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This is your one-stop site for everything you need to know about living in Harpenden with children.
Easter is coming and we’ve been busy filling the What’s On page with lots of lovely activities and events. Here’s our pick:
Kick start the Easter weekend fun with the Easter Fun Fair on the Common starting on the Thursday evening of the Easter weekend and running until Easter Monday. Exact opening times are still to be confirmed, but we'll update the details on the link above as soon as we have them. On Good Friday, you could combine that with joining in the annual Harpenden Easter Egg Hunt, organised by the Friends of Harpenden Academy. Or on Saturday there's free Easter Fun at High Street Methodist Church with an Easter trail, craft activities, Lego and more. Just drop-in. On both Wednesdays during the holidays you can join Glaze Time at Inn on the Green for some Easter Pottery Painting.
The Eric Morecambe Centre has two family shows on over the holidays with the classic nursery rhyme There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly being brought to life on stage, and The Amazing Bubble Man wowing everyone with science and artistry. Older children, teens and parents might enjoy some classical music mixed with humour from comedy quartet MozART Group. At their sister venue, The Alban Arena, little ones are sure to enjoy Fireman Sam - The Great Camping Adventure and older children will be entertained by this production of The Little Mermaid with a chance to meet the cast afterwards, or can laugh and marvel at Rude Science - even the name is bound to amuse!
Just up the road in Luton there's The Museum of Marvellous Things featuring giant puppets and magical effects, and swashbuckling fun with Grooving with Pirates at the Hat Factory Arts Centre; Dinosaur Timewarp: A Family Panto and more bubbly fun with the Ultimate Bubble Show at Luton Library Theatre; and at Stockwood Discovery Centre a classic tale and modern one will be brought to life with The Three Bears and Dogs Don't Do Ballet.
Hopefully, the weather will be spring-like and you'll want to be outdoors are much as possible. If you can’t make it to the Harpenden Easter Egg Hunt, there will be one running all through the holidays at Dunstable Downs. There’s no need to book for this, just drop in. Luton Hoo will be holding their Spring Open Day on 3rd April, with arts and crafts, seed planting and a bunny hunt for the children. And St Albans South Signal Box will also be holding an Open Day on 24th March, which is free. Also free, and you could combine this with a visit to the signal box, is an Easter Trail around St Albans city centre.
St Albans Cathedral will be holding one of their free, drop-in Family Discovery Mornings with a theme of Spring & Easter on the 2nd Thursday of the holiday. St Albans Museum have some bookable art & craft workshops running where you can Decorate a Mug or Create a Colourful Collage. Or at Verulamium Museum you can discover archaeology with two drop-in events that are included in the price of entry: A Blanket Dig and Become an Archaeologist. A bit further afield at Panshangar Park in Hertford, but worth a mention because it’s another free event (though there is a suggested donation), is Family Willow Weaving - registration is required.
There’s a new event in the calendar that we haven’t seen before. On Easter Saturday and Sunday at the county showground just outside Redbourn there will be The Hertfordshire Family Easter Festival, which promises "a whole array of attractions for all ages from babies to teenagers ... shows, music, rides, amazing street food and a whole load of exciting attractions!"
This is just a fraction of the Easter events and activities you can find on our What's On page.
Enter the ticket ballot (Herts residents only) and you and your family could be enjoying free entry to some great local attractions on the weekend of 20th & 21st April.
There's some great family tickets up for grabs from the likes of Campus West, Cedar Natures Centre, Celtic Harmony Camp, de Havilland Aircraft Museum, Foodies Festival, Hatfield Park, Hertfordshire Zoo, Knebworth House & Gardens, Laser Quest Hemel Hempstead, Mill Green Museum, Standalone Farm, The Snow Centre Hemel Hempstead, Treasure Map Trails, Verulamium Museum, Warner Bros. Studio Tour, Welwyn Roman Baths, Willow's Activity Farm and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo.
Or if you want to leave the kids behind, there's also some nice grown-up treats including afternoon tea or overnight stays at some of Hertfordshire's best hotels and beer or wine tasting at local distilleries and breweries.
Entry is now open on the Herts Big Weekend website and you can enter as many individual ballots as you like. Entries close on 31st March.
It may feel too early to be thinking about this year's Panto at the Eric Morecambe Centre, which will be brought to you again by Polka Dot Pantomimes, but we thought you might like to know that ticket prices have been frozen at 2023 prices until 31st March 2024!
Sleeping Beauty will run from 7th to 30th December 2024.
