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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: 121

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  1. A vibrant firework display

    Add Barnard Castle Bonfire Night - Upper Demesnes to your Itinerary

    Barnard Castle Bonfire Night - Upper Demesnes

    Type

    Type:

    Bonfire Night

    Barnard Castle

    Barnard Castle Christmas Lights in association with The Clique present Bonfire Night with traditional fireworks on Upper Demesnes (opposite The Bowes Museum).

    Dates

    From:
    6 Nov 2026Open 17:30 -
    More info for Barnard Castle Bonfire Night - Upper Demesnes
  2. South Causey Monthly Dog Walk

    Add South Causey Monthly Dog Walk to your Itinerary

    South Causey Monthly Dog Walk

    Type

    Type:

    Dog-Friendly

    Stanley

    Join the South Causey Dog Walking Club every 1st Saturday of the month at 10 am for a picturesque stroll through the beautiful Beamish Valley. 

    Dates

    From:
    1 Jan 2026to31 Dec 2026Various Opening Times
    More info for South Causey Monthly Dog Walk
  3. Four musicians playing brass instruments.

    Add Brass and Chorus of Royal Northern Sinfonia Winter Tour - Durham Cathedral to your Itinerary

    Brass and Chorus of Royal Northern Sinfonia Winter Tour - Durham Cathedral

    Type

    Type:

    Festive Event

    Durham

    This isn’t just a collection of Christmas music – it’s a celebration of the season’s full emotional range. Joy, wonder, reflection, play. Big bold choruses and quiet, candlelit moments. Music that lets you sing along one minute and stop to breathe…

    Dates

    From:
    27 Nov 2026Open 19:30 -
    More info for Brass and Chorus of Royal Northern Sinfonia Winter Tour - Durham Cathedral
  4. Cartoon monsters in front of a red stage curtain with text that reads, "There's a Monster in your Show."

    Add There’s A Monster In Your Show - Gala Durham to your Itinerary

    There’s A Monster In Your Show - Gala Durham

    Type

    Type:

    October Half Term

    Durham

    Tom Fletcher’s interactive adventures for big imaginations are leaping from page to stage, as the beloved ‘Who’s in Your Book?’ series comes to Durham in a brand-new musical show.

    Dates

    From:
    28 Oct 2026to30 Oct 2026Various Opening Times
    More info for There’s A Monster In Your Show - Gala Durham
  5. 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
  6. Santa reading a list in a festive grotto

    Add Santa Sunday's - South Causey Inn to your Itinerary

    Santa Sunday's - South Causey Inn

    Type

    Type:

    Christmas and New Year

    Stanley

    Step into the magic of Christmas at South Causey Inn’s Santa Sundays... Join us in the enchanting Old Barn on 6th, 13th or 20th of December for a truly unforgettable festive experience the whole family will love. From the moment you arrive, the…

    Dates

    From:
    6 Dec 2026Open 11:30 -
    From:
    13 Dec 2026Open 11:30 -
    From:
    20 Dec 2026Open 11:30 -
    More info for Santa Sunday's - South Causey Inn
  7. The Snowman playing on a large projector in Durham Cathedral, with a large crowd watching

    Add The Snowman: Film with Live Orchestra - Durham Cathedral to your Itinerary

    The Snowman: Film with Live Orchestra - Durham Cathedral

    Type

    Type:

    Christmas and New Year

    Durham

    Make it a Christmas to remember with a special screening of the much-loved film. The Snowman, shown on the big screen with its unforgettable soundtrack performed live by a professional orchestra.

    Dates

    From:
    5 Dec 2026Various Opening Times
    More info for The Snowman: Film with Live Orchestra - Durham Cathedral
  8. An adult holding a baby in festive clothes, looking at a light installation of a bear.

    Add AGLOW 2026 - Auckland Palace and Gardens to your Itinerary

    AGLOW 2026 - Auckland Palace and Gardens

    Type

    Type:

    Christmas and New Year

    Bishop Auckland

    Bishop Auckland’s AGLOW light trail is alive!  
    Walk in wonder through one and a half magical miles of light and sound. Imagine a place where an ancient palace overlooks 150 acres of Deer Park that, as the sun sets, comes alive with wonderful lights…

    Dates

    From:
    20 Nov 2026to3 Jan 2027Open 16:30 - 19:30
    More info for AGLOW 2026 - Auckland Palace and Gardens
  9. Poster for a pumpkin patch with spooky carved pumpkins on a field.

    Add Pumpkin Patch - Thorpe Farm Centre to your Itinerary

    Pumpkin Patch - Thorpe Farm Centre

    Type

    Type:

    Halloween

    Barnard Castle

    Get ready, families — it’s time for a spooktacular autumn adventure at Thorpe Farm Centre’s beloved Pumpkin Patch, returning this October and bigger than ever! The Pumpkin Patch is free to enter. Once you have chosen your perfect pumpkin, and take…

    Dates

    From:
    3 Oct 2026to31 Oct 2026
    More info for Pumpkin Patch - Thorpe Farm Centre
  10. 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
  11. A field of pumpkins

    Add Pumpkin Picking - Tweddle Farm to your Itinerary

    Pumpkin Picking - Tweddle Farm

    Type

    Type:

    Halloween

    Blackhall Colliery, Hartlepool

    Join us at the North East’s most loved Pumpkin Patch! Filled with garden games, face painting, funfair rides, photo opportunities and more! Our patch is bursting with all kinds of shapes, colours & sizes! Choose your favourite to take home and carve.

