Rugby Fireworks on Saturday 7 November, a free literary festival from 23 October, Benn Hall shows, half-term workshops and Rugby Town home games, all dated.

The next six weeks in Rugby build to two big dates. The Rugby Literary Festival fills the town centre with free author talks and workshops from Friday 23 to Sunday 25 October, running straight into half term, and Rugby Round Table’s fireworks at Whinfield Park are on Saturday 7 November. Before then, the Benn Hall has a show most weekends, Rugby Art Gallery and Museum has the Paula Rego exhibition on and opens BTH in Pictures on 7 October, and Rugby Town have three home games at Butlin Road.

Everything below comes from the organisers’ own listings, read on 28 September 2026, and every entry links back to its source so you can check before you set off. For places that are open whatever the month, see our guide to things to do in Rugby.

This week

  • Paula Rego: Visions of English Literature, on now to Saturday 21 November, Rugby Art Gallery and Museum. Free. A Hayward Gallery touring exhibition of Rego’s Jane Eyre, Nursery Rhymes and Peter Pan prints, shown with sketches, etching plates and her own childhood copy of Peter Pan (Rugby Art Gallery and Museum).
  • Poetry Night, Thursday 1 October, 6pm to 9pm, Alexandra Arts, 72-73 James Street, CV21 2SL. Free. Featured poets, an open mic and blackout poetry, for beginners as well as regulars (The Rugby Town).
  • Guys and Dolls, Thursday 1 to Saturday 3 October, Benn Hall, Newbold Road. £17.50 to £19.50, rated PG. A stage production of the Broadway musical; performance times are on the booking page (Benn Hall box office).
  • Pumpkin and mushroom needle felting with Coppice Collection, Saturday 3 October, 10.30am to 12pm, Rugby Art Gallery and Museum. A hands-on workshop turning wool fibre into autumn pumpkins and toadstools (The Rugby Town).
  • Rugby Town v Atherstone Town, Saturday 3 October, Butlin Road. United Counties League Premier Division South. The club gives 3pm as its usual Saturday kick-off (Rugby Town FC).
  • Funhouse Comedy Club, Saturday 3 October, 8pm to 11pm, Wycliffe Rooms, George Street. A comedy night (The Rugby Town).

Next week

  • BTH in Pictures opens, Wednesday 7 October, Rugby Art Gallery and Museum’s local history gallery. Restored photographs of the British Thomson-Houston works from the 1920s to the 1940s, on show until October 2027 (Rugby Borough Council). Our story on the exhibition.
  • Dungeons and Dragons, Saturday 10 October, 9.30am, Rugby Library. Free, booking essential, for adults and children aged 10 and over, with under 12s joined by an adult (The Rugby Town).
  • African drumming workshop, Saturday 10 October, 1pm to 3.30pm, Rugby Library. Free drop-in for all ages, children with an adult (The Rugby Town).
  • Rugby Town v Tuffley Rovers, FA Vase first round, Saturday 10 October, Butlin Road, 3pm usual kick-off (Rugby Town FC).
  • Dark Side of the Wall, Saturday 10 October, 8.30pm, Benn Hall. £17, age 14 and over. A Pink Floyd tribute marking 30 years on the road (Benn Hall box office).

Later in October

Half term at Warwickshire schools runs from Monday 26 to Friday 30 October. Our October half term page has the week day by day.

  • The Take That Experience, Friday 16 October, 7.30pm, Benn Hall. £29.50. A tribute act’s greatest hits tour (Benn Hall box office).
  • Born to Swing, Saturday 17 October, 7.30pm, Benn Hall. £20, rated PG. Britain’s Got Talent finalist Andrew Bourn with a live swing band (Benn Hall box office).
  • Rugby College open event, Saturday 17 October, 10am to 2pm, Rugby College, Technology Drive. For school leavers, apprenticeships and part-time adult courses (The Rugby Town).
  • Paula Rego: Printmaker, a talk with Paul Coldwell, Thursday 22 October, 6.30pm to 8pm, Rugby Art Gallery and Museum. £5. Coldwell worked with Rego on all her etchings from 1987 to 2006 (Rugby Art Gallery and Museum).
  • Night at your Museum, Friday 23 October, entrances at 5.30pm, 6.30pm and 7.30pm, Rugby Art Gallery and Museum. £4.50 for children and adults, under 2s free. A space-themed evening with a University of Warwick planetarium show for 5 to 10 year olds, rocket building and crafts (Rugby Art Gallery and Museum).
  • Ultimate Coldplay, Friday 23 October, 7.30pm, Benn Hall. £25, rated PG. A Coldplay tribute with a laser show (Benn Hall box office).
  • Rugby Literary Festival, Friday 23 to Sunday 25 October, venues across the town centre. Free. The third festival opens with a literary walking tour on the Friday, has the book fair and swap at Rugby Library on the Saturday and a family day at the Benn Hall on the Sunday; places are booked through the council’s visitor site (Rugby Borough Council). The family sessions are listed on our half term page.
  • Calendar Girls The Musical, Saturday 24 to Saturday 31 October, Rugby Theatre, Henry Street. £25, concessions available. Evenings at 7.30pm with 2.30pm matinees on Sunday 25 and Saturday 31 October, and no show on Monday 26 (Rugby Theatre).
  • Relaxed Hour, Monday 26 October, 10.30am to 11.30am, Rugby Art Gallery and Museum. Free, booking required. A quieter session for neurodivergent children in the galleries (Rugby Art Gallery and Museum).
  • Trick and Treat Circus Live, Tuesday 27 October, 1.30pm, Benn Hall. £11 to £13. An hour-long, scare-free Halloween mix of circus and pantomime (Benn Hall box office).
  • Spooky printmaking, Wednesday 28 October, 10.15am and 11.30am sessions, Rugby Art Gallery and Museum. £3 a child, ages 6 and up. Children design a Halloween repeat-pattern printing roller (Rugby Art Gallery and Museum).
  • Mischief and Magic Trail, Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 October, 12pm to 4pm, Caldecott Park. The council’s Halloween celebrations, with more detail promised (The Rugby Town).
  • Little Monsters Play, Thursday 29 October, 10.15am and 11.30am sessions, Rugby Art Gallery and Museum. £2.50 a child, ages 2 to 6. Loose-parts play with a Halloween twist (Rugby Art Gallery and Museum).
  • Waffle the Wonder Dog meet and greet, Friday 30 October, 1.45pm to 3.45pm, Rugby Art Gallery and Museum. Free, in five-minute slots, booking essential; bookings open on Friday 16 October at 11am (Rugby Art Gallery and Museum).
  • K-Pop Icons, Friday 30 October, 7pm, Benn Hall. £19.50, rated PG. An interactive show with songs from BLACKPINK, BTS and the Demon Hunters groups (Benn Hall box office).
  • Halloween Quiz Night, Friday 30 October, 7.30pm to 9.30pm, doors 7pm, Rugby Library. £5 a head plus booking fee, adults only, teams of up to six, booking essential (The Rugby Town).
  • Rugby Town v Eynesbury Rovers, Saturday 31 October, Butlin Road, 3pm usual kick-off. League (Rugby Town FC).
  • Synthmachine, Saturday 31 October, 9pm, The Squirrel, 33 Church Street. A live gig (The Rugby Town).

November

  • Diwali Celebration, Sunday 1 