What's On and Things To Do Around Colchester

20+ Gardens open to the public Light Lunches and cream teas in Village Hall 12-2pm Church Tower Open 1-3pm Stalls selling Plants, Produce, Collectables, Cakes and Ice-cream Free shuttle bus from centre to outlying gardens All profits to St Marys Church, Boxford

Gnomeo and Juliet animated film followed by family disco. Seating inside the 350 yer old barn, with usher to seat service for drinks and snacks on tiered seating on super comfy beanbags / beachchairs and our massive screen After the film the screen rolls-up to reveal the DJ for the afterparty - classic dances...

Grease Film inside the 350 year old barn on tiered seating with lux bean bag option. Usher to-seat drinks and popcorn thru show. Crowd karaoke to get you warmed-up....dressing-up, loud singing and dancing encouraged - followed by Rock’roll afterparty till 01.30am!

The Secret Garden Film (’93) lovely story - this being Coggeshall Open Gardens weekend. Tiered seating inside our 350 year old Essex Barn, followed by games in the gardens....

Lovely film inside a 350 year old Essex barn on tiered seating with supercomfy bean bag option, drinks brought to your seat thru the film by ushers - followed by a firepit and open gardens under the stars - - with popular classical music DJ until midnight....

Large cottage style farmhouse garden situated in the peaceful Essex countryside with mature trees, mixed borders, vegetables, greenhouses and a small flock of sheep. Developed from a neglected state over 12 years ago with a fine view of the Blackwater Estuary.

Set in acre, this garden lends itself to a cottage style. A garden of many surprises from the glory of roses including the rambling rector ( a must to see) to a vast collection of Hostas and a sub-tropical section. Don’t miss the mini stumpery in this ever evolving garden.

At 12 noon, the celebrated garden designer, Tom Stuart-Smith will be giving an exclusive talk. Tickets for the talk must be purchased in advance and will support Horatios Garden charity. To book please visit www.horatiosgarden.org.uk/Braxted or ring 01722 326 834.

Our biggest event yet raising funds for our cat & dog rehoming centre - National Animal Welfare Trust, Clacton. Displays & Have-a-go by Tendring Agility Group. Fun Dog show with 14 classes - rosettes & prizes to be won.

Help when you need it most. Age UK Suffolk; Hadleigh Dementia Group; St. Elizabeth Hospice; Hadleigh Healing Society; will be here to offer practical help and advice. Refreshments and raffle.

charity UFO talk and book signing event by best selling international author Richard Lawrence Proceeds going to Kids on the Green The Grenfell Fire Tragedy 2017 helping children who have been affected by this through play activities

The Lions Charity Challenge Mutt Strutt is an eight mile self guided dog walk around the beautiful Alton Water Reservoir. The route is hilly in places and during the wet weather can also be muddy.

A workshop-based event by local artist/writer Wendy Constance, starting with a beach clean at Jaywick Sands leading to the Tower.

Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, this exhibition by Epping Forest District Museum explores one of the most important ideological and political conflicts of the twentieth century.

The reading room on the roof of the Tower will become a camera obscura for the weekend, come and see what it is like to be inside a camera. Understand how the renaissance painters discovered perspective and how Fox Talbot created photography.

Free Family Fun drop in workshop Inspired by our current Cold War exhibition join artist Alison Stockmarr and design your own personalised telescope or binoculars.

Free workshops on the first Wednesday of every month. Everybody welcome! Materials, coffee, biscuits and great creative conversations provided. Liquid acrylics and surprising additives; with dirty pours, string pulls, and finishings advice. Make stunning art without a paintbrush!

A garden for all seasons. ¾ acre created over the last 5 years. Minutes from Halstead Town centre yet a very peaceful garden with stunning views over the countryside. Enter to a two-tier gravel Bee Border; wander to our Winter Wedding border then the Woodlands Walk.

An award-winning, medium-sized garden described by one visitor as a ’Little Bit of Heaven. A blaze of colour with roses, clematis, pergola, rose arch, triple fountain with box hedging and deep herbaceous borders. See our ’Folly’, exuberant and cascading hanging baskets...find our Secret Door.

Join our sponsored Walk for Life taking in the beautiful Essex countryside whilst raising vital funds for people affected by life limiting illness.

This fantastic Farmers’ Market, a huge hit in the town centre is now one of Suffolk’s busiest town markets. Every month the stunning venue is filled with some of the regions very highest quality local produce.

A fantastic annual event, held in the centre of this Suffolk market town and aimed at celebrating, promoting and showcasing the very best producers, restaurants, chefs and food industries that we are so lucky to have in this part of Suffolk.

FROM FERRIS WHEEL TO FURRY FRIENDS the Blackwater Country Show in its 13th year will stimulate the senses whether you try paddling a canoe on the lake, handle birds of prey or drive mini landrovers.

Join us as we commemorate ’D’ Day (6th June) and the war years with this 1940’s Tea Dance featuring Vocalist & Band Leader Jeff Short & his Musicians. Featuring music and songs from the 1940’s. Remember Vera Lynn, Glenn Miller, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Andrew Sisters, Doris Day?

