Harry Potter Day is at Victoria Park on Saturday 10 October and Create Music Village runs all month: 39 dated Ashford and Tenterden listings with prices.

October in Ashford belongs to Create Music Village, a month of gigs, comedy and free family workshops that opens on Saturday 3 October across the Bandstand, Revelation, Coachworks and RG Studios. The biggest single family date is Harry Potter Day at Victoria Park on Saturday 10 October, from 10am to 2pm. Half term brings Halloween at the Rare Breeds Centre from 24 October, and two steam specials out of Tenterden.

Everything below comes from the organisers’ own listings, read on 28 September 2026. It covers Ashford, Tenterden and the villages for the next six weeks. Every entry links to its source, so you can check before you set off. For places that are open whatever the month, see things to do in Ashford.

This week

  • Ashford Makers Market, Saturday 3 October, 10am to 4pm. High Street, TN24 8TB. Free. The United Makers of Kent food and creative market, which the organisers say is in the town centre every month. (Create Music Village)
  • The Cardboard DJ and record making, Saturday 3 October, 10am to 3pm. Ashford Bandstand. Free. A family craft workshop: cut a record out of cardboard, decorate it, then hand it to the resident DJ. (Create Music Village)
  • All Day Song and Music Session, Saturday 3 October, 11.30am to 10.30pm. Upstairs bar, The Tenterden Club. Free, no tickets, with a collection to pay for the room. Join in or sit and listen, and come and go as you like. (Tenterden Folk Day Trust)
  • Create Music Village 2026: Launch Party and Emerging Artist Showcase, Saturday 3 October, 7pm to 9.30pm. RG Studios, 25 Bank Street, TN23 1DG. Free entry, but places are limited and booking is advised. Sets from bubblicious, Sam the Person and Truckers. Under 16s must be with an adult. (Create Music Village)
  • Chasing Mumford, Saturday 3 October, doors 7pm, to 11pm. Coachworks, Dover Place, TN23 1HU. £13 plus booking fee. A Mumford and Sons tribute, for ages 14 and over. (Create Music Village)
  • Just Floyd, Pink Floyd tribute, Saturday 3 October, doors 7.15pm, show 8pm to 10.30pm. Revelation, St Mary the Virgin, TN23 1QG. Early bird £20, £24 on the door, plus booking fees. Seated. (Create Music Village)

Next week

  • Velocette Owners Club at Tenterden Town Station, Wednesday 7 October, 11am to 1pm. Tenterden Town Station. The Kent Centre’s last monthly meet of the season, with motorcycles from 1936 to about 1968 on show and owners happy to talk. (Kent and East Sussex Railway)
  • Life Drawing to Live Music, Wednesday 7 October, doors 6.50pm, 7pm to 9pm. Hypha Studios, Upper Pemberton, Kennington, TN25 4AZ. £11.50. An untutored life drawing class with live music, for all levels. (Create Music Village)
  • Justin Sullivan and Dean White, Thursday 8 October, doors 7pm, show 7.45pm to 10pm. Revelation, TN23 1QG. £25 plus booking fees. The New Model Army frontman. Standing, with a few unreserved balcony seats. (Create Music Village)
  • Comedy Tapas, Friday 9 October, 7pm to 10.30pm. Coachworks, TN23 1HU. Early bird £8.50, standard £9.50, plus booking fees. Over 18s only. (Create Music Village)
  • Romesh Ranganathan: Work in Progress, Friday 9 October, doors 7.15pm, show 8pm to 10.20pm. Revelation, TN23 1QG. Sold out, so do not travel without a ticket. (Create Music Village)
  • Harry Potter Day, Saturday 10 October, 10am to 2pm. Victoria Park. A Chamber of Secrets trail, a prize draw and hidden snitches, and you can turn up at any time. Parking at the park is very limited. Our guide to the day. (Ashford Borough Council)
  • Ashford Concert Band, Saturday 10 October, 11am to 11.45am and 12.30pm to 1.15pm. Ashford Bandstand. Free. Two sets from the community band. (Create Music Village)
  • Morris Moves and Folk Grooves, Saturday 10 October, 1pm to 3pm. The Elwick Club. £7. The Ashford Folk Group teaches a Morris tune or two and the dances that go with them, led by Clare Hay. Places are limited. (Create Music Village)
  • Mantissa at the Mill, Saturday 10 October. Willesborough Windmill. The mill lists the date without a time or price: ring Pat White on 01233 733416 to book. (Willesborough Windmill)
  • Austin Counties Car Rally, Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October. Tenterden Town Station. Free with a train ticket, or £1 for a platform ticket. Austins built between 1939 and 1954 parked across the station, with the refreshment rooms open from 10am. (Kent and East Sussex Railway)
  • Country Superstars: Dolly Parton and Friends tribute show, Saturday 10 October, doors 6.45pm, show 7.30pm to 10pm. Revelation, TN23 1QG. Early bird £26, or £20 for under 16s and carers; £30 and £24 on the door. Seated. (Create Music Village)

