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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: 115

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  1. The front of Locomotion Museum covered in snow.

    Add Christmas at Locomotion - Locomotion to your Itinerary

    Christmas at Locomotion - Locomotion

    Type

    Type:

    Christmas and New Year

    Shildon

    Enjoy a festive day out amongst trains, engines and carriages. Highlights include a Christmas Market, Father Christmas in his cosy carriage grotto and free family activities.

    Dates

    From:
    26 Nov 2026to3 Jan 2027
    More info for Christmas at Locomotion - Locomotion
  2. Children dressed up in fancy dress walking around a spooky outdoor trail.

    Add The Haunted Forest: Trick or Trail - Raby Castle, Park and Gardens to your Itinerary

    The Haunted Forest: Trick or Trail - Raby Castle, Park and Gardens

    Type

    Type:

    Halloween

    Staindrop, Darlington

    Join us for a spooktacular Halloween adventure at The Plotters’ Forest! Dress up, bring your family, and get ready for a Halloween experience like no other. Get ready to unleash your inner spookiness and dive into a world of double trouble…

    Dates

    From:
    3 Oct 2026to1 Nov 2026Open 10:00 - 16:00
    More info for The Haunted Forest: Trick or Trail - Raby Castle, Park and Gardens
  3. Text 'Hopetown Comic Con' with Dr. Who's Tardis in the background.

    Add Hopetown Comic Con - Hopetown Darlington to your Itinerary

    Hopetown Comic Con - Hopetown Darlington

    Type

    Type:

    Children/Family events

    Darlington

    Hopetown Comic Con – Doctor Who Themed Event. 

    Dates

    From:
    3 Oct 2026Open 10:00 - 16:00
    More info for Hopetown Comic Con - Hopetown Darlington
  4. Halloween Fun at the Farm Poster, decorated with two pumpkins and a crow.

    Add Halloween Fun At The Farm - Down At The Farm to your Itinerary

    Halloween Fun At The Farm - Down At The Farm

    Type

    Type:

    Halloween

    Houghton le Spring

    Join us for some Spooky Halloween Fun! Choose from 17th/18th or 24th- 31st October. Visit our outdoor pumpkin patch and choose your pumpkin to carve or take home.(remember to bring your carving kits) Entry to the pumpkin patch is £3.50  on the day…

    Dates

    From:
    17 Oct 2026to18 Oct 2026Open 10:00 - 16:00
    From:
    24 Oct 2026to31 Oct 2026Open 10:00 - 16:00
    More info for Halloween Fun At The Farm - Down At The Farm
  5. Close up of a festive table spread with lit candles and winter foliage

    Add Advent Candle Wreath Workshop - Raby Castle, Park & Gardens to your Itinerary

    Advent Candle Wreath Workshop - Raby Castle, Park & Gardens

    Type

    Type:

    Christmas and New Year

    Darlington

    Join Deborah from Periwinkle Barn in the Conservatory at Raby Castle for a festive Advent candle wreath workshop, with beautiful views across the Walled Gardens as your backdrop. In this seasonal session, you’ll create a traditional wreath…

    Dates

    From:
    22 Nov 2026Open 10:30 -
    More info for Advent Candle Wreath Workshop - Raby Castle, Park & Gardens
  6. A spooky Halloween events poster for Aycliffe & District Bus Preservation Museum, decorated with ghosts, bats, spiders and a creepy bus under the full

    Add A Night At The Museum Horror Spooktackular - Aycliffe & District Bus Preservation Museum to your Itinerary

    A Night At The Museum Horror Spooktackular - Aycliffe & District Bus Preservation Museum

    Type

    Type:

    Halloween

    Aycliffe Business Park, Newton Aycliffe

    Get ready for a fun-filled Halloween evening for all the family as Aycliffe Bus Museum opens its doors for 'A Night at the Museum – Halloween Horror Spooktakular.' Local residents are invited to come along to the museum on Burtree Road, Newton…

    Dates

    From:
    31 Oct 2026Open 17:30 - 21:00
    More info for A Night At The Museum Horror Spooktackular - Aycliffe & District Bus Preservation Museum
  7. Photograph of a young child with red hair wearing a mustard yellow shirt and beige shorts, smiling while crawling on a large white cushioned surface.

