnard Castle

    Inspired by Vivienne Westwood's iconic designs, Pattern and Protest invites participants to experiment with fabric by adding marks and messages to create their own bold response. Suitable for families with children aged 5+, the session encourages…

    Venue

    The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle

    Dates

    From:
    26 Aug 2026Open 10:30 - 12:30
    More info for Pattern and Protest - The Bowes Museum
  7. Durham Fringe Festival Logo of a colourful Sanctuary Knocker, Family Showcase

    Add Durham Fringe Family Showcase - Durham Fringe Festival to your Itinerary

    Durham Fringe Family Showcase - Durham Fringe Festival

    Type

    Type:

    Festival

    Durham

    Sample a taste of Durham Fringe 2026 at our FREE family showcase. See up to 6 different family-friendly acts from this year's programme, squeezed into 60 minutes. The perfect event if you're not sure what to go see at this year's festival.

    Dates

    From:
    29 July 2026Open 13:45 - 14:45
    More info for Durham Fringe Family Showcase - Durham Fringe Festival
  8. Alex Collier looking quizzical, shoulders up, in front of a wall of vintage comic books, the image is in black and white.

    Add The best ever cartoon draw along in the world ever - Durham Fringe Festival to your Itinerary

    The best ever cartoon draw along in the world ever - Durham Fringe Festival

    Type

    Type:

    Festival

    Durham

    Alex Collier is a Viz Comic cartoonist and a writer of all your most favourite animated shows - from Mr Bean to Danger Mouse, My Little Pony and Dennis and Gnasher Unleashed. Come join Alex as he shows you how to draw the best ever mega amazing…

    Dates

    From:
    29 July 2026to2 Aug 2026Open 11:45 - 12:45
    More info for The best ever cartoon draw along in the world ever - Durham Fringe Festival
  9. Three singers in traditional clothing, next to a Christmas tree, performing festive live music during Beamish Museum's Christmas Evenings.

    Add Beamish, The Living Museum of the North’s Magical Christmas Evenings to your Itinerary

    Beamish, The Living Museum of the North’s Magical Christmas Evenings

    Type

    Type:

    Christmas and New Year

    Beamish

    Beamish Museum Christmas Evening Tickets on Sale Soon!

    Dates

    From:
    3 Dec 2026to4 Dec 2026Open 17:00 - 21:30
    From:
    10 Dec 2026to11 Dec 2026Open 17:00 - 21:30
    From:
    17 Dec 2026to18 Dec 2026Open 17:00 - 21:30
    More info for Beamish, The Living Museum of the North’s Magical Christmas Evenings
  10. Crowds of people at Seaham Food Festival with north sea visible in the background.

    Add Seaham Food Festival 2026 to your Itinerary

    Seaham Food Festival 2026

    Type

    Type:

    Festival

    Seaham

    The festival welcomes thousands of visitors each year for two days of sun, sea, family fun and, of course, food. 

    Dates

    From:
    1 Aug 2026to2 Aug 2026
    More info for Seaham Food Festival 2026
  11. Doc (left) and Marty McFly (right) looking bewildered into the night holding a scientific remote

    Add Back To The Future: Special Screening - Gala Durham to your Itinerary

    Back To The Future: Special Screening - Gala Durham

    Type

    Type:

    Theatre

    Durham

    Great Scott!

    In the summer of 1985, Robert Zemeckis’s Back To The Future sent audiences hurtling through time in a DeLorean.
    Just over forty years later, Marty, Doc, Biff, and that unmistakable score are coming back to the big screen, fully…

    Dates

    From:
    5 Sept 2026Open 19:00 -
    More info for Back To The Future: Special Screening - Gala Durham
  12. County Durham Libraries Summer Reading Challenge, Bugs and Stuff, Spennymoor Library, Thursday 30th July.

    Add Bugs n Stuff - Spennymoor Leisure Centre to your Itinerary

    Bugs n Stuff - Spennymoor Leisure Centre

    Type

    Type:

    Children/Family events

    Spennymoor

    Join the Bugman for a hands-on workshop with some amazing animals - cold, warm, hard, soft, rough,
    smooth, scaly, silky, slimy, hairy and of course tickly!

    Dates

    From:
    30 July 2026Open 13:00 - 14:00
    More info for Bugs n Stuff - Spennymoor Leisure Centre
  13. Large sculpture of a Velociraptor dinosaur in the lobby of Ushaw.

