Events

Every September some 40,000 volunteers across England organise 5,000 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

German Beers, German Food, live music and a fantastic atmosphere! Join us in Kings Head Street Harwich on Sat 28th & Sun 29th September for a great weekend.

The Harwich International Shanty Festival was set up in 2006 to organise and co-ordinate an annual sea shanty festival over a weekend in October. Through concerts, ‘singarounds’, pub sessions, talks and workshops, the history and heritage of Harwich as part of the British seafaring nation is celebrated, promoted and perpetuated by local people and groups. This is unique for the county of Essex and is attracting audiences countrywide and beyond. 

It has journeyed a long way since its small beginnings with a bunch of friends meeting up in a couple of pubs to drink good beer and sing good shanties, but we like to think that the initial idea of a cosy pub atmosphere, good friends and rousing shanties is still at the heart of all we do. Nowadays the whole town of Old Harwich resounds to the sound of Shanties and Sea songs and in addition there are concerts, barge trips, street theatre, maritime crafts, pirates, a Shanty train and much more.

To celebrate the voyage the Illuminate Festival is held in Harwich on the day after Thanksgiving each year, consisting of a torch-light procession through the town including giant torches resembling the ship and Captain Jones.

Kings Head Street Christmas Market, Harwich.

The Harwich half marathon is being organised by Harwich Runners and the Rotary Club of Harwich & Dovercourt, to commemorate the Mayflower 400 celebrations. The route will take part of the original course from 1982, when the tradition first began. The race has not been organised since 1991, and so Harwich Runners hope to create a festival-style atmosphere to make sure the event goes with a bang.

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!