Canterbury Bid

City Feast Street Food Market

Guildhall Street

Canterbury's popular Street Food Market returns for a festive offering of mulled wine, spirits, cocktails and beers. Also on offer is a wonderful diverse mix of street food served outside in Canterbury's Guildlhall Street, set beneath the Christmas lights with tables, chairs and mini bar tables for you to enjoy you food and drinks on. The perfect place to meet friends, or take a break from your Christmas shopping. Find out more HERE

Blean Winter Fayre

Join Kent Wildlife Trust, Wildwood Trust and the RSPB at West Blean Woods, on Saturday 18th December for a wonderful Winter Fayre. A selection of stalls, crafts, activities and games for all ages will be available, including a mini-safari with their fantastic safari guides. They are also running a free shuttle bus from Sturry Park & Ride to help cut down on congestion. Find out more and book tickets HERE

The Albion Christmas Band

Gulbenkian Theatre

Now as much an essential part of the build up to Christmas as the local Village Christmas Bazaar or the pre-cooking of the sprouts! The Albion Christmas Show is a very popular show appealing to all ages. The tour sells out all over the country for the two weeks leading up to Christmas every year. Described in the Guardian as “the perfect antidote to the corporate Christmas”. Expect an evening of traditional English Christmas music, humourous stories and beautiful, spine-tingling Christmas carols and ballads sung by Kellie While and Simon Nicol. After weeks of the usual Christmas shopping playlists, we can guarantee no mention of Wham, Mariah or Slade! Founding member and bassist Ashley Hutchings is joined by fellow original bandmates – Fairport Convention’s own Simon Nicol on acoustic guitar and vocals, Simon Care on melodeons, and the ‘honey drenched’ divine vocals of one of the UK’s best folk singers, Kellie While.

The Nutcracker

Malthouse Theatre Malthouse Road, Canterbury

With a fresh and updated production, Let’s All Dance are delighted to be back for the festive season with this sumptuous family favourite. Stunning dancing, lavish costumes, much loved music and crystal clear story-telling makes this sparkling show a Christmas treat for everyone! Let’s All Dance makes high-quality ballet accessible and fun for children, immersing them in the spectacular world of professional dance. Journey through the magical night with Clara and her Nutcracker Prince, meet the Mouse King and join the Sugar Plum Fairy in the beautiful Land of Sweets. SUITABLE FOR ALL AGES, especially children (inc. those with special needs) RUNNING TIME: 50 mins (no interval)  showtimes: 1pm and 3pm Photo opportunity after every show for children with the dancers on stage! Absolutely wonderful! I smiled from start to finish. The cast all danced beautifully and were mesmerising for the children. I looked back at the audience a few times and was met with a sea of rapt faces. To hold young children’s attention like that, for an hour, is a very special skill and shows how wonderful the performance was! Audience mum, Canterbury “Fantastic show, perfect for my daughters. Thank you!” Lena Koh, Blackheath  “What a brilliant event! At […]

Family Christingle Service

Canterbury Cathedral Studio

The annual Christingle service is a joyful celebration that brings families and communities together to share the light of Jesus and spread a message of hope. Each element of a Christingle has a special meaning and helps to tell the Christian story: The orange represents the world The red ribbon (or tape) symbolises the love and blood of Christ The sweets and dried fruit represent all of God’s creations The lit candle represents Jesus’s light in the world, bringing hope to people living in darkness. Christingle Family Workshop, 13:00 – 14:30 Families are also welcome to join the Reverend Dr Emma Pennington, Canon Missioner, in our Christingle Family Workshop at 13.00 where children will create their own Christingles to take to the Cathedral Christingle Service afterwards at 15.00. This workshop is a FREE event but BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL and donations to the Children’s Society are welcomed.

Canterbury Forum

Online via Zoom

The next meeting of the Canterbury Forum, for Canterbury residents and councillors, will be on Monday 17 January at 7.00 pm, and will again be online. The main agenda items will be: OLD PARK: This is the area between Sturry Road and Littlebourne Road which is a much-valued area of woodland and grassland, of very special ecological and historical interest. A Friends of Old Park and Chequers Wood group has recently been formed to safeguard and protect it, and attached is a leaflet which the group has produced. This agenda item will be an opportunity to hear and discuss why it is so special, what the threats to it are, and the questions it raises about possible routes for a Canterbury eastern by-pass. TOWN COUNCILS: There is a lot of active support in Whitstable for seeking to create a Whitstable Town Council. As that campaign goes forward it will raise the question of whether there is also a case for a town council for Canterbury. This agenda item will be an opportunity to hear about the plans for Whitstable and think about their implications for Canterbury, and the pros and cons of a Canterbury Town Council. WINCHEAP BY-PASS:  KCC officers […]

“Connected In Time” The Beaney

The Beaney

Discover some of the amazing creatures that used to live on your doorstep, find out why they disappeared and how some will return again soon. Explore the exhibition and become more connected with your wildlife community, find out how wildlife can help your wellbeing, discover what the future may bring and how you can help shape it. Learn about the hippos of Herne Bay and find out how you measure up to a mammoth! For visitors with access needs and those wanting to visit at a quieter time, we have daily dedicated Accessible Sessions running at a reduced capacity and slower pace. BOOK YOUR VISIT ONLINE. Admission is free, with a suggested £3 donation per visitor. The exhibition will run from Saturday 22 January to Sunday 27 March (Closed Mondays). With help and support from Kent Wildlife Trust, Wildwood Trust, Natural England, Canterbury UCA, Bumblebee Conservation Trust and Wild Happy Well. Location: Second Floor, Special Exhibition Gallery, The Beaney

“You Shop We Drop BID” Workshop

Online via Zoom

This session will be delivered by supply chain specialists, to ask your thoughts on a “You Shop, We Drop” business case. Essentially the idea is to provide shoppers with a 'hands-free shopping experience' so they can combine shopping activity with all the hospitality, cultural and leisure attractions the city has to offer. Great for them -and great for the local economy!  While similar schemes are already up and running for fashion outlet malls and enclosed shopping centres, this will be the first design a business and operating model fit for city-wide adoption in Canterbury. You or someone from your team are welcome to join us for the Customer Value Proposition and Logistical Workshop on Thursday 3rd February from 9-10:30am. We’ll spend 90 minutes working together to crunch through crucial aspects of the scheme, including: Which of your customers do we expect will gain most value from the service? How much will they pay for it? When should customers expect to collect/receive their shopping? Where to locate collection points and the delivery hub? Who will be best placed to spearhead getting the scheme started? What will be the criteria to measure success of the scheme by? To book please email enquiries@canterburybid.co.uk

BID Training: Business Rates Support

Online via Zoom

Civica operates a shared management of business services with Canterbury City Council and oversees the collection and administration of Canterbury City Council's Business Rates.  This will be your perfect opportunity to ask Sadie Furner of Civica all your questions about business rates. BUSINESS RATES SUPPORT Tuesday 8 February,  9-10am (via Zoom) To book please email enquiries@canterburybid.co.uk