Events
Our curated list of the most interesting events happening in Medway over the coming months.
To inform us about an interesting event happening in Medway, email hello AT localauthority DOT news. We can’t guarantee we can include everything, but we’ll do what we can.
June 2025
🛍️ Sat 14 Jun - Rochester City Artisan Market // Traders selling a variety of unique gifts, crafts, and vintage items. Rochester High Street. Free.
🥕 Sun 15 Jun - Rochester Farmers’ Market // Wide range of traders selling food and gifts. Blue Boar Lane car park, Rochester. Free.
🎨 19 Jun - 2 Jul - Apart // New exhibition by collective of Rochester artists. Halpern Gallery, Chatham. Free.
🍊 Mon 23 Jun - Tangerine // One night only screening of Sean Baker’s social realist drama. Odeon, Chatham. Tickets £6.
🎤 Thu 26 Jun - Big Trouble // Open-mic poetry night with headline sets by Connor Sansby and Tom Sastry. 12 Degrees micropub, Rochester. Tickets £7.
🗣️ Thu 26 Jun - Special Medway Council meeting // After years of getting nowhere, Medway Council will finally present a Local Plan. St George’s Centre, Chatham. Free.
🎸 Sat 28 Jun - Careful Now Medway Foodbank Fundraiser // All day festival of music featuring excellent indiepop bands, including Tugboat Captain. Oast Community Centre, Rainham. Tickets £18.
July 2025
🎸 Wed 2 Jul - Crywank + support // Anti-folk trio play special summer show in Rochester. Three Sheets to the Wind, Rochester. Tickets £15.
🎸 Thu 3 Jul - Kicking Against Nothing // Medway grassroots music showcase featuring Dockyard, Angered Kenneth, and the Friedrichs. Poco Loco, Chatham. Tickets £5.
💡 3 - 16 Jul - Filaments exhibition // Collective of five contemporary artists using various media. Halpern Gallery, Chatham. Free.
🎨 5 - 20 Jul - Medway Open Studios // Artists across Medway throw open their studios and exhibit their work. Various locations. Free.
🎭 6 - 19 Jul - Duncan Rand One Act Play Festival // 52nd edition of the festival, bringing theatrical groups together for friendly competition. Medway Little Theatre, Rochester.
🎤 Wed 16 Jul - Rhod Gilbert & The Giant Grapefruit // New dark and personal show from the Welsh comedian. Central Theatre, Chatham. Tickets £35.
🗣️ Thu 17 Jul - Full Medway Council meeting // Politicians bicker with each other over how to get things done. St George’s Centre, Chatham. Free.
🏃 Fri 18 Jul - Medway Mile // Get unreasonably sweaty running around Gillingham with thousands of other people. Medway Park, Gillingham. Free.
🔍 Fri 18 Jul - Solve Along Murder She Wrote // Interactive show where you get to help Jessica Fletcher solve a classic murder mystery. St Margaret’s Church, Rainham. Tickets £20.
📗 Sat 19 Jul - Learning to be Irish book launch // Medway poet Maria McCarthy launches her new collection, with readings and music. Sun Pier House, Chatham. Free.
🚃 Sat 19 Jul - Model Railway Exhibition // One of the largest events in the South East celebrating all things model railways and model engineering. Chatham Historic Dockyard. Tickets from £9.
🥕 Sun 20 Jul - Rochester Farmers’ Market // Wide range of traders selling food and gifts. Blue Boar Lane car park, Rochester. Free.
🎸 Fri 25 Jul - Tommy Scott (Space) + support // Frontman of 90s alternative band comes to Medway via the Platform 3 Club. Oast Community Centre, Rainham. Tickets £17.50.
August 2025
🏳️🌈 Sat 16 Aug - Medway Pride // Annual community LGBTQIA+ festival with live music, stalls, and fringe events. Rochester Castle Gardens. Free.
🥕 Sun 17 Aug - Rochester Farmers’ Market // Wide range of traders selling food and gifts. Blue Boar Lane car park, Rochester. Free.
🍺 Sun 24 Aug - RAH Fest // Fundraising event for Rebel Against Homelessness with BBQ, music and a raffle! Coopers Arms, Rochester. Free.
September 2025
📷 18 Sep - 1 Oct - Medway ‘77 // Exhibition of photos in and around Rochester and Chatham from 1977. Halpern Gallery, Chatham. Free.
🎤 Fri 26 Sep - Jack Dee: Small World // Comedian brings a new show featuring the culture wars, the environment, and British foreign policy. Central Theatre, Chatham. Tickets £30.
🕰️ 30 Sep - 4 Oct - Time // Latest light show from Luxmuralis explores humanity's relationship with the concept of time. Rochester Cathedral.
October 2025
🤼 Sun 5 Oct - UKPW // Action-packed family-friendly wrestling returns to Rainham. Parkwood Community Centre, Rainham. Tickets £10.
🗣️ Wed 8 Oct - Medway Matters Live // Medway Council run event where you can hear from Leader Vince Maple and Chief Executive Richard Hicks before putting questions to them. MidKent College, Gillingham. Free.
🗣️ Thu 16 Oct - Full Medway Council meeting // Politicians bicker with each other over how to get things done. St George’s Centre, Chatham. Free.
🪖 18 - 19 Oct - Medway History Showcase // An action-packed day of engagement inspired by Medway’s trade, travel, and settlement history. Royal Engineers Museum, Gillingham. Free.
November 2025
🎷 13 - 14 Nov - Rochester Cathedral Jazz and Blues Festival // Third edition of festival features performances from BBC Big Band and James Taylor Quartet. Rochester Cathedral. Tickets from £10.
Local Authority is an award-winning independent news service for Medway. To receive our free weekly briefing editions straight to your inbox when we publish, please subscribe below.