Tasmania (I. Spencer). Organised by Sudbury & District Philatelic Society. Contact for details: David Gottesmann (Secretary).

17 May: Jim Charlton displays "The Souvenirs of A Lord", the Bernard Braine Collection; 31 May: Two Members Display. Organised by Witham Philatelic Society. Contact for details: Colin Fletcher (Secretary).

Display by Steve Alpe. Organised by Clacton Philatelic Society. Contact for details: David Hacker (Secretary).

20-acre garden and large Georgian rectory set in parkland, planted from 2006 onwards by the current owners. Individual colour-themed, roomed gardens, cottage garden and formal long borders with mass plantings of hundreds of shrubs and perennials.

New Age Sports allows people of all abilities to compete together. Have you ever taken part in New Age Kurling, or Boccia. Well now is the time to try! You certainly do not have to be fantastically fit to play. Babergh Branch of the Oddfellows invites you to its first meeting of its kind.

leCanCan Gift Ideas for birthdays Christmas or just for your self Vintage Baby Dolls 1960s doll with pull string and Triang cot 1960s

le CanCan Gift Ideas or just for your self, Vintage Baby Dolls 1960s and Doll with pull string with Triang Dolls Cot

Traditional, free fun and family dog show in one of Suffolk’s prettiest villages. 2018 Flower power theme, entertainment, games, stalls, teas, barbecue, beer …..a lovely way to spend a summer afternoon. Between Lavenham and Hadleigh. Free. www.facebook.com/events/192381528033905/

Back by popular demand A Vintage Affair something for everyone, all things vintage, Big Band, dancers, singers, vintage stalls, (around 60) and of course those classic cars, such a fantastic day out for all the family, dogs are welcome on leads only

A Vintage Affair, now in its 6th year, arranged by Anne of Juniper Flowers, Sudbury,, thats florist with a vintage twist, all vintage stalls, Big band, singers, dancing, classic cars, a real day out for all the family, dogs welcome on leads.

This annual Art Show takes place in the beautiful Tithe Barn in Sproughton over the late May Bank Holiday Weekend and will offer a fantastic opportunity for visitors to view over 300 pieces of work by local artists.

Our popular 80’s tribute night at Maldon Stadium Let’s go back to the 80’s and revisit the best decade of music, guaranteed to get you up on your feet! Book tickets online now at: boxoffice.maldonstadium.

Carters Steam Fair is back in town for 9 days with rides and attractions for all the family to enjoy! Your local vintage funfair is back in town! Visit us in Promenade Park (Maldon, CM9 5JQ) this weekend - free entry & free fireworks! This is our only event in Essex so don’t miss out.

Join us for a Clay Workshop in your area for both Beginners and the more Experienced. Groups and Individuals catered for. Emma is a practising Ceramic and Applied Artist and highly qualified Tutor, offering various Clay Workshops and has many years experience working with all ages and abilities.

Families are welcome to Ipswich High School’s Preparatory and Senior School Open Morning on 2nd March 2018. Now accepting boys, we educate children aged 3 - 18, from Pre-Prep through to Sixth Form.

Rookwoods is a tranquil garden. The herbaceous borders feature columns of tumbling roses, Pleached hornbeam rooms lead to a wild flower bed, buttercup meadow and ancient oak wood. There is no need to walk far, you can come and linger over tea, under a dreamy wisteria canopy, while enjoying the garden view.

Between 15 and 20 exhibitors will be offering a wide range of secondhand, out of print and collectable books for sale. From paperbacks to antiquarian. Often also postcards and ephemera. Home made refreshments available. Free parking. The longest running independent book fair in East Anglia.

This year my annual Spring Open Studio Weekend will be held in my new Ipswich Ceramics Studio. As my first show of 2018, I will be showcasing some of my new pieces for the first time.

Charming one-acre country garden surrounding a former farmhouse,with good views over rolling countryside. A former horse pond features a beach with landing stage. Rose garden, wide herbaceous, shrub and woodland borders, hidden walks and opportunities to sit and relax. Alpines, grasses and alliums.

Tea/coffee and biscuits can be taken in a lovely cottage garden or in the cottage parlour. The Heritage & Railway museums will be open. Sales table with plants, bric-a-brac and books.

Beautiful photography from Frinton-on Sea and the surrounding areas, by landscape photographer Marie Davey.

Join one of our naval history experts as he recounts tales of the Hyde Parker naval exploits. Meet in the library for a rsum of the naval exploits of the Hyde Parker family. From the Baltic to the Caribbean or from the Indian to the Atlantic Oceans, the Hyde Parker family were a sea-faring dynasty.

Melford Hall’s Art Fair is not only an opportunity to view and buy the paintings of a group of East Anglian artists, but also to meet them as they demonstrate their skills.

A popular guided walk taking in some railway and village history as well as both some modern archaeology and the natural beauty of the Suffolk countryside. Join us for a guided four-mile walk retracing the route of the former Great Eastern Railway Line linking the medieval wool towns of Lavenham and Long Melford.

Get carried away by the magical adventures of Peter Rabbit and his friends as written by Beatrix Potter and narrated by one of our story tellers. Booking Not Needed. Suitable for young children.