So if you want to ensure you get your favourite seats at a cheaper price, book before 31st March 2024!
Did you know, there’s now a Junior parkrun event taking place every Sunday, 9am at Katherine Warington School?
Junior Parkrun is a fun and friendly weekly 2k event for ages 4 to 14, and it's completely FREE to join in. You need to register once with Parkrun before you turn up for the first time, and then bring your barcode with you every time you take part.
More details here: www.parkrun.org.uk/katherinewaringtonschool-juniors
Easter Funfair
28th March
- 1st April
Harpenden Common, Harpenden
Harpenden Easter Egg Hunt
29th March
Harpenden Common, Harpenden
Easter Fun
(FREE)
30th March
High Street Methodist Church, Harpenden
Pets as Therapy - Read 2 Dogs
(FREE)
30th March
Harpenden Library, Harpenden
There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly
30th March
The Eric Morecambe Centre, Harpenden
The Amazing Bubble Man
2nd April
The Eric Morecambe Centre, Harpenden
Easter hols pottery painting with Glaze Time
3rd April
Inn on the Green, Harpenden
The Signing Company Easter Class
3rd April
High Street Methodist Church, Harpenden
The MozART Group
7th April
The Eric Morecambe Centre, Harpenden
Easter hols pottery painting with Glaze Time
10th April
Inn on the Green, Harpenden
Harpenden Local History Day
(FREE)
20th April
The Eric Morecambe Centre, Harpenden
Author Event - Laura Hambleton
(FREE)
20th April
Harpenden Books, Harpenden
Harpenden Farmer's Market
(FREE)
28th April
Lower High Street, Harpenden
Brambleton Model Railway Club Spring Open Day
11th May
Brambleton Model Railway Club, Harpenden
Charity Plant Sale in aid of the Children's Society
11th May
The Concourse opp Harpenden Library, Harpenden
Faure and Fizz
11th May
St Nicholas Church, Harpenden
Harpenden Sustainability Market
(FREE)
19th May
Green opposite Park Hall, Harpenden
Abbotts Funfair
23rd May
- 27th May
Harpenden Common, Harpenden
Harpenden Farmer's Market
(FREE)
26th May
Lower High Street, Harpenden
Lamb Bottle Feeding
17th February
- 6th May
Aldenham Country Park, Elstree
Easter Adventure Quest
23rd March
- 14th April
Wrest Park, Silsoe
Easter Adventures
27th March
- 14th April
Waddesdon Manor, Aylesbury
Easter Funfair
28th March
- 1st April
Harpenden Common, Harpenden
Easter Eggstravaganza
28th March
- 1st April
Willows Activity Farm, London Colney
Hunt for the Easterlopers - Easter Trail
(FREE)
29th March
- 14th April
City Centre, St Albans
Family Activities @ IWM Duxford
29th March
- 14th April
IWM Duxford, Duxford
Easter Trail
29th March
- 1st April
Knebworth House & Gardens, Knebworth
Easter Weekend
29th March
- 1st April
Chiltern Open Air Museum, Gorelands Lane
Day out with Thomas
29th March
Buckinghamshire Railway Centre, Aylesbury
Easter at Whipsnade
29th March
- 14th April
Whipsnade Zoo, Dunstable
Easter Event at Two Oaks Pony Sanctuary
29th March
- 30th March
Two Oaks Pony Sanctuary, Berkhamsted
Easter Egg Hunt
29th March
- 1st April
Shaw's Corner, Nr Welwyn
Harpenden Easter Egg Hunt
29th March
Harpenden Common, Harpenden
Meet Peppa Pig at Woburn Safari Park
29th March
Woburn Safari Park, Woburn
Easter Tea Party Trail
29th March
- 14th April
Jordans Mill, Broom
Lambing Days @ Watergate Farm
29th March
- 1st April
Watergate Farm, Nr Leighton Buzzard
Great Easter Eggstravaganza
29th March
- 1st April
Lee Valley Animal Adventure Park, Waltham Abbey
Easter Eggstravaganza at Church Farm, Ardley
29th March
- 14th April
Church Farm, Stevenage
Space, Race and Fly
29th March
- 14th April
RAF Museum London, London
Cracking Easter Family Fun
29th March
- 12th April
Bletchley Park, Bletchley
Egg Hunt Trail
29th March
- 14th April
Natural History Museum at Tring, Tring
The Easter Family Magic Show
