Cambridge Film Festival opens on 22 October and the free fireworks are on Midsummer Common on 5 November. 38 listings with times, prices and links.

Cambridge’s autumn diary is full from tonight. Lucy Worsley is at the Corn Exchange on Tuesday 29 September, Cambridge United have four home games in October, and the Botanic Garden’s Apple Day is on Sunday 18 October. The two biggest dates come later: the Cambridge Film Festival runs from Thursday 22 October to Sunday 1 November, and the city council’s free Fireworks Night is on Midsummer Common on Thursday 5 November.

Every listing below was read on the organiser’s own page on 28 September 2026, and each one links back to it. Prices are the organisers’ published prices; where a venue quotes a range we give the range. Tickets sell out and dates can change, so use the link before you set off.

This week

Monday 28 September to Sunday 4 October.

  • My Royal Life: An Audience with Lucy Worsley, Tuesday 29 September, 7.30pm, Cambridge Corn Exchange, Wheeler Street. £33 to £53 including booking fee. The historian on the palaces she worked in for twenty years as a curator (Corn Exchange).
  • Academy of Ancient Music, 1765: Times of Transition, Wednesday 30 September, 7.30pm, West Road Concert Hall, 11 West Road. £20.50 to £39.50 including booking fee. Laurence Cummings directs Haydn, Mozart, Telemann and Philidor; about two hours (Cambridge Live Tickets).
  • Joe Jackson, Hope and Fury Tour, Thursday 1 October, 7.30pm, Cambridge Corn Exchange. £35.50 to £52.50 including booking fee. Ages 14 and over. The venue marked it “almost full” on 28 September (Corn Exchange).
  • The Lemonheads, Thursday 1 October, doors 7pm, Cambridge Junction (J1), Clifton Way. £40.50 in advance, £42.50 on the door. Standing, with support from Willy Mason; last entry 9.30pm (Cambridge Junction).
  • Steve Hackett: Best of Genesis and Solo Gems, Friday 2 October, 7.30pm, Cambridge Corn Exchange. £52.50 to £68 including booking fee. Also marked “almost full” (Corn Exchange).
  • Fun with Fungi, Saturday 3 October, 10am to 1pm, Cambridge University Botanic Garden. A Family Saturday for ages 3 and over. Child tickets are free but must be booked online, and adults pay Garden entry on arrival (Botanic Garden).
  • Tez Ilyas: Tez Things I Hate About You, Saturday 3 October, 8pm, Cambridge Junction (J2). £29.50. Stand-up, unreserved seating (Cambridge Junction).

Next week

Monday 5 to Sunday 11 October.

  • Corn Exchange Tour and AR Experience, Monday 5 October, 5.30pm and 7.30pm, Cambridge Corn Exchange. Free, but tickets are limited and must be reserved in advance. A backstage tour and an augmented reality showcase for the hall’s 150th anniversary (Corn Exchange).
  • Cambridge United v Northampton Town, Tuesday 6 October, kick-off 7pm, Cledara Abbey Stadium, Newmarket Road. EFL Trophy (Cambridge United).
  • Don Broco, Tuesday 6 October, 8pm, Cambridge Corn Exchange. £42.50 to £48 including booking fee. Under 14s must be with an adult (Corn Exchange).
  • Simon Amstell: I Love It Here, Thursday 8 October, 7.30pm, Cambridge Corn Exchange. £23 to £30 including booking fee. Ages 16 and over (Corn Exchange).
  • Fungi Field Day, Saturday 10 October, 10am to 4pm, Cambridge University Botanic Garden. Free with normal Garden admission. Talks, microscopes and the Wildlife Trust, for UK Fungus Day (Botanic Garden).
  • Shiny New Model Festival 2026, Saturday 10 October, doors 1pm, Cambridge Junction (J1 and J2). £38.50, under 25s £27.50. Squid, Art School Girlfriend, Disgusting Sisters and more; last entry 9pm (Cambridge Junction).
  • Cambridge United v Blackpool, Saturday 10 October, kick-off 3pm, Cledara Abbey Stadium. League One (Cambridge United).
  • Dance In The Dark, Sunday 11 October, 11.30am and 2pm, Cambridge Junction (J2). £15.50 adult, £11 child. Dance and music for ages 3 and over. The 2pm show is a relaxed performance, with a touch tour at 1.45pm (Cambridge Junction).
  • Studio Sunday, Sunday 11 October, 1pm to 4pm, Kettle’s Yard, Castle Street. Free, drop in. An artist-led workshop for families. A relaxed session for children with additional sensory needs runs from noon and needs booking (Kettle’s Yard).
  • Cambridge Rock ‘n’ Roll Club: Johnny Red, Sunday 11 October, 2.30pm to 5.30pm, Abbey Lounge, Newmarket Road. £7 including booking fee. Live rock and roll and dancing. The listing describes the club as meeting on the third Sunday of each month, but the date it is selling is 11 October, the second Sunday (Corn Exchange box office).

