Literary Festival to 11 October, the Half Marathon shuts the town on the 18th, free trick or treating on the 31st, then Wallingford fireworks on 7 November.
The Henley Literary Festival is on until Sunday 11 October, with its marquee at Phyllis Court and a second stage in the Town Hall. A week after it closes the Henley Half Marathon takes over the town on Sunday 18 October, shutting the bridge and the town centre to traffic for about forty minutes. Half term follows from 26 October, with Terror on the Thames, the town’s free trick or treat day, on Saturday the 31st and Stonor Park’s Halloween trail all week. The six weeks close with Wallingford’s bonfire on 7 November, Remembrance Sunday on the 8th and the farmers’ market on the 14th.
Every listing below comes from the organiser’s own page, checked again on 6 October 2026, and links back to it. Prices are only given where the organiser publishes one; the Kenton’s include its booking fee and levies. For places that are open whatever the month, see things to do in Henley.
This week
- Henley Literary Festival, until Sunday 11 October, at the Fane Stage in the marquee at Phyllis Court, RG9 2HT, and the Town Hall, RG9 2AQ. The final weekend brings Mary Berry, Prue Leith and Matt Haig on Saturday 10 October, each with a livestream ticket as well as seats in the marquee. Tickets are priced event by event. The box office is on 01491 575 948 and is at the Town Hall until 11 October, open 9am to 7pm (Henley Literary Festival).
- The Americana Revue, Thursday 8 October, 7.30pm, the Kenton Theatre. £31.25. Two hours of country rock, from the Eagles and Tom Petty to Johnny Cash and Creedence Clearwater Revival (Kenton Theatre).
- Henley Hawks sporting supper, Friday 9 October, Henley Rugby Club, Dry Leas, Marlow Road, RG9 2JA. £45, including a two-course supper. An evening with former Wales and Lions forward Andy Powell and World Cup winner Andy Gomarsall, booked by email to marketing@henleyhawks.co.uk (Henley Rugby Football Club).
- Thame Charter Fair, Friday 9 and Saturday 10 October, Upper High Street car park, Thame. The funfair sets up on the Wednesday evening, and cars must be out of that car park from 5pm on Wednesday 7 October until Sunday 11 October (Thame Town Council).
- Henley Farmers’ Market, Saturday 10 October, 8am to 2.30pm, Market Place. The second-Saturday market; its second date this month is Thursday 22 October (Henley Town Council).
- Thame Art Crawl, Saturday 10 to Saturday 17 October, Thame town centre. In its tenth year, a pop-up exhibition that turns High Street shops into galleries for local artists’ work (Thame Town Council).
- One Night in Dublin, Sunday 11 October, 7.30pm, the Kenton Theatre. £32. A new Irish music and comedy show set around Murphy’s Tavern; seats are limited (Kenton Theatre).
Next week
- Mark Steel: Work in Progress, Tuesday 13 October, 7.30pm, the Kenton Theatre. £18.75, 14+. New material from the Mark Steel’s in Town comedian. Sold out, with a waiting list (Kenton Theatre).
- Jo Brand: Work in Progress, Wednesday 14 October, 8pm, the Kenton Theatre. £25.75, strictly 14+, with guest Andy Robinson. Sold out, with a waiting list (Kenton Theatre).
- Simon Yates: My Mountain Life, Thursday 15 October, 7.30pm, the Kenton Theatre. Adults £25, under-16s £23.75. The mountaineer from Touching the Void on his climbing life (Kenton Theatre).
- The Noise Next Door, Friday 16 October, 7.30pm, the Kenton Theatre. £20.75. Improvised comedy (Kenton Theatre).
- The Counterfeit Seventies Show, Saturday 17 October, 7.30pm, the Kenton Theatre. £27.75. Slade, Sweet, T.Rex and the Bay City Rollers, with period costume and a light show (Kenton Theatre).
