ART & CULTURE
Firstsite Tim Noble & Sue Webster: Love and Hate (from 9 Nov)

Firstsite what's on in essex this November

First on our what’s on guide in Essex this November is Tim Noble & Sue Webster: Love and Hate. Their light sculptures illuminate areas of the building with pops of colour, referencing iconic symbols in the form of shop-front-type signage and carnival shows inherent of UK seaside towns, Las Vegas and Times Square.

Why not sign up to Firstsite’s Mosaic Membership, too, which gives you unlimited free access to all film screenings, 20% off event cinema screenings, 20% off workshops and talks and 10% off in the café and shop? Go on – go for it.

If a glass of bubbles while browsing art sounds good then Maldon’s The Gallery’s Sparkling Saturdays are right up your street. Held on the first Sat of each month, a free glass of Prosecco is given to those who visit. Apart from under 18s, natch.

Markshall Arboretum & Gardens Sculpture All Year Round! is on until 31 Dec. An outdoor exhibition, it boasts sculptures crafted by artists using materials from metal and stone to reclaimed wood and glass.

Hylands Open Estate Day (17 Nov) should also be on your what’s on in Essex this November radar. As well as activities, music, food and gifts there’s also the People who worked at Hylands exhibit – plus a new History & Gardens Tour.

Wivenhoe’s Art Exchange is also one to visit thanks to its latest exhibit. On from 15 Nov-1 Feb, Glimmer takes inspiration from ‘glimmers’ – the opposite of ‘triggers’ – which are moments that spark joy. From dreamscapes of enchanted bedrooms, to using AI to recreate memories, the works reveal the complexities of our inner worlds and how glimmers interact with everyday lives.

FAMILY FUN
Braintree Village Ice Rin k (from 15 Nov)

Things to do in Essex this November Braintree Village Ice Rink

Another must on our things to do in Essex this November is to head to Braintree Village ice rink. The 550-metre undercover rink opens from 15 Nov-5 Jan, with sessions including skate hire, aids and bob skates. There’s a range of sessions for all, from disco, quiet and parent/toddler sessions to exclusive use. Accessible for wheelchair users, book now for 15% off.

Want to get into the festive spirit? Check out RHS Garden Hyde Hall’s Glow winter illuminations (22 Nov-28 Dec). Explore your favourite spots while being greeted by snowflake lights, mirror balls and breathtaking arcs of light.

Another Christmas event worth checking out (yes, we know it’s November) is the Magic of Christmas at Colchester Zoo. On from 23 Nov-24 Dec, the website’s not giving too much away apart from there’ll be lots of festive activities taking place.

Little ones will love Tinkerbell, Hook & The Golden Treasure on at our 2024 Best Arts, Culture & Theatre Venue winner, Thameside Theatre (7-9 Nov). Snow White fans, meanwhile, should book a Chelmsford Theatre performance (29 Nov-5 Jan), with back-chatting mirrors, evil stepmothers, jokes, silliness and what they say will be a whole forest of fun.

FOOD & DRINK
The Windmill Chatham Green Fine Wines & Cheese (13 Nov)

Little Black Book member The Windmill Chatham Green is always on the ball with incredible food and drink. Their events line-up’s just as impressive, with this wine and cheese night featuring six fine wines and cheese from France, Spain and South Africa, among others. £85pp, book your space by emailing info@thewindmillchathamgreen.co.uk.

Three Wise Monkeys in Colchester has a Festive Wine & Food Pairing Evening on 19 Nov (£50pp). Arrive at 7pm for four-courses of seasonally inspired food plus wine in collab with indie wine merchants, Street Wines.

Also on our things to do in Essex this November is Chelmsford’s Pig & Whistle Restaurant and its 7 Course Taste of France Tasting Menu (21 Nov). It kicks off at 7.15pm, with all details kept quiet until the day to keep tastebuds on their toes. £70pp.