Later in October

  • The Big Weekend Launch Party: Sunday Best, Friday 16 October, 7pm to 10pm. Coachworks, TN23 1HU. £7 in advance, £10 on the door, plus booking fees. Emo, punk and alternative bands open Create’s Big Weekend. (Create Music Village)
  • Michael Spicer: Hope All’s Well, Friday 16 October, show 7.30pm to 10pm. Revelation, TN23 1QG. Early bird £23, £27 on the door, plus booking fees. Seated, over 16s only. (Create Music Village)
  • The Commuter Belt: Unplugged and on the Move, Saturday 17 October, 11am to 4.30pm. Four town centre venues. Free and family friendly. Six local acts move between the venues all afternoon, with Lewis Floyd Henry headlining. (Create Music Village)
  • Cardboard Guitars with Debz, Saturday 17 October, 11am to 12pm and 1pm to 2pm. Coachworks, TN23 1HU. Free, but places are limited, so book ahead. Children design a cardboard guitar, then take it on stage. (Create Music Village)
  • Godinton House Autumn Fair, Saturday 17 October, 11am to 4pm. Godinton House, Godinton Lane, TN23 3BP. Included with a standard garden ticket. Food, drink and craft stalls drawn mostly from within 40 miles of Ashford. The gardens close for the year the next day, Sunday 18 October. (Godinton House)
  • Jasmin Vardimon Youth Company audition workshop, Saturday 17 October, 1.30pm to 4.30pm. JV H.O.M.E, Javelin Way, TN24 8FN. Free, but you must register. An audition for JVyoU, the company’s youth group for dancers aged 12 to 18. (Create Music Village)
  • Electric Jalaba, with Ashford Massive, Saturday 17 October, doors and show from 7.30pm, to 10pm. Revelation, TN23 1QG. Early bird £20, £24 on the door. (Create Music Village)
  • Converge: a candlelit deep listening sound bath, Sunday 18 October, doors 3pm, 3.30pm to 4.30pm. Revelation, TN23 1QG. Early bird £7, £10 on the door. An hour of live improvised sound from Sound Emergence. (Create Music Village)
  • An Intimate Evening with Thea Gilmore, Friday 23 October, doors 7.15pm, show 8pm to 10pm. Revelation, TN23 1QG. Early bird £25, £29 on the door, plus booking fees. Seated. (Create Music Village)
  • LiVES and Dolium, Friday 23 October, doors 8pm, to 10.30pm. Coachworks, TN23 1HU. £10. Post-punk and hard rock, with King of Everything and Heel Bite in support. (Create Music Village)
  • Soundscape Mark Making Workshop, Saturday 24 October, 11am to 1pm. Hypha Studios, Kennington, TN25 4AZ. Adults £35, ages 16 to 18 £20. Drawing and painting to live music. (Create Music Village)
  • Daytime Disco for Grown Ups, Saturday 24 October, 4pm to 7.30pm. Revelation, TN23 1QG. Early bird £19.50 standard, £24.50 VIP; £21 and £26 on the door, plus booking fees. Standing, over 18s only. The listing gives earlier door times for ticket holders, so check it before you go. (Create Music Village)
  • The Marsh Family Live, Saturday 24 October, doors 7pm, show 7.30pm to 10pm. RG Studios, 25 Bank Street, TN23 1DG. £11, booking fees may apply. The Faversham family band. (Create Music Village)
  • Farmyard Frights and Trick or Treat Delights, Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November, daily. Rare Breeds Centre, Woodchurch. The Trick or Treat Trail runs at 10.30am, 11.30am and 12.30pm, costs £3.50 a child on top of entry and must be booked. Also a UV disco at 2.30pm and pumpkin painting from 11am to 3pm at £1 a pumpkin. Entry prices are in our half term guide. (Rare Breeds Centre)
  • The Spellbound Express, Wednesday 28 to Friday 30 October. Tenterden Town Station, TN30 6HE. An hour-long steam trip to Northiam and back with a witch, a magician and a baby dragon, for ages 4 to 11. No scares. Book online. (Kent and East Sussex Railway)
  • The Three Ravens live podcast recording, Thursday 29 October, 7pm to 9pm. Godinton House, TN23 3BP. An evening of Kentish folk tales from the folklore podcast, with tea or coffee and cake at the interval included in the ticket. (Godinton House)
  • Beyond the Beat: Morrison Ford Live, Friday 30 October, 7.30pm to 10pm. RG Studios, TN23 1DG. £11. The rapper and film composer performs his catalogue. Under 16s must be with an adult. (Create Music Village)
  • Fright Night, Friday 30 and Saturday 31 October, train departs 6.30pm. Tenterden Town Station, TN30 6HE. Arrive from 5.30pm; free children’s activities start at 5pm. The train runs to Northiam for drummers, a fire eater and fireworks, and is due back about 8.15pm. Tickets are non-refundable. (Kent and East Sussex Railway)
  • Children’s Halloween at the Mill, Saturday 31 October, 2pm to 5pm. Willesborough Windmill, on the last day of its open season. Ring Pat White on 01233 733416 for details. (Willesborough Windmill)