- The Wallingford Fryer, Saturday 17 October, Wallingford Station, OX10 9GQ. A fish and chips train: arrive by 6.30pm for a 7pm departure, back at 9pm, booked in advance (Cholsey and Wallingford Railway).
- Halloween at Tumblestone Hollow, Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October, then daily from Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November, Stonor Park, RG9 6HF. Adults from £12, children from 5 from £13, 3 and 4 year olds from £11, under-2s free; pumpkin picking and decorating £5 extra. A riddle trail through the park and storytelling at 11am, 1pm and 3pm (Stonor Park). More on our Henley Halloween page.
- Henley Half Marathon, Sunday 18 October, 9.30am, from Henley Rugby Club, Dry Leas, RG9 2JA. Entry £40 for the half, £30 for the 10K, £20 for the 5K and £10 for the fun run. The town centre and the bridge close to traffic from about 9.20am to 10am; our Henley Half Marathon page has the roads (Henley Half Marathon).
Later in October
- Gaslight, Wednesday 21 to Saturday 24 October, the Kenton Theatre. The Henley Players stage Patrick Hamilton’s thriller at 7.30pm each night, with a 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Wednesday and Thursday £20 (£19 seniors and under-18s), Friday and Saturday evening £22, and the matinee is pay what you want from £7.50 (Kenton Theatre).
- Henley Farmers’ Market, Thursday 22 October, 8am to 2.30pm, Market Place (Henley Town Council).
- Home Energy and Renewables Show, Saturday 24 October, 10am to 4pm, Henley Town Hall, RG9 2AQ. Free. Practical advice on making a home warmer and cheaper to run (Henley Town Council).
- Pumpkin Patch at Beale Wildlife Park, Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November, 10am to 3pm, Lower Basildon, RG8 9NW. Included with park admission, from £17.50 for an adult and £15.50 for a child booked in advance; pumpkins are extra. A maize maze and a decorated Halloween woodland walk too (Beale Wildlife Park).
- Henley Craft Market, Sunday 25 October, 9am to 3pm, Market Place. The fourth-Sunday craft market (Henley Town Council).
- The Snow Queen, Sunday 25 October, 5.30pm, the Kenton Theatre. Adults £28.75, under-18s £25.75. Ballet Theatre UK’s version of the Hans Christian Andersen story (Kenton Theatre).
- The Spooktastic Halloween Show, Wednesday 28 October, 11.30am and 2pm, the Kenton Theatre. £12 and £14. An hour of songs, magic and panto-style silliness for children, in half term (Kenton Theatre).
- Red Robin’s Winter Song, Thursday 29 October, 1.30pm, the Kenton Theatre. £12.75. A 50-minute play for 3 to 5 year olds by Manjeet Mann; seats are limited (Kenton Theatre).
- The Carpenters Experience, Friday 30 October, 7.30pm, the Kenton Theatre. £27.75 (Kenton Theatre).
- Terror on the Thames, Saturday 31 October, 11am to 3pm, Henley town centre. Free. Trick or treating at shops showing black and orange balloons; bring a food donation for a trick or treat bag (Experience Henley).
- Dom Joly: Trigger Happy TV, the 25th Anniversary Tour, Saturday 31 October, 7.30pm, the Kenton Theatre. From £30.75. Sold out, with a waiting list (Kenton Theatre).
- HMS Pinafore, Saturday 31 October, 3pm and 7.45pm, the Players Theatre, Nelson Street, Thame, OX9 2DP. Adults £22, concessions £20, under-18s £11, under-12s £6, all including the booking fee. Opera Anywhere’s Gilbert and Sullivan, running about two hours with the interval, in aid of the Mayor of Thame’s charities (Thame Players).
Half term runs from 26 to 30 October; our October half term page has the family days out.
November
- StageWorks: Sp00ky Season, Sunday 1 November, 5pm, the Kenton Theatre. Adults £25.75, under-16s £20.75. The Henley performing arts school’s Halloween show (Kenton Theatre).
- Psychic Sally, Monday 2 November, 7.30pm, the Kenton Theatre. £31. A second date follows on Tuesday 24 November (Kenton Theatre).