    Add Bowes Babies - The Bowes Museum to your Itinerary

    Bowes Babies - The Bowes Museum

    Type

    Type:

    Children/Family events

    Barnard Castle

    A sensory museum session for little ones and their grown-ups.

    Venue

    The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle

    Dates

    From:
    29 Oct 2026Open 11:00 - 12:00
    From:
    26 Nov 2026Open 11:00 - 12:00
    From:
    30 Dec 2026Open 11:00 - 12:00
    More info for Bowes Babies - The Bowes Museum
  8. A vibrant firework display.

    Add Firework Display - Newton Aycliffe to your Itinerary

    Firework Display - Newton Aycliffe

    Type

    Type:

    Bonfire Night

    Newton Aycliffe

    The event is FREE, however those wishing to attend the display must apply for a wristband. Wristbands will be available at the OakLeaf Sports Complex from Tuesday 20th October 2026, the wristbands will be available from 1pm until 7pm each day until…

    Dates

    From:
    6 Nov 2026Open 17:00 -
    More info for Firework Display - Newton Aycliffe
  9. Elegant font depicting "The Fairytale Pantomime: Beauty and the Beast," with an extravagant interior background and a rose

    Add Beauty and the Beast - Pantomime - Empire Consett to your Itinerary

    Beauty and the Beast - Pantomime - Empire Consett

    Type

    Type:

    Christmas and New Year

    Consett

    Leah Bell and company return in 2026 with a tale as old as pantomime – Beauty and the Beast.

    Dates

    From:
    27 Nov 2026to31 Dec 2026
    More info for Beauty and the Beast - Pantomime - Empire Consett
  10. 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
  11. A Witch and a cat riding a broom.  Room on the Broom © 2001 Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler. Licensed by Magic Light Pictures Ltd.

    Add Room on the Broom Trail at Hamsterley Forest to your Itinerary

    Room on the Broom Trail at Hamsterley Forest

    Type

    Type:

    Children/Family events

    Redford, Hamsterley Forest

    This interactive family trail is packed with Room on the Broom themed activities, fascinating forest facts and plenty of hands-on fun. 

    Dates

    From:
    28 Jan 2026to31 Dec 2026
    More info for Room on the Broom Trail at Hamsterley Forest
  12. Scene from The Polar Express (2004) Small child looking up a towering steam train in the snow

    Add Grand Cinema: Polar Express - Beamish, The Living Museum of the North to your Itinerary

    Grand Cinema: Polar Express - Beamish, The Living Museum of the North

    Type

    Type:

    Christmas and New Year

    Stanley

    Transport yourself to the golden age of cinema with a nostalgic afternoon in our beautifully restored 1950s Grand cinema. The Grand cinema, from Ryhope, in Sunderland, has been recreated and brought to life in our 1950s Town.

    Dates

    From:
    21 Nov 2026Open 14:00 -
    More info for Grand Cinema: Polar Express - Beamish, The Living Museum of the North
  13. Scarecrows and pumpkins in a garden

    Add Halloween Scarecrow Festival - South Causey Inn to your Itinerary

    Halloween Scarecrow Festival - South Causey Inn

    Type

    Type:

    Halloween

    Stanley

    Step forth… if you dare! This Halloween, South Causey Inn comes alive with fright, fun and plenty of spooky surprises at our Halloween Scarecrow Festival...

    Dates

    From:
    23 Oct 2026to1 Nov 2026
    More info for Halloween Scarecrow Festival - South Causey Inn
  14. A black and white image of Hardwick Park

    Add Halloween At Hardwick Park - Hardwick Park to your Itinerary

    Halloween At Hardwick Park - Hardwick Park

    Type

    Type:

    Halloween

    Stockton-on-Tees

    Step into Storytime: Ten Little Monsters
    Outdoor discover sessions for 5's and under involving storytelling, crafts activities, interactive trails, games and woodland play
    Date: Saturday 17 October 2026
    Times: 10.00am to 1.00pm
    Price: £7 per child

    Dates

    From:
    17 Oct 2026to30 Oct 2026
    More info for Halloween At Hardwick Park - Hardwick Park
  15. Two children dressed up as a witch and a skeleton, smiling holding pumpkins against a stone wall.

