Come From Away at the Gatehouse from 14 October, a championship dog show at the Showground from the 22nd, fireworks there on 1 November, and 37 more dates.

The six weeks from now run from the first Sunday in October to the week after Remembrance Sunday. The biggest single week at the Gatehouse is Come From Away, staged by Musical Theatre Stafford from Wednesday 14 to Saturday 17 October. The biggest night outdoors is the Staffordshire Fireworks Extravaganza at the County Showground on Sunday 1 November. Between them sit half term, a four-day championship dog show at the Showground and two Halloween events in the town centres. The full Halloween round-up, with pumpkin patches and ghost tours, is on our Stafford Halloween page.

Everything below comes from the organisers’ own listings, reread on 1 October 2026 (the Halloween and Lower Drayton Farm entries on 4 October), and every entry links back to its source so you can check before you set off. Prices are the ones the organiser prints; where none is printed, we give none.

This week

  • Canoeing on the River Sow, today, Sunday 4 October, Shugborough Estate, Milford, Stafford. One-hour guided sessions, which must be booked ahead, and 30-minute drop-in sessions paid for on the day. Estate admission applies. (National Trust)
  • Dene Dance School: Timeless, A Journey Through Time, today, Sunday 4 October, 1pm, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, ST16 2LT, £21.50. The dance school’s latest Staffordshire showcase. (Gatehouse Theatre)
  • The Psychology of Serial Killers with Jennifer Rees, Wednesday 7 October, 7.30pm, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, ST16 2LT, £28. A talk by the true crime speaker on forensic psychology. Age guidance 14 and over. (Gatehouse Theatre)
  • The Carpenters Songbook, Thursday 8 October, 7.30pm, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, ST16 2LT, £30. Toni Lee sings the Carpenters. (Gatehouse Theatre)
  • The Cavern Beatles, Friday 9 October, 7.30pm, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, ST16 2LT, £27.50 and £30. The Beatles tribute licensed by Liverpool’s Cavern Club. (Gatehouse Theatre)
  • The Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show, Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October, 9am to 5pm, Staffordshire County Showground, ST18 0BD. Club displays, live workshops, stunt shows, the Bonhams auction and racers Niall Mackenzie and James Whitham, marking 30 years of British Superbikes. (Staffordshire County Showground)
  • Pick Your Own Pumpkins at Lower Drayton Farm, Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October, then daily from Saturday 17 to Saturday 31 October, Lower Drayton Lane, Penkridge, ST19 5RE, from £6 online (£8 at the gate). Pick from the field, carve in the undercover barn; Pumpkins After Dark runs on Fridays 16, 23 and 30 October, 5pm to 10pm. (Lower Drayton Farm)

Next week

  • Come From Away, Wednesday 14 to Saturday 17 October, 7.30pm, with a 2.30pm Saturday matinee, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, ST16 2LT, £23. Musical Theatre Stafford stages the musical about the Newfoundland town that took in 38 diverted planes. (Gatehouse Theatre)
  • Stone Artisan Market, Saturday 17 October, 10am to 3pm, Stone High Street. A one-off artisan market run by Stone Town Council with Castle Artisan Events. (Stone Town Council)
  • Stafford Wool Gathering, Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October, 10am to 4pm, Bingley Hall, Staffordshire County Showground, ST18 0BD. A wool festival with more than 100 exhibitors and a dozen workshops, for spinners, felters, weavers, knitters and crocheters. (Staffordshire County Showground)
  • Ignacio Lopez: Nada, Saturday 17 October, 8pm, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, ST16 2LT, £25. Stand-up from the Live at the Apollo and Have I Got News For You comedian. (Gatehouse Theatre)
  • James Phelan: The Man Who Was Magic, Sunday 18 October, 7.30pm, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, ST16 2LT, £32 and £48. The magician’s touring stage show. (Gatehouse Theatre)
  • BP Fairs Toy Fair, Sunday 18 October, 10.30am to 3pm, Prestwood and Argyle Centres, Staffordshire County Showground, ST18 0BD. A toy and collectables fair across two halls with more than 300 stalls, from action figures to model buses, cars and trains. (Staffordshire County Showground)

Later in October

Half term in Staffordshire is Monday 26 to Friday 30 October; our October half term page has the schools that differ.