Later in October

  • Folklore, opens Friday 16 October and runs to 3 May 2027, Museum of Cambridge, 2-3 Castle Street. Adults £7.70, children 16 and under free. Witch bottles, moles’ paws and stories collected by the folklorist Enid Porter (Museum of Cambridge).
  • Nish Kumar: Angry Humour From a Really Nice Guy, Saturday 17 October, 7.30pm, Cambridge Corn Exchange. £28 including booking fee. Ages 14 and over (Corn Exchange).
  • Apple Day 2026, Sunday 18 October, 10am to 4pm, Cambridge University Botanic Garden. More than 25 heritage varieties to taste and buy. Bring an unidentified apple, with stalk and leaf, for the East of England Apples and Orchards Project to name (Botanic Garden).
  • Cambridge United v Wycombe Wanderers, Tuesday 20 October, kick-off 7.45pm, Cledara Abbey Stadium. League One (Cambridge United).
  • Michael Palin: In the Philippines, Wednesday 21 October, 7.30pm, Cambridge Corn Exchange. £48 including booking fee (Corn Exchange).
  • Cambridge Film Festival 2026, Thursday 22 October to Sunday 1 November, Arts Picturehouse. Clio Barnard’s I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning opens it at 8.20pm on the first night. The family screenings at 11am on 24, 29, 30 and 31 October are free (Cambridge Film Festival). More on our Cambridge Film Festival page.
  • A Call to Art: William Morris and the Pre-Raphaelites, opens Friday 23 October and runs to 3 May 2027, 10am to 5pm, Fitzwilliam Museum, Trumpington Street. Tickets from £16, free for members (Fitzwilliam Museum).
  • The Magpies’ Magic Forest trail, Friday 23 October to Monday 2 November, 10am to 5pm, Cambridge University Botanic Garden. A free trail sheet with normal Garden admission, for ages 8 and over (Botanic Garden).
  • Cambridge United v Plymouth Argyle, Saturday 24 October, kick-off 3pm, Cledara Abbey Stadium. League One (Cambridge United).
  • Ministry of Science, Tuesday 27 October, 2pm, Cambridge Corn Exchange. £20.50 including booking fee. A half term family science show (Corn Exchange).
  • The Enormous Turnip, Tuesday 27 October at 2.30pm and Wednesday 28 October at 10am and 2.30pm, Cambridge Junction (J2). £20.50, £14 child. Puppets and live music for ages 3 to 10 (Cambridge Junction).
  • October Half Term Family Day, Wednesday 28 October, 10.30am to 3.30pm, Fitzwilliam Museum. Free. Artist-led activities through the galleries; the museum lists the exact programme as to be confirmed (Fitzwilliam Museum).
  • Zombie Fest 9, Saturday 31 October, 3pm to 11pm, Cambridge Junction (J1, J2 and J3). Strictly 18 and over, with photo ID. The first release has sold out and the second is £44.25; last entry is 9pm (Cambridge Junction).

County schools break up for the week of 26 to 30 October. The free museum days are on our October half term page, and the pumpkin patch and the rest of the 31st are on our Cambridge Halloween page.

November

  • Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra, Sunday 1 November, 7.30pm, Cambridge Corn Exchange. £40.50 to £58 including booking fee (Corn Exchange).
  • Big Fish Little Fish Halloween Special, Sunday 1 November, 2pm to 4pm, Cambridge Junction (J1). £13 adult, £10.50 child. The family rave, with DJ Food and DJ Trax, crafts and a space theme; last entry 3pm (Cambridge Junction).
  • Cambridge United v Brighton and Hove Albion Under 21, Tuesday 3 November, kick-off 7pm, Cledara Abbey Stadium. EFL Trophy (Cambridge United).
  • Mary Beard: The Secret Histories of Ancient Rome, Wednesday 4 November, 7.30pm, Cambridge Corn Exchange. £38 to £53 including booking fee (Corn Exchange).
  • Cambridge Fireworks Night, Thursday 5 November, from 6pm, Midsummer Common. Free and un-ticketed. Food, a DJ and walkabout acts from 6pm, and the display at 7pm. There is no bonfire (Cambridge City Council City Events). Travel and the full programme are on our Fireworks Night page.

Further ahead, the dates already fixed are the Christmas lights switch-on on 15 November, the Christmas market and ice rink from 13 November, Cambridge Botanic Lights from 27 November and the Mill Road Winter Fair on 5 December.

Regular events

  • Cambridge Market, every day, 10am to 4pm, Market Square, Market Hill. The city centre market trades seven days a week (Cambridge City Council).
  • All Saints Garden Art and Craft Market, every Saturday, 10am to 4pm, All Saints Garden, Trinity Street (Cambridge City Council).
  • Coldham’s Common parkrun, every Saturday, 9am, Coldham’s Common, Whitehill Road. Free. A 5k to walk, jog or run (parkrun).

What we left out

Cambridge Arts Theatre’s website blocks our reader, so nothing from its programme is listed here; check artstheatre.co.uk directly. Four Corn Exchange shows in this period were already sold out on 28 September (Alison Moyet, the Syd Barrett tribute, Fin Taylor and Sam Campbell’s October date), and the venue lists Mike Bubbins on 24 October as cancelled. The council has not yet published its Remembrance Sunday arrangements for 8 November; our Remembrance Sunday page will carry them.

Getting there

The Corn Exchange, Market Square and the Fitzwilliam are all in the city centre, and the Junction is under ten minutes’ walk from the station. Our parking in Cambridge page has the car parks and Park and Ride, and roadworks and travel lists closures. For places that are open whatever the month, see things to do in Cambridge.

Send us your event

Running an event in Cambridge? Email hello@camnews.co.uk with the date, time, venue, price and a photo. Listings are free of charge, and yours goes on this page and in the diary on our What’s On section.

Sources

All read on 28 September 2026.