    Add Spooky Half Term - Hall Hill Farm to your Itinerary

    Spooky Half Term - Hall Hill Farm

    Type

    Type:

    Halloween

    Durham

    Are you brave enough to come to Hall Hill Farm for a ghoulishly-good time? There are�lots of extra activities- including giant scarecrows, haunted Sheep Race, Mini Monster Maze, Trick or Treat treasure hunt, choose your pumpkin from the pumpkin…

    Dates

    From:
    17 Oct 2026to18 Oct 2026Open 10:30 - 17:00
    From:
    24 Oct 2026to1 Nov 2026Open 10:30 - 17:00
    More info for Spooky Half Term - Hall Hill Farm
  16. Two photos of people smiling on a blue background surrounded by cartoon books

    Add An Evening with Hollie McNish and Michael Pedersen - Durham Book Festival to your Itinerary

    An Evening with Hollie McNish and Michael Pedersen - Durham Book Festival

    Type

    Type:

    Festival

    Durham

    Join award-winning poet Hollie McNish for a hilarious and heartfelt evening of poetry, reading from her latest collection, Virgin, and unpicking the meaning of the word with her trademark feminist wit, fury and compassion. 

    Dates

    From:
    9 Oct 2026Open 19:00 - 20:00
    More info for An Evening with Hollie McNish and Michael Pedersen - Durham Book Festival
  17. An adult and child browsing through a Christmas market.

    Add Christmas Fair 2026 - Beamish Hall Country Hotel to your Itinerary

    Christmas Fair 2026 - Beamish Hall Country Hotel

    Type

    Type:

    Christmas and New Year

    Stanley

    A triple festive treat shopping extravaganza. See the Hall at its fabulously festive best and peruse the stalls displaying their specialist wares from pretty ornaments and gifts to scrumptious treats and drinks! Escape the hustle and bustle of the…

    Dates

    From:
    13 Nov 2026to15 Nov 2026Open 10:00 - 16:00
    More info for Christmas Fair 2026 - Beamish Hall Country Hotel
  18. Wallace and Gromit characters holding brass instruments against a green background

    Add Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers LIVE with EverReady Band - Empire Consett to your Itinerary

    Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers LIVE with EverReady Band - Empire Consett

    Type

    Type:

    Family Fun

    Consett

    EverReady Band is bringing the award-winning Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers LIVE to Empire Consett this October!
    ​​​​​​​Join one of the UK’s most celebrated brass bands for an unforgettable afternoon of live music, laughter and cinematic magic.

    Dates

    From:
    24 Oct 2026Open 14:30 -
    More info for Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers LIVE with EverReady Band - Empire Consett
  19. The planet Saturn in the dark night sky

    Add Saturn At Its Closest - Grassholme Observatory to your Itinerary

    Saturn At Its Closest - Grassholme Observatory

    Type

    Type:

    Stargazing Events

    Middleton-in-Teesdale, Barnard Castle

    Saturn – the enigmatic ringed beauty is by far most people’s favorite – I mean if you haven’t looked through a telescope at Saturn then don’t miss this opportunity to do so. With its glorious ring system dazzling the observer as a veritable…

    Dates

    From:
    4 Oct 2026Open 20:00 - 23:00
    More info for Saturn At Its Closest - Grassholme Observatory
  20. Muppets wearing Victorian Clothing gathered around in the snow in the Muppets Christmas Carol Poster

    Add Grand Cinema: The Muppet Christmas Carol (U) - Beamish, The Living Museum of the North to your Itinerary

    Grand Cinema: The Muppet Christmas Carol (U) - Beamish, The Living Museum of the North

    Type

    Type:

    Christmas and New Year

    Stanley

    Transport yourself to the golden age of cinema with a nostalgic afternoon in our beautifully restored 1950s Grand cinema. The Grand cinema, from Ryhope, in Sunderland, has been recreated and brought to life in our 1950s Town.

    Dates

    From:
    28 Nov 2026Open 14:15 -
    From:
    19 Dec 2026Open 14:15 -
    More info for Grand Cinema: The Muppet Christmas Carol (U) - Beamish, The Living Museum of the North
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