    Dates

    From:
    10 Oct 2026to11 Oct 2026Open 10:00 - 14:30
    From:
    17 Oct 2026to18 Oct 2026Open 10:00 - 14:30
    From:
    24 Oct 2026to30 Oct 2026Open 10:00 - 14:30
    More info for Pumpkin Picking - Tweddle Farm
  12. Close up of the Grinch looing quizzical at the camera wearing a Santa hat in the snowy night

    Add Grand Cinema: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (PG) - Beamish, The Living Museum of the North to your Itinerary

    Grand Cinema: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (PG) - 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:
    12 Dec 2026Open 13:45 -
    More info for Grand Cinema: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (PG) - Beamish, The Living Museum of the North
  13. A historic stone room with low curved ceilings and fairy lights

    Add Medieval Knight Dinner - Lumley Castle to your Itinerary

    Medieval Knight Dinner - Lumley Castle

    Type

    Type:

    Food & Drink

    Chester le Street

    Seated on wooden benches, at wooden tables in the Castles Baronial Hall. A 5-course feast is served with mead & wine, whilst being entertained by Ladies of the court, Court Chamberlain & Herald, with musicians, all in traditional costume.

    Dates

    From:
    20 Nov 2026Open 18:30 - 00:00
    More info for Medieval Knight Dinner - Lumley Castle
  14. 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
  15. A group of children gathered around a wooden frame filled with sticks and bricks on grass, engaged in a hands-on outdoor activity.

    Add Parkland Explorers: Hedgehog Houses - The Bowes Museum to your Itinerary

    Parkland Explorers: Hedgehog Houses - The Bowes Museum

    Type

    Type:

    October Half Term

    Barnard Castle

    Head to the wildflower meadow behind the museum to discover hidden wildlife and make habitats for hibernating hedgehogs using recycled materials.

    Venue

    The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle

    Dates

    From:
    27 Oct 2026Open 10:30 - 11:30
    More info for Parkland Explorers: Hedgehog Houses - The Bowes Museum
  16. An illustrated poster for A Christmas Carol, with Scrooge in a top hat.

    Add A Christmas Carol with Alfie Joey - Ushaw Historic House, Chapels and Gardens to your Itinerary

    A Christmas Carol with Alfie Joey - Ushaw Historic House, Chapels and Gardens

    Type

    Type:

    Children/Family events

    Bearpark, Durham

    This December, feel the chill of Christmas past, the urgency of the present, and the hope of a future redeemed as Alfie Joe, performs his own solo version of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens; a timeless tale, told like you’ve never seen it…

    Dates

    From:
    6 Dec 2026
    More info for A Christmas Carol with Alfie Joey - Ushaw Historic House, Chapels and Gardens
  17. 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
  18. Two people stand in a recreated pit cottage, in front of a coal-fired range. One holds a bread display for Harvest Celebration.

    Add Harvest Celebrations at Beamish, The Living Museum of the North to your Itinerary

    Harvest Celebrations at Beamish, The Living Museum of the North

    Type

    Type:

    Children/Family events

    Beamish

    Experience traditional harvest celebrations at Beamish Museum.

    Dates

    From:
    3 Oct 2026to4 Oct 2026Open 10:00 - 17:00
    More info for Harvest Celebrations at Beamish, The Living Museum of the North
  19. Two people standing in the kitchen of a historic house, holding a harvest style baked loaf.

    Add Celebrations Harvest Celebrations 2026 - Beamish, The Living Museum of the North to your Itinerary

    Celebrations Harvest Celebrations 2026 - Beamish, The Living Museum of the North

    Type

    Type:

    Family Fun

    Stanley

    Experience traditional harvest celebrations. We will be exploring the significance of harvest time, with bountiful displays and entertainment across the museum. Beamish reserves the right to alter events, activities, facilities, operations and…

    Dates

    From:
    3 Oct 2026to4 Oct 2026Open 10:00 - 17:00
    More info for Celebrations Harvest Celebrations 2026 - Beamish, The Living Museum of the North
  20. Children playing with a science experiment.

    Add Celebrate Science - Locomotion to your Itinerary

    Celebrate Science - Locomotion

    Type

    Type:

    October Half Term

    Shildon

    Calling all young scientists! Locomotion is the next stop for the annual festival to celebrate science. Get inspired by science this autumn! Durham University is partnering with Locomotion to host an exciting three-day festival. Join us for live…

    Dates

    From:
    27 Oct 2026to29 Oct 2026Open 10:00 - 16:00
    More info for Celebrate Science - Locomotion
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