  • The RBL Poppy Appeal Launch 2026, Monday 19 October, 1.30pm, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, ST16 2LT, tickets listed at £0. The launch of this year’s Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal, bookable through the box office. (Gatehouse Theatre)
  • The ELO Show, Wednesday 21 October, 7.30pm, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, ST16 2LT, £33. An eight-piece ELO tribute with a three-piece string section. (Gatehouse Theatre)
  • Midland Counties Canine Society Championship Dog Show, Thursday 22 to Sunday 25 October, Staffordshire County Showground, ST18 0BD. A four-day championship dog show; the showground lists no times. (Staffordshire County Showground)
  • That’ll Be The Day 2026, Friday 23 and Saturday 24 October, 7.30pm, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, ST16 2LT, £33. The rock and roll variety show returns with a new version. (Gatehouse Theatre)
  • Spot’s Birthday Party, Saturday 24 October, 12pm and 2pm, MET Studio, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, ST16 2LT, £18. An interactive show for ages two and up, based on Eric Hill’s Happy Birthday Spot, with a party hat and a chance to meet Spot afterwards. (Gatehouse Theatre)
  • Josh Pugh: Ha Ha, Yeah Sound, Sunday 25 October, 7.30pm, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, ST16 2LT, £28. Stand-up, for ages 14 and over. (Gatehouse Theatre)
  • The McDougalls: Halloween Party Show, Tuesday 27 October, 1pm, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, ST16 2LT, £15. A Halloween party show in half-term week. (Gatehouse Theatre)
  • The Nag’s Head, Tuesday 27 October, 7.30pm, MET Studio, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, ST16 2LT, £18. A comedy of ghost stories set in ‘the spookiest pub in Shropshire’. The theatre’s page heading also names a 2.30pm show, but only 7.30pm was on sale when we checked. (Gatehouse Theatre)
  • Kids Learn to Paint Workshop, Wednesday 28 October, 11am, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, ST16 2LT, £20. A workshop with a local professional artist for children aged eight and over, with materials, squash and biscuits provided. (Gatehouse Theatre)
  • Trick or Treat Trains at Amerton Railway, Wednesday 28 and Saturday 31 October, on the regular timetable, Amerton Farm, Stowe-by-Chartley, ST18 0LA, £3.50 adults and £2.50 children. Collect a spotting sheet and look for what the ghouls and witches have left along the line; no pre-booking. (Amerton Railway)
  • Ghost Tours at Shugborough Mansion, Thursday 29 to Saturday 31 October, 3pm to 5pm, Shugborough Estate, Milford, Stafford, £15 adults and £10 children. A guided tour of the mansion in the dark, then a cream tea in the Mansion Tearoom. Booking is essential. (National Trust)
  • Halloween Dance Workshop, Friday 30 October, 11am, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, ST16 2LT, £5. Learn some spooky moves, in costume. (Gatehouse Theatre)
  • National Chrysanthemum Society Late Show, Friday 30 and Saturday 31 October, Prestwood Centre, Staffordshire County Showground, ST18 0BD, free. An exhibition of late-flowering chrysanthemums. (Staffordshire County Showground)
  • Stafford Food and Music Festival Halloween Special, Friday 30 October, times to be confirmed, Market Square, ST16 2BD. Listed by the borough council on its Market Square programme, with no times published yet. (Stafford Borough Council)
  • Stone Halloween Festival, Saturday 31 October, 10am to 3pm, Stone High Street. Run by Stone Traders Group on the High Street. (Stone Town Council)
  • The Spooky Magic Show, Saturday 31 October, 1.30pm and 3.30pm, MET Studio, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, ST16 2LT, £15. Magic, illusions and puppets for young families, ‘spooky but not scary’. (Gatehouse Theatre)