School holiday dates differ between Ashford’s schools this year. Our October half term guide sets out who is off when.

November

  • Southern Through the Ages, Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November. Kent and East Sussex Railway, Tenterden. A two-day gala of Southern Railway engines, and the last chance to see the Terrier Knowle before its overhaul. The railway says advance tickets are coming soon. (Kent and East Sussex Railway)

Further ahead, we keep separate pages for Remembrance Sunday on 8 November, the Carnival of the Baubles on 21 November, the Tenterden Christmas Market, the Tenterden Santa Specials and Christmas at the Rare Breeds Centre. The fireworks page tracks the displays that have yet to publish a date.

Regular events

  • Ashford parkrun, every Saturday, 9am. Victoria Park, TN23 4QD. A free 5k to walk, jog or run. The next is on Saturday 3 October. It is cancelled on Saturday 10 October, because the venue is unavailable that day. (parkrun)
  • Willesborough Windmill open afternoons, Saturdays and Sundays, 2pm to 5pm, until 31 October. Guided tours are £5 for adults, £2.50 for children and concessions and £10 for a family, with last entry at 4pm. The barn cafe is free to enter. The visitor car park is in Cornes Close, TN24 0LG. (Willesborough Windmill)

The Ashford Makers Market, listed above for 3 October, is monthly.

Getting there

Revelation, the Bandstand, RG Studios and the High Street are a few minutes’ walk from each other. Coachworks is on Dover Place, beside Ashford International station. Our parking in Ashford page has the car parks and tariffs, and the evening rate at Elwick Place changes on 1 November. Check roadworks and travel before driving to Tenterden or Woodchurch.

Dates can change, so use the links before you travel. More in our What’s On section.

Send us your event

Running something in Ashford, Tenterden or the villages? Email hello@ashfordtimes.co.uk with the date, time, venue, price and a photo. Listings are free of charge, and yours will go on this page and in the diary.

Sources