    Add Extinction - Ushaw, Historic Houses, Chapels and Gardens to your Itinerary

    Extinction - Ushaw, Historic Houses, Chapels and Gardens

    Type

    Type:

    Summer Event

    Bearpark, Durham

    Extinction affects us all and one in ten of our wildlife in the UK is critically endangered. Scientists have identified five periods of mass extinction over the geological record and the question is now being asked: are we in a sixth? The exhibition…

    Dates

    From:
    20 June 2026to8 Nov 2026Open 10:00 - 16:00
    More info for Extinction - Ushaw, Historic Houses, Chapels and Gardens
  14. Two people playing guitars, smiling in a folk-like venue

    Add Mills & Farrell - Durham Fringe Festival to your Itinerary

    Mills & Farrell - Durham Fringe Festival

    Type

    Type:

    Festival

    Durham

    Mills & Farrell, traditional/contemporary folk duo, travel the world in pursuit of music, both the ancient and in inspiration. Coming from backgrounds of Australian rock (David Farrell) and Nova Scotian folk (Janet Mills), they use two voices and…

    Dates

    From:
    29 July 2026to30 July 2026Open 17:30 - 18:15
    More info for Mills & Farrell - Durham Fringe Festival
  15. Landscape view of Crook Hall gardens in the summer, lush greenery

    Add Summer of Play: SEND kids sports and games with Smile Through Sport - Crook Hall Gardens to your Itinerary

    Summer of Play: SEND kids sports and games with Smile Through Sport - Crook Hall Gardens

    Type

    Type:

    Summer Event

    Durham

    Join us for outdoor games and sports activities designed for children aged 6 and up with SEND and their families. Try out different sports and games with trained coaches. Each session will be adapted to suit the needs and interests of the children…

    Dates

    From:
    12 Aug 2026Open 11:00 - 12:30
    More info for Summer of Play: SEND kids sports and games with Smile Through Sport - Crook Hall Gardens
  16. Black cat sat in a ninja pose on top of a vintage lap post, illuminated by the full moon behind with the starry sky.

    Add Toto the Ninja Cat and the Great Snake Escape - Gala Durham to your Itinerary

    Toto the Ninja Cat and the Great Snake Escape - Gala Durham

    Type

    Type:

    Children/Family events

    Durham

    A brand-new family musical for everyone over five.

    Dates

    From:
    11 Aug 2026to13 Aug 2026Various Opening Times
    More info for Toto the Ninja Cat and the Great Snake Escape - Gala Durham
  17. Crowds of people enjoying the Durham Fringe Festival on Palace Green, Durham city.

    Add Durham Fringe Festival 2026 to your Itinerary

    Durham Fringe Festival 2026

    Type

    Type:

    Festival

    Durham City

    Between 29th July and 2nd August 2026, Durham Fringe Festival will host a spectacular array of performing arts.  Genres include theatre, music, stand-up comedy, comedy theatre, magic, spoken word, cabaret, dance, physical theatre, circus, and…

    Dates

    From:
    29 July 2026to2 Aug 2026
    More info for Durham Fringe Festival 2026
  18. A scientist conducting an experiment with fire - Big Science.

    Add Big Sweetie Science - Lanchester Garden Centre to your Itinerary

    Big Sweetie Science - Lanchester Garden Centre

    Type

    Type:

    Workshop

    Lanchester

    Join us this Summer for the return of our Big "Sweetie" Science Workshop.

    The children will explore different science areas using sweets. Every child will make their own pot of sherbet and a chemistry mocktail, making fizzy reactions.

    Dates

    From:
    24 Aug 2026Open 11:30 - 12:30
    More info for Big Sweetie Science - Lanchester Garden Centre
  19. Cartoon image of the performance area with a stage, trees, hills and a yellow aeroplane with a banner with wording Derwent Fest!

    Add Derwent Fest 2026 to your Itinerary

    Derwent Fest 2026

    Type

    Type:

    Festival

    Edmundbyers

    A weekend festival of live tribute music, food and drink, and children’s activities and entertainment, set in a stunning location, not far from you. Bring all the family, including the dog, and enjoy some fun, quality time together.

    Venue

    Derwent Waterside Park, Shotley Bridge

    Dates

    From:
    14 Aug 2026to15 Aug 2026
    More info for Derwent Fest 2026
  20. Two children and their grandmother speak to a Beamish member of staff in Georgian costume as he stands on a replica Georgian steam engine.

    Add Summer of Fun 2026: Step into Stories at Beamish Museum to your Itinerary

    Summer of Fun 2026: Step into Stories at Beamish Museum

    Type

    Type:

    Summer Event

    Beamish

    Pick up an activity book from the Entrance, choose from six adventures and enjoy a journey through Beamish from the perspective of a person from the past.

    Dates

    From:
    18 July 2026to31 Aug 2026Open 10:00 - 17:00
    More info for Summer of Fun 2026: Step into Stories at Beamish Museum
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