Hatfield House Music Festival from 8 October, the vegan market on the 10th, free half term events and two fireworks nights, with times and prices.

The biggest thing in the next six weeks is at Hatfield House: the Hatfield House Music Festival, four days of concerts from Thursday 8 October, with Sir András Schiff and The Sixteen both playing on the Sunday. Two days into it, on Saturday 10 October, the vegan market takes over Stonehills Square, one of only two days a year it comes to the town. After that the diary turns to half term, with a free pumpkin patch in the town centre on Friday 30 October, and then to fireworks.

Everything below comes from the organisers’ own listings, read on 28 September 2026. Each entry links to the page it came from, so you can check before you set off. Where an organiser has not published a price or a time, we say so and leave it out. For places that are open whatever the month, see our guide to things to do in Welwyn Garden City.

This week

Monday 28 September to Sunday 4 October.

  • Hatfield House Real Tennis Open Days. Wednesday 30 September and Thursday 1 October, 6pm to 7.30pm and 7.30pm to 9pm, then Sunday 4 October at 9am, 11am, 1pm and 3pm, at Hatfield House Real Tennis Club in Hatfield Park, AL9 5HX. Free, booking required. Ninety-minute taster sessions on one of only 45 active real tennis courts in the world, with eight places in each. (Hatfield Park)
  • Better Health Bus visits Hatfield. Friday 2 October, 10am to 4pm, White Lion Square, Hatfield, AL10 0LD. Free. NHS Health Checks, blood pressure checks and stop-smoking support from the Better Health Bus team. (One Welwyn Hatfield)
  • Abbamania. Friday 2 October, 7.30pm, Campus West, The Campus, AL8 6BX. £29.50. The ABBA tribute concert that has been touring since 1999. (Campus West)
  • Comedy at the Barn. Friday 2 October, 8pm, in the clubroom and bar at the Barn Theatre, Barn Close, AL8 6ST. Gary G Knightley hosts, with James Beckett opening. The theatre warns of strong language and adult themes. Prices are on the theatre’s booking page. (Barn Theatre)
  • Hatfield: Our Past, Our Story. Saturday 3 October, 11am to 4pm, Hatfield town centre, AL10 0JJ. Free. A medieval day with jostling knights, furniture making, wood whittling and face painting. The library runs story time from 11.15am to 11.30am and arts and crafts from 12pm to 1.30pm. (One Welwyn Hatfield)
  • The Best in Comedy, October. Saturday 3 October, 8pm, Campus West. £23. Lou Sanders, Glenn Moore, Eshaan Akbar and Dave Chawner are on the bill. (Campus West)
  • Halloween Wreath Workshop. Sunday 4 October, 10.30am, Mill Green Museum and Watermill, Bush Hall Lane, Hatfield, AL9 5PD. £60. An autumn wreath made from seasonal foliage, taught by The Thankful Florist. (Mill Green Museum)

Next week

Monday 5 to Sunday 11 October.

  • West Side Jazz. Wednesday 7 October, 7.30pm, Campus West. £18. The venue’s monthly jazz night, on the first Wednesday of the month. (Campus West)
  • Hatfield House Music Festival: Celebrations. Thursday 8 to Sunday 11 October, in the Marble Hall and the Old Palace at Hatfield House and at St Etheldreda’s Church. Tickets run from £5 to £50 and are sold per concert. The Sixteen and Fretwork open at 5pm on Thursday. Friday has the pianist Seth Schultheis at 5pm, then Iestyn Davies and the harpist Oliver Wass at 7.30pm. Saturday has a Come and Sing at 11am (£15), a relaxed concert at 3pm (£12 adults, £5 for ages 4 to 18), the Academy of St Martin in the Fields String Ensemble at 5pm and the Julian Bliss Jazz Quintet at 8pm. Sir András Schiff plays at midday on Sunday, and The Sixteen close the festival at 3pm in the Old Palace. (Hatfield House Music Festival)
  • Jazz at the Barn: Soul Time!. Friday 9 October, 8pm, in the clubroom and bar at the Barn Theatre. The pianist Leon Greening and trumpeter Steve Fishwick lead a quartet playing the music of Bobby Timmons. Prices are on the theatre’s booking page. (Barn Theatre)
  • Welwyn Garden City Vegan Market. Saturday 10 October, 10.30am to 4pm, Stonehills Square, AL8 6ND, between John Lewis and the Howard Centre. Free entry. Vegan street food, bakers, jewellers, artists and environmental charities. The organiser comes to the town on only two days a year, and well behaved dogs are welcome. (Vegan Market Co)
  • ADHD Unfiltered. Saturday 10 October, 7.30pm, Campus West. £26.50. Hester Grainger’s live show about life with ADHD. (Campus West)