Vegans take note: The Essex Vegan Festival hits Southend’s Leisure and Tennis Centre on 3 Nov, with 60 stalls including cakes, skincare, candles and more. And in keeping with the festival theme, Colchester’s Charter Hall has its own Food and Drink Festival on 24 Nov with international cuisine, cocktails and entertainment.

Finally, PizzaExpress is getting into the Christmas charity spirit with its Snowball Dough Balls. A sweet version of regular Dough Balls – but covered in choc sauce, cinnamon and icing sugar – they’re on their Christmas menu from 12 Nov. Plus 19 Nov is Snowball Dough Ball Day, when you get to enjoy them for just £1. All money raised on the day goes to their charity partner @_place2be, supporting children’s mental health in UK schools.

MUSIC
Noasis (23 Nov)

Tickets for Noasis go fast, especially now those Gallagher bros have made up. Performing at Braintree’s The Institute, the act, which formed in 2006, performs all the classic anthems that defined a generation. Doors at 7pm; band at 8pm; tickets a reasonable £18. Come on, you gotta roll with it.

This looks cool; over at Southend’s Cliffs Pavilion there’s The Rock Orchestra By Candlelight (17 Nov), with 14 classical musicians performing melodies with powerful walls of distortion: think Nirvana, Metallica Led Zeppelin and the like.

Another candlelit performance comes courtesy of Candlelight Brentwood: a Tribute to Queen (16 Nov), on at the St Thomas of Canterbury Church and featuring all those hits you can listen to time and time again.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra is another must on our list, performing Swan Lake at Saffron Hall on 30 Nov. Just don’t book expecting to see the ballet itself: this one’s purely for its music.

Or why not let your hair up (with all the hairspray used back then) with Romford’s Brookside Theatre and its That 80s Rock Show (16 Nov)? Get set for over two hours of music to take you back to, erm, the Eighties – which was over 40 years ago (reaches for the anti-ageing cream).

THEATRE
Priscilla Queen of The Disaster (1 Nov)

Get in there quick, as this is on this Fri 1 Nov at Harlow’s Playhouse. Priscilla Queen of the Disaster is all about brutally honest tales of being a mum. Because we all know it isn’t just paying a photographer to snap your bundle of joy in a basket. I’ve a 12 year old and 15 year old – feel free to message me for collection.

Any performers wishing to test the waters should get to Colchester Lakeside Theatre for their free to enter Open Mic: Spoken Word (29 Nov) event. Whatever your talent, be it stand up comedy, poetry, monologues and more, everyone’s welcome. “I tried to catch the fog yesterday. I mist”. I’ll get my coat.

Want to hear gruesome tales? Colchester’s Mercury Theatre has its The Makings of a Murderer 2 show (9 Nov), with Senior Investigating Officer Colin Sutton – the man who nabbed killer Levi Bellfield – recounting the stories of how he caught some of the UK’s most evil murderers.

Or why not solve a crime yourself, with Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote: A Christmas Secret (28 Nov)? Jessica Fletcher is celebrating yuletide in Cabot Cove but soon there’s a murder only she (or you) can solve. And if you don’t know Murder She Wrote/Jessica Fletcher I’m reaching for that anti-ageing cream again.

A good pun makes for a good story, with The Only Play is Essex (11 Nov) revealing the drama of everyday Essex life from local writers. A rehearsed reading of short plays and excerpts with a director and cast, it’s priced from just £10pp.

DON’T FORGET!

It’s all things pop and bang over the first weekend of Nov, so check out our Essex firework displays here. It includes displays from Billericay, Chelmsford, Clacton, Colchester, South Woodham Ferrers, Waltham Abbey and more.

Also worth booking up is a good old Essex panto. We’ve a great guide of ones in our county to check out here. They include Braintree, Colchester, Grays, Hornchurch and Southend. Get booking: we’ve seen they’re all selling fast.

What’s on: 35+ things to do in Essex this November

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