Witney Wine Festival is on Saturday 3 October at the Corn Exchange, £25. Then Dracula at Cogges from 22 October and three firework displays, 6 to 8 November.

The next big date in Witney is the Witney Wine Festival at the Corn Exchange on Saturday 3 October, the night after the jazz club’s Burt Bacharach evening in the same hall. October then builds towards half term, when Cogges Manor Farm turns its Manor House into Dracula’s castle from Thursday 22 October. November opens with three firework displays in three nights, Friday 6 to Sunday 8 November, and Remembrance Sunday falls on the 8th as well.

Everything below was read from the organisers’ own pages on 28 September 2026, and every entry links back to its source so you can check before you set off. Prices are shown only where the organiser publishes them. For places that are open whatever the month, see our guide to things to do in Witney.

This week

Monday 28 September to Sunday 4 October.

  • The Importance of Being Earnest, Tuesday 29 September at 7.30pm and Wednesday 30 September at 1.30pm and 7.30pm, The Theatre, 2 Spring Street, Chipping Norton, OX7 5NL. £18.50 to £26. OVO’s 1920s musical version of the Oscar Wilde comedy, with a live band, for ages eight and over (The Theatre Chipping Norton).
  • Arnold Hearing Specialist 90th anniversary open day, Wednesday 30 September, 11am to 3pm, Corn Exchange, Market Square, Witney, OX28 6AB. Free. Assistance dogs visit, and Eddie the Eagle gives a talk at 1pm (Corn Exchange).
  • Andy Parsons: Please #@!$ off to Mars, Friday 2 October, 7.30pm, The Theatre, Chipping Norton. £22.50, concessions £20.50. New stand-up from the Mock the Week regular, ages 14 and over (The Theatre Chipping Norton).
  • Witney Jazz Club: Burt Bacharach Reimagined, Friday 2 October, 7.30pm, doors 7pm, Corn Exchange. Row seats £20, table seats £22. Vocalist Catherine Sykes sings Alfie, Arthur’s Theme and more with a jazz trio (Corn Exchange).
  • Witney Wine Festival, Saturday 3 October, two sessions, 2pm to 5pm and 6pm to 9pm, Corn Exchange. £25. The fourth festival run by the wine merchant Eynsham Cellars, with 120 wines on show and tasting samples included in the ticket (Corn Exchange).
  • The Bubble Show, Sunday 4 October, 11.30am and 2.30pm, The Theatre, Chipping Norton. £15, under 16s £13. An hour of bubble tricks for ages three and over (The Theatre Chipping Norton).

Next week

Monday 5 to Sunday 11 October.

  • Daytime Cinema: The Penguin Lessons, Tuesday 6 October, 1.30pm, doors 1pm, Corn Exchange. £5, no booking fee. Steve Coogan in the 2025 film, certificate 12 (Corn Exchange).
  • October Quiz Night, Friday 9 October, 8pm, doors 7.30pm, Corn Exchange. £6 a head, teams of six. This month’s quiz is entirely about the 1980s, with a £50 voucher for the winners (Corn Exchange).
  • 24K Magic: Danny Lee Grew, Saturday 10 October, 7.30pm, Corn Exchange. £17.50. A one-man show from the International Brotherhood of Magicians’ Stage Magician of the Year 2024 (Corn Exchange).
  • Dear Zoo, Saturday 10 October at 2pm and 4pm, Sunday 11 October at 11am and 2pm, The Theatre, Chipping Norton. £16.50, concessions £14.50. Rod Campbell’s lift-the-flap book on stage with puppets, 55 minutes, ages one and over (The Theatre Chipping Norton).