- Rare Productions: Addams Family, Thursday 5 to Saturday 7 November, the Kenton Theatre, at 7.30pm on Thursday and Friday and 2pm and 6.30pm on Saturday. From £17.75 at the back to £26.75 in the front two rows (Kenton Theatre).
- Wallingford Bonfire and Fireworks, Saturday 7 November, from 6pm, the Kinecroft, Wallingford. Henley has no display of its own this year. The Cholsey and Wallingford Railway runs a £3 return Fireworks Flyer from 2.20pm (Wallingford Town Council; the Fireworks Flyer). More on our fireworks page.
- Remembrance Sunday, Henley, Sunday 8 November, from 10.45am, the Town Hall steps, Market Place. The Mayor, councillors and Town Clerk are led out by the Town Sergeant shortly before 11am (Henley Town Council). Our Remembrance Sunday page has Wallingford and Thame too.
- Remembrance Sunday, Wallingford, Sunday 8 November, from 10.30am, Market Place, Wallingford (Wallingford Town Council).
- Rainer Hersch: All Classical Music Explained, Live!, Sunday 8 November, 7pm, the Kenton Theatre. £25 (Kenton Theatre).
- That 80’s Movie Band, Thursday 12 November, 8pm, the Kenton Theatre. £31.25. An eight-piece band playing the soundtracks of Back to the Future, Top Gun, Dirty Dancing and more (Kenton Theatre).
- Amwell Springs Taproom on Tour, Friday 13 November, Wallingford Station, OX10 9GQ. £10 for unlimited travel, with a souvenir glass if booked ahead; accompanied children free. A platform bar with three Amwell Springs beers, and the heritage railcar runs hourly from Cholsey between 4.50pm and 9.50pm (Cholsey and Wallingford Railway).
- Sh!t-faced Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet, Friday 13 November, 7.30pm, the Kenton Theatre. £29.75. Sold out, with a waiting list (Kenton Theatre).
- Henley Farmers’ Market, Saturday 14 November, 8am to 2.30pm, Market Place (Henley Town Council).
- The Gary Moore Blues Experience, Saturday 14 November, 7.30pm, the Kenton Theatre. £25 (Kenton Theatre).
The Christmas diary is already filling up: the Christmas Festival and lights switch-on is on Friday 27 November, and the Kenton’s pantomime opens on 5 December.
Regular events
- Henley-on-Thames parkrun, every Saturday at 9am, 40 Acre Path, Tilebarn Close, RG9 1US. Free, 5k, walk, jog or run (parkrun).
- Henley Charter Market, every Thursday, Market Place (Henley Town Council).
- Henley Farmers’ Market, the second Saturday and fourth Thursday of the month, 8am to 2.30pm, Market Place.
- Henley Craft Market, the fourth Sunday of the month, 9am to 3pm, Market Place, moving to the third Sunday when the month ends in a bank holiday Monday.
- Thame Charter Market, every Tuesday, 8am to 3.30pm, Upper High Street car park (Thame Town Council).
Send us your event
Running something in Henley, Wallingford or Thame? Email hello@henleypost.co.uk with the date, time, venue, price and a photo. Listings are free, and every one goes on this page and into the diary on our What’s On section.
Sources
- Henley Town Council: all events
- Henley Town Council: markets
- The Kenton Theatre: what’s on
- Henley Literary Festival: 2026 programme
- Henley Literary Festival: box office
- Henley Half Marathon
- Henley Rugby Football Club: events
- Experience Henley: Terror on the Thames
- Stonor Park: Halloween at Tumblestone Hollow
- Beale Wildlife Park: Pumpkin Patch
- Henley-on-Thames parkrun
- Wallingford Town Council: events
- Cholsey and Wallingford Railway: events
- Thame Town Council: events
- Thame Players: HMS Pinafore
Checked against every organiser’s own page on 6 October 2026. Dates can change, so use the links before you travel.
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