ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT intheDIARY OCTOBER 2025
CURRENTLY BOOKING UNTIL 4 JANUARY 2026 THE PADDINGTON BEAR EXPERIENCE™ County Hall, London paddingtonbearexperience. com Time: Various Price: £ 34
Step into the world of the nation’ s favourite bear at this unique immersive experience that unfolds across multiple themed-rooms, each inspired by iconic locations from the beloved Paddington stories. Starting at Paddington station, families will set off on a lively train journey through London’ s most famous landmarks all the way to the Browns’ charming house at 32 Windsor Gardens. The Brown family will then whisk guests into a whirlwind of multi-sensory activities as they need to help Paddington and his family prepare for a very special occasion- The Marmalade Day Festival!
ACROSS THE BORDER!
© Alex Brenner
4- 5 OCTOBER APPLE FAIR Brogdale Collections, Faversham brogdalecollections. org Time: 10am- 4pm Price: Adult £ 12, Under 16s free
Home to over 2,000 apple and 500 pear varieties in the National Fruit Collection, Brogdale Collections presents a wonderful celebration of rare and unique fruit varieties at this year’ s Apple Fair. Pick your own fruit from the lovingly nurtured orchards, join apple tastings, guided tractor tours, apple displays and expert talks with John Easton as he offers valuable advice on rootstock varieties, pruning, equipment and disease and pest control. Across the two days, plenty of tasty food and drink will be on offer, alongside free children’ s orchard crafts.
8- 20 OCTOBER THE LOVE THAT LASTS LONGEST Various venues across Whitstable contemporarykentartists. co. uk Time: Various Price: Free
Don’ t miss Contemporary Kent Artists’ inaugural exhibition at Whitstable’ s Horsebridge Arts Centre, featuring over 20 talented artists displaying an array of artistic expressions taking inspiration from W. Somerset Maugham’ s A Writer’ s Notebook. Based on the theme‘ The Love That Lasts Longest’, there will be a concurrent exhibition at the Bruce Williams Gallery, and extending this showcase of talent other artists will also exhibit at the Boatyard in the Duke of Cumberland’ s event space from 20 October to 2 November, with talks and poetry events adding to the lineup.
10- 12 OCTOBER THE BRODSKY QUARTET: SHOSTAKOVICH CYCLE Gulbenkian Arts Centre, Canterbury thegulbenkian. co. uk Time: 11.30am, 4pm, 7pm Price: £ 20
Take the rare opportunity to embark upon a mesmerising journey through the extraordinary musical and emotional landscape of Shostakovich’ s quartets, delivered by one of the world’ s leading chamber ensembles. With all 15 of Shostakovitch’ s string quartets set to be showcased across one incredible weekend, from the delicate innocence of the early quartets to the haunting intensity of the later works, this is a simply unmissable opportunity to experience these iconic pieces of music as they were meant to be heard- as a cohesive and beautifully immersive body of work.
11 OCTOBER FLOWER SKETCHING ONE DAY COURSE Hever Castle & Gardens, Edenbridge hevercastle. co. uk Time: 10am- 3.30pm Price: From £ 65 per person
The perfect opportunity to take a peaceful moment to revel in the beautiful surroundings of Hever Castle’ s gardens, this one-day course will begin with looking at flowers’ unique structures and how to translate those characters into sketches. After making some initial pencil observations, artists will head outside to sketch in the garden before its back to the workshop to apply loose watercolour and fine liner pens to complete. Equipment will be provided, however participants are asked to bring a hardback sketchbook or to contact the team to purchase. www. insidekent. co. uk • 21