Later in October

  • The Upbeat Beatles, Friday 16 October, 7.30pm, The Theatre, Chipping Norton. £26. A Beatles tribute show that has toured for more than 25 years (The Theatre Chipping Norton).
  • Shadowing Hank, Saturday 17 October, 7.30pm, doors 7pm, Corn Exchange. £19.31. Justin Daish plays the music of Hank Marvin and The Shadows (Corn Exchange).
  • Bell History Tour, Sunday 18 October, 1.30pm to 3pm, St Mary’s Church, Church Green, Witney, OX28 4AW. £10. A museum tour of the 15th century bell tower, with a chance to ring a bell. Booking is essential, on 01993 775915 (Witney and District Museum).
  • Daytime Cinema: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Tuesday 20 October, 1.30pm, doors 1pm, Corn Exchange. £5. Certificate 12A (Corn Exchange).
  • Dracula Spooktacular, Thursday 22 October to Sunday 1 November, 10am to 5pm daily, Cogges Manor Farm, Church Lane, Witney, OX28 3LA. Adult £16, child £12, family of five £61.20, under twos free. The Manor House becomes Dracula’s castle, with a Halloween disco and crafts in the barns. The bouncy castle runs from Saturday 24 October (Cogges).
  • Halloween at Blenheim Palace, Thursday 22 October to Sunday 1 November, Blenheim Palace, Woodstock. An after-dark trail through the grounds. It is ticketed separately, and dogs are not allowed (Blenheim Palace).
  • Hans Theessink solo blues show, Friday 23 October, 7.30pm, doors 7pm, Corn Exchange. £21.68. The Dutch acoustic blues guitarist, brought to Witney by Music Box Events (Corn Exchange).
  • Witney Fine Food & Craft Market, Saturday 24 October, Marriotts Walk, Witney. Food and craft stalls, and the last of the operator’s published dates for 2026. No opening times are given (Cotswold Markets).
  • Mark Steel: Work in Progress, Saturday 24 October, 7.30pm, The Theatre, Chipping Norton. £19.50. The Radio 4 comedian tries out new material, ages 14 and over (The Theatre Chipping Norton).
  • Haunted Half Term at Blenheim Palace, Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November, Walled Garden, Blenheim Palace, Woodstock. ZooLab animal handling shows, storytelling and circus workshops run daily from 11am, and are included with an Annual Pass (Blenheim Palace).
  • Jackie Moggridge: the trailblazing pilot who helped deliver victory, Wednesday 28 October, 6pm to 8pm, Witney and District Museum, 75 High Street, OX28 6JA. Free. Candy Adkins talks about her mother, who trained at Witney Aeronautical College in 1938 and flew 83 types of warplane for the Air Transport Auxiliary (Witney and District Museum).
  • The Hound of the Baskervilles, Thursday 29 to Saturday 31 October, 7.30pm, doors 7pm, Corn Exchange. £15. Witney Dramatic Society stages the spoof by Steven Canny and John Nicholson (Witney Dramatic Society).
  • Mynt Image Craft and Gift Market, Saturday 31 October, 10am to 4pm, Corn Exchange. Free entry. Handmade jewellery, woodwork, candles and artwork from a changing line-up of stallholders (Mynt Image).
  • Witney Secrets: a Halloween tour, Saturday 31 October, 6.30pm to 8pm, starting at Witney and District Museum, 75 High Street. £10. A 90-minute evening walk through the town’s ghost stories. Booking is essential (Witney and District Museum).

Oxfordshire schools break up for the week of 26 to 30 October. Our October half term page has the family days out in more detail.

November

  • Daytime Cinema: The Great Escaper, Tuesday 3 November, 1.30pm, doors 1pm, Corn Exchange. £5. Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson, certificate 12A (Corn Exchange).
  • Witney Lakes Fireworks Night, Friday 6 November, 6pm to 10pm, display at 8pm, Witney Lakes Resort, Downs Road, OX29 0SY. Parking is £6 a car and must be booked. The resort has published VIP prices only, at £85 a couple and £109 a family, and says general admission goes on sale in September (Witney Lakes Resort).
  • Break the Rules Status Quo, Saturday 7 November, 7.30pm, doors 7pm, Corn Exchange. £22.38. A Status Quo tribute joined by the band’s original drummer, John Coghlan. This is a standing show (Corn Exchange).
  • Ducklington Showground Fireworks Spectacular, Sunday 8 November, gates and funfair 4pm, Ducklington Showground, OX29 7YH. Adult £12, child £6, under fives free, parking free. The low-noise children’s display is at 6pm, the bonfire at 7pm and the main display at 7.30pm (Ducklington Fireworks).
  • Fireworks at Old Swan & Minster Mill, Sunday 8 November, gates 5pm, display 6.30pm, Minster Lovell, OX29 0RN. £12.50 a person, under threes free, parking £5 a car. Gates close at 7.30pm (Old Swan & Minster Mill).
  • Witney Remembrance Sunday service, Sunday 8 November, war memorial, Church Green, Witney. The town council has confirmed the date and has not yet published this year’s timings (Witney Town Council). Our Remembrance Sunday page has last year’s running order.

Witney town has no display of its own, and two of the three nearby fall on the same night. Our fireworks page compares them.

Regular events

  • Witney Charter Market, every Thursday and Saturday, 9am to 3pm, Market Place, Witney, OX28 6AG. The next is Thursday 1 October (Cotswold Markets).
  • Witney parkrun, every Saturday at 9am, West Witney Sports & Social Club, Burford Road, OX29 0NB. Free. A timed 5k to walk, jog or run. Register once before your first visit. The next is Saturday 3 October (parkrun).
  • Witney Farmers’ Market, the fourth Friday of every month, which makes the next one Friday 23 October. It is run by the Thames Valley Farmers’ Market Co-operative. The district council’s listing gives the day and no opening times (West Oxfordshire District Council).

Getting there

The Corn Exchange, the museum and the Market Place are all within a few minutes’ walk of each other. The district council’s car parks in Witney are free, with maximum stays, and our parking in Witney page lists them. Cogges is a short walk from the town centre over the Windrush.

Driving to Woodstock in the first week of October needs a check first. Woodstock Town Council has published the county’s road closure order for the annual Woodstock Street Fair, which applies from 10am on Sunday 4 October to 3am on Wednesday 7 October (Woodstock Town Council). Our roadworks and travel page tracks closures across the district.

Further ahead, we keep separate pages for the Christmas lights switch-on, the Christmas markets and the pantomimes. This page is rewritten as organisers confirm new dates. Dates can still change, so use the links before you travel. More in our What’s On section.

Send us your event

Running an event in Witney, Carterton, Woodstock, Chipping Norton or the villages between? Email hello@witneynews.co.uk with the date, time, venue, price and a photo. Listings are free of charge. Yours will go on this page and in the diary on our What’s On section.

Sources