November

  • Staffordshire Fireworks Extravaganza, Sunday 1 November, gates 4pm, fireworks 7pm, Staffordshire County Showground, ST18 0BD, £12 adults and £3 children. The Rotary Club of Stafford Castle’s display. Tickets are sold online only, and the gates close at 9pm. (Eventbrite)
  • Freezin, Sunday 1 November, 1pm and 4.30pm, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, ST16 2LT, £19.50 and £21. A children’s show in which Jack Frost casts a spell of eternal winter over the kingdom. (Gatehouse Theatre)
  • Stafford Players: The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wednesday 4 to Saturday 7 November, 7.30pm, MET Studio, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, ST16 2LT, £15 and £16. Stafford Players in the stage version by Merlin Holland and John O’Connor, from Oscar Wilde’s novel. (Gatehouse Theatre)
  • Lower Drayton Farm Bonfire Party, Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November, Lower Drayton Lane, Penkridge, ST19 5RE. A bonfire, low-bang fireworks, funfair, food and a bar, with an Oasis tribute on the Saturday and a DJ on the Sunday. Tickets by the car, £35 for a five-seater and £44 for a seven-seater; walk-ins £11 each, drop-off only. (Lower Drayton Farm)
  • Stafford Remembrance Day Service and Parade, Sunday 8 November, procession from 10.40am, Borough War Memorial, Victoria Square. The civic procession leaves the Civic Centre for an open-air Act of Remembrance, with wreaths also laid at the County War Memorial and a march past through the town centre. (Stafford Borough Council)
  • Stone Remembrance Sunday Parade, Sunday 8 November, parade 10.30am, wreath laying 10.40am, War Memorial, Granville Square. The parade begins in the High Street. Run by the Royal British Legion in consultation with the town council. (Stone Town Council)
  • Swan Lake, Imperial Classical Ballet, Sunday 8 November, 7.30pm, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, ST16 2LT, £39 and £42. The ballet with a live orchestra of more than 30 musicians. (Gatehouse Theatre)
  • Strange But True Crime, Wednesday 11 November, 7.30pm, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, ST16 2LT, £26. A talk on some of the world’s strangest real crime cases. (Gatehouse Theatre)

The fireworks are advance tickets only, with nothing sold on the gate; our Stafford fireworks page has the full details. For the services, see our Remembrance Sunday page. Stafford’s Christmas lights switch-on still has no published date, and our Christmas lights page will carry it when it does. Stone’s is on Thursday 19 November.

Regular events

  • Isabel Trail parkrun, every Saturday, 9am; next on Saturday 10 October, Isabel Trail, ST16 2TT, free. A free weekly 5k to walk, jog or run. Register once before your first visit and bring your barcode. (parkrun)
  • Stone Farmers’ Market, monthly; next on Saturday 7 November, 9am to 3pm, Stone High Street, ST15 0AD, free. Bread, oatcakes, meat, preserves, plants and craft stalls. Traders set up from 7.30am and close at about 3pm, or when they sell out. (Stafford Borough Council)
  • Stafford Farmers’ and Artisans’ Market, monthly; next on Saturday 10 October, 9am to 3pm, then Saturday 14 November, Market Square, ST16 2BD, free. Local food traders alongside wood crafts, jewellery, plants and paintings. (Stafford Borough Council)

Getting there

The Gatehouse Theatre and Market Square are a few minutes’ walk apart in the town centre, and the theatre names North Walls as its nearest car park. The County Showground is on Weston Road, and Shugborough is at Milford. Our parking in Stafford page has the tariffs, and the roadworks and travel page lists current closures.

What we could not list

Shugborough’s own event pages blocked our checks on 1 October, so its Halloween Hunt Trail, Halloween craft sessions and Behind Closed Doors tour are off this list until we can reconfirm them; the National Trust’s Shugborough events page has them. Left out for room: The Classic Blues Show (16 October) and the Gatehouse backstage tour (17 October), plus three Gatehouse nights on Thursday 12 November, Let’s Rock the 70s, The Comedy Network and a Brighton Rock film afternoon. Stafford Borough Council’s own events calendar showed no listings when we checked, and its Market Square page still gives no times for the Halloween food and music festival. Stafford Rangers’ home games are on the club’s fixtures page. We will add more as organisers publish it.

Send us your event

Running something in Stafford, Stone, Eccleshall, Gnosall or the villages? Email hello@staffordtimes.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