Events
Upcoming events are listed below
Harwich benefits from great attractions and a range of events taking place throughout the year. Discover what’s happening and what captures your interest and then get involved. We hope you enjoy everything the town has to offer.
Harwich Half Marathon, in Essex England, started in 1982 and continued until 1991. The early 80’s running boom attracted over a thousand runners to the Harwich Half Marathon. Some of those who were enticed to try running back then, are the founders of Harwich Runners and are still involved in the club today.
The 2020 Ale Trail will be the fifth in its Springtime slot and happily coincides with the Mayflower 400 celebrations. We hope to make the 2020 Harwich Ale Trail a truly special event!
If you haven’t been before – think of it as a five day beer and cider festival across multiple venues in a one square mile area. The past venues have included pubs, cafes, restaurants, a hotel and a sailing club. We’ll announce the 2020 venues in nearer the date..
There’s one beer list for the whole event, complete with a map and information. Public transport is very close with buses and trains stopping within 200m of one of the venues!
Harwich Town Council has the privilege of being permitted to elect a Town Mayor, a long-standing tradition originally granted by Royal Charter in 1604. The Mayor is elected annually at the Annual Statutory Mayor Making Meeting held in May.
Each May, the council elects Harwich’s new mayor at its Annual Mayor Making Ceremony which takes place on the third Thursday in May or the fourth Thursday in May when it’s an election year.
The church service takes place at St Nicholas’ church at 12 noon, to which all are welcome to attend. This is then followed by the ancient ceremony of Kitchel Throwing. Kitchels are small spiced cakes baked locally and sealed for the new Mayor to throw out of the window of the Council Chamber to be caught by the crowds waiting below.
The ceremony is unique to Harwich and has been a local tradition for centuries.
Celebrate the voyage of The Mayflower at St Nicholas Church
Built for the London & North Eastern Railway, 61306 Mayflower is one of two surviving B1 Class locomotives.
The B1’s were designed as mixed traffic locomotives capable of hauling express passenger trains as well as freight traffic. As powerful, go anywhere engines, the B1’s worked across most of the UK rail network from East Anglia to Scotland.
Come and join us on the hugely popular Tour de Tendring bike ride to raise money for Essex Wildlife Trust. You can cycle on one of three circular routes around the picturesque district of Tendring – perfect cycling country with quiet roads, low hills and views to the sea.
Each summer we organise a beer festival in the Harwich Redoubt – a superb circular fort dating from the Napoleonic era just up the road from the original brewery. At the festival we like to showcase our own beers as well as those from other microbreweries accompanied by great music and food.
The annual Maritime Festival returns on Saturday 27 July, 11am – 6pm promising new and exciting attractions around Harwich Quay and Harwich’s iconic Ha’penny Pier.
Sat 8 August – Maritime Festival Theme Train
Manningtree to Harwich www.esscrp.org.uk
The annual Maritime Festival returns on Saturday 8 August, from 11am transforming Harwich Quay and Harwich’s iconic Ha’penny Pier into an exciting hive of activity.
As the hometown of the Mayflower, this year the much-loved festival will celebrate the 400th anniversary of its historic sailing to the New World. The celebrations will commemorate the legacy of the passengers and crew who travelled on the Mayflower including its Captain, Christopher Jones whose house still stands on Kings Head Street, Harwich.
Learn more about the Mayflower Story here
The festival’s programme will incorporate Harwich’s vibrant creative community and it’s rich maritime history – with sea and land based attractions that intend to attract thousands of people from across East Anglia.
Organised by Harwich Haven Authority, there will be over 50 traders, live entertainment and must-see water based activities going on throughout the day.
If you have any questions about the festival or would like some more information, please give us a call on 07801681144 or email us.
Follow us on social media #HarwichMaritimeFestival #Mayflower400 #GetOnBoard2020
August Bank Holiday Monday! ADMISSION FREE!
HISTORIC antique guns! Tombola and Bottle stalls, Souvenirs and Bric-a Brac/White Elephant. Refreshments and Ice creams will be available. Traditional Games, including Roll the Penny, Wheel of Fortune & Splat the Rat. The Grand Draw will take place! There is a large selection of second hand books (fact & fiction) and more!
Every September some 46,000 volunteers across England organise 5,500 events to celebrate our fantastic history and culture. It’s your chance to see hidden places and try out new experiences – all of which are FREE to explore.
The 15th Harwich International Shanty Festival this year coincides with the 400th Anniversary of the historic voyage of the Mayflower and much of the Festival will celebrate aspects of this anniversary and the important place of Harwich within this story. With Concerts, Free entertainment, Shanties, Sea Songs and Music, plus Street Theatre, Pirates, Maritime Crafts, Workshops and Train and Barge Trips, there is entertainment for all ages and abilities. Join a rousing shanty session on the Ha’Penny Pier, watch a pirate skirmish in the Redoubt or snuggle down in a real ale pub to watch or join a lively music session. Tickets and Programmes available from late summer. Details on the website – https://harwichshantyfestival.co.uk
Sat 10 October – Shanty Festival Theme Train
Manningtree – Harwich www.esscrp.org.uk
We invite you to bring your old photos, maps, artefacts to discuss with archivists from the Harwich Society and Harwich Town Council.
Old photo displays, maps, pictures and prints. Illustrated talk! We can digitise old negatives. Make a recording for our audio history archive.
Come hither to the historic seaport of Harwich and witness the medieval* spectacle of sausage throwing, as grown men and women try to hurl seasoned pork projectiles as far as they can. Following on from this fabulous frivolity, three fantastic local inns throw open their doors for the gathered masses to test the wares of the finest butchers of the Tendring Hundred and determine the public’s favourite sausage, all washed down with the choicest real ales and ciders.
Historic Harwich will again light up to commemorate Mayflower 400. The Illuminate Festival 2020 will take place on 27th and 28th November bringing a lantern parade, Tunnel of Light and projections right along the old town seafront.
Friday 27th November 5:00pm – 8:00pm and Saturday 28th November 3:30pm – 8:00pm.