Later in October

Half term in Hertfordshire’s schools is the week of Monday 26 October, and most of the family events sit in it. Our October half term page has the rest.

  • The Father. Friday 16 to Saturday 24 October, 8pm, with a 2.30pm matinee on the 24th, in the main theatre at the Barn Theatre. Florian Zeller’s play puts the audience inside a man’s dementia. It runs about an hour and a half with no interval. Prices are on the theatre’s booking page. (Barn Theatre)
  • The Tudor Songbook. Friday 16 October, 7.30pm to 9.30pm, in the Great Hall of the Old Palace, Hatfield Park, AL9 5HX. £20 plus TicketSource booking fees. The soprano Jay Britton sings music from the Tudor and Elizabethan courts, accompanied by lute. One evening only, with a bar before the performance and at the interval. (Hatfield Park)
  • Spooky Special 2. Sunday 18 October, 1pm and 4.30pm, Campus West. £15. A Younique Dance School’s Halloween production, with performers of all ages. (Campus West)
  • Murderous Minds with Emma Kenny. Friday 23 October, 7.30pm, Campus West. £30. A true crime talk from Emma Kenny. (Campus West)
  • K Pop Icons. Saturday 24 October, 7pm, Campus West. £21.50. A live concert with a virtual K-Pop band and a dance crew. (Campus West)
  • Witches & Wizards Week at Hatfield Park. Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November, 10.30am to 4pm, last entry 3pm, Hatfield Park, AL9 5HX. Adult £16 and child £8 for the Haunted Forest walk and a hat-decorating workshop, or £12 for the workshop alone. The workshop is in the Riding School from 11am. The woodland paths can be muddy, so take wellies. (Hatfield Park)
  • Botanical Inks Workshop with Hazel. Sunday 25 October, 10.30am, Mill Green Museum and Watermill. £45. Making natural inks from hedgerow, kitchen and garden plants. (Mill Green Museum)
  • Charity Lego and Fire Walk. Tuesday 27 October, Welwyn Garden City town centre, AL8 6AE. The Lego walk starts at 3.30pm, for ages five and over, with a £10 registration fee. The fire walk has a safety talk at 6pm and starts at 7pm, for ages 15 and over, at £20. Each has a £50 sponsorship target, and a family package is £42.50. It raises money for the Willow Foundation, with the town centre BID. Watching is free. (Willow Foundation)
  • Blue Heart. Tuesday 27 to Saturday 31 October, 8pm, with a 2.30pm matinee on the 31st, in the Barn Studio at the Barn Theatre. Caryl Churchill’s pair of short plays, about two hours with an interval. Prices are on the theatre’s booking page. (Barn Theatre)
  • Family Half Term Mosaic Workshop. Wednesday 28 October, 11am and 12.15pm, Mill Green Museum and Watermill. £15. An hour making a Halloween mosaic with Montet Designs. (Mill Green Museum)
  • Spooktacular and Mini Pumpkin Patch. Friday 30 October, 11am to 4pm, Welwyn Garden City town centre, AL8 6AE. Free. A pumpkin patch and Halloween activities, paid for by the town centre’s businesses with help from the borough council. (One Welwyn Hatfield)
  • The Miller’s Monster Mash Bash. Friday 30 and Saturday 31 October, entry on the hour from 10am to 2pm, Mill Green Museum and Watermill. £10, free for children aged two and under. A day of tricks and treats in the museum grounds. (Mill Green Museum)
  • The Three Little Pigs. Friday 30 October, 11.30am and 2pm, Campus West. £15. A 55-minute family musical. (Campus West)

November

The first week of the month, to Sunday 8 November. None of the borough’s fireworks displays is free, and our fireworks page explains why. Remembrance Sunday is 8 November, and the services are on our Remembrance Sunday page.