29th March
- 30th March
The Olde Watermill Shopping Village, Barton-le-clay
Easter Extravaganza
29th March
- 15th April
Herrings Green Activity Farm, Wilstead
Lamb Feeding Experience
29th March
- 15th April
Herrings Green Activity Farm, Wilstead
Easter Eggtravaganza
29th March
- 14th April
Aldenham Country Park, Elstree
Easter Wonderland
29th March
- 12th April
Mead Open Farm, Billington
Easter Egg Hunt
29th March
- 14th April
Dunstable Downs, Dunstable
Spring on the Farm
29th March
- 14th April
Odds Farm Park, High Wycombe
Comedy Club 4 Kids
30th March
Watford Palace Theatre, Watford
Easter Fun
(FREE)
30th March
High Street Methodist Church, Harpenden
Pets as Therapy - Read 2 Dogs
(FREE)
30th March
Harpenden Library, Harpenden
Easter Eggstravaganza
30th March
Mill Green Museum, Hatfield
Easter Explorers
30th March
- 14th April
Hatfield Park, Hatfield
Easter Bunny Fly-In and Egg Hunt
30th March
- 31st March
Shuttleworth, Biggleswade
There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly
30th March
The Eric Morecambe Centre, Harpenden
Fireman Sam: The Great Camping Adventure
30th March
The Alban Arena, St Albans
Hertfordshire Family Easter Festival
30th March
- 31st March
Herts County Showground, Redbourn
Meet Hey Duggee at Woburn Safari Park
30th March
Woburn Safari Park, Woburn
Royal Gunpowder Mills Open Day
31st March
Royal Gunpowder Mills, Waltham Abbey
Meet JJ from Cocomelon at Woburn Safari Park
31st March
Woburn Safari Park, Woburn
Easter Tea with Owls
31st March
Herrings Green Activity Farm, Wilstead
Self-Led Pond Dipping - Easter at RSPB Rye Meads
31st March
- 4th April
RSPB Rye Meads, Stanstead Abbotts
The Spring Trail - Easter at Rye Meads
31st March
- 4th April
RSPB Rye Meads, Stanstead Abbotts
Easter Hoppy-ness Show
1st April
The Olde Watermill Shopping Village, Barton-le-clay
Migration (U)
1st April
The Alban Arena, St Albans
Chocolate Workshop
1st April
- 5th April
Standalone Farm, Letchworth Garden City
Meet Bluey at Woburn Safari Park
1st April
Woburn Safari Park, Woburn
Easter Holiday Crafts
2nd April
- 4th April
British Schools Museum, Hitchin
Easter Holiday Family Activities
2nd April
- 4th April
Hertford Museum, Hertford
Easter Holiday - Autism Friendly Early Opening
2nd April
Knebworth House & Gardens, Knebworth
Jungle Bunch: World Tour (U)
2nd April
The Alban Arena, St Albans
Easter Activities
2nd April
- 4th April
Mill Green Museum, Hatfield
Make a Roman Catapult
2nd April
Welwyn Roman Baths, Welwyn
One Zoo Three meet & greet
2nd April
Hertfordshire Zoo (formerly Paradise Wildlife Park, Broxbourne
April Terrific Tuesdays
2nd April
Chiltern Open Air Museum, Gorelands Lane
The Amazing Bubble Man
2nd April
The Eric Morecambe Centre, Harpenden
Willows Magical Adventure
2nd April
- 14th April
Willows Activity Farm, London Colney
Amazing Amphibians
2nd April
- 4th April
Natural History Museum at Tring, Tring
The Museum of Marvellous Things
2nd April
Hat Factory Arts Centre, Luton
Beauty & The Beast: Easter Family Panto
3rd April
Grove Theatre, Dunstable
Easter hols pottery painting with Glaze Time
3rd April
Inn on the Green, Harpenden
Easter Bunny Hunt
3rd April
Highfield Park Visitor Centre, St Albans
Spring Open Day
3rd April
The Walled Garden, Luton
The Little Mermaid
3rd April
The Alban Arena, St Albans
The Signing Company Easter Class
3rd April
High Street Methodist Church, Harpenden
Grooving with Pirates
3rd April
Hat Factory Arts Centre, Luton
Easter Owl Encounter
3rd April
Herrings Green Activity Farm, Wilstead
Make an Oscillum
4th April
Welwyn Roman Baths, Welwyn
Easter Storyboats
4th April
Frogmore Paper Mill, Hemel Hempstead
Rude Science
4th April
The Alban Arena, St Albans
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