  • Hertfordshire Firework Show. Sunday 1 November, 4pm to 8pm, last entry 6.45pm, Brocket Hall, AL8 7XG. Tickets on the booking page start at £10. The organiser says the 2024 and 2025 shows sold out. (Skiddle)
  • West Side Jazz Orchestra. Wednesday 4 November, 7.30pm, Campus West. £24. A big band of session players drawn from the BBC Big Band, Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra and the Syd Lawrence Orchestra. (Campus West)
  • Fireworks Night at Essendon Country Club. Friday 6 November, Essendon Country Club, Bedwell Park, Essendon, AL9 6HN. Adult £14, under 18 £9, under 3 free. Onsite parking is a separate £10 ticket. The early-bird tickets have sold out, and the club has not published times. (Essendon Country Club)
  • The Rolling Clones. Friday 6 November, 7.30pm, Campus West. £25. A Rolling Stones tribute. (Campus West)
  • The Academy. Friday 6 and Saturday 7 November, 8pm, with a 3.30pm matinee on the 7th, in the Barn Studio at the Barn Theatre. Nicole Moody’s play is set in a Premier League club’s academy. The theatre suggests ages 14 and over. Prices are on the theatre’s booking page. (Barn Theatre)
  • The Best in Comedy, November. Saturday 7 November, 8pm, Campus West. £23. The monthly stand-up night. (Campus West)

Regular events

These run whatever else is on.

  • Welwyn Garden City Food and Craft Market. First and third Saturday of the month, 10am to 4pm, Stonehills, AL8 6NA, outside the old Debenhams building. The next dates are Saturday 3 October, 17 October and 7 November. Produce, gifts, crafts and hot food stalls. (Welwyn Garden City Market)
  • Stanborough parkrun. Every Saturday, 9am, Stanborough Park, Stanborough Road, AL8 6DF. Free. A timed 5km. Register once with parkrun before your first run and bring your barcode. (parkrun)
  • Panshanger parkrun. Every Saturday, 9am, Panshanger Park, Panshanger Lane, Hertford, SG14 2NJ. Free. The other timed 5km near the town, on the Hertford side. (parkrun)
  • A Milling Milestone Exhibition. Fridays and Sundays to Sunday 29 November, Mill Green Museum and Watermill. Timed entry at 10am, 11am, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm. £6.25 adult, £2.10 child aged 2 to 16, which is the ordinary admission price. The exhibition marks 40 years since the watermill was restored. Our guide to the exhibition. (Mill Green Museum)
  • Music24 Singing Cafe. Second and fourth Mondays of the month, 2pm to 3.30pm, The Club at Mill Green, Gypsy Lane, AL7 4TY. The next is Monday 12 October. Singing, tea and cake for people aged 55 and over. Music24 suggests a £5 donation if you can. (One Welwyn Hatfield)

Getting there

Campus West, Stonehills and the Howard Centre are all within a few minutes’ walk of each other and of the railway station, so one trip covers most of the town centre listings. The Barn Theatre is on Barn Close, AL8 6ST. Hatfield Park’s car park is through George’s Gate, AL9 5HX, and parking there is free; on foot, the park gate is opposite Hatfield station. Our page on parking in Welwyn Garden City has the town centre car parks and tariffs, and train times has the timetable.

Two listings we could not check this time are left out rather than guessed at. Hatfield Town Council’s events calendar would not load for us on 28 September, so its events are missing from this page. The free singing taster at Templewood School on 8 October is on its own page, from details the charity gave us directly.

This page is rewritten as organisers confirm new dates. Dates can still change, so use the links before you travel. More in our What’s On section.

Send us your event

Running something in Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield or the villages? Email hello@welwynonline.co.uk with the date, time, venue, price and a photo. Listings are free of charge, always. Your event goes on this page and in the diary on our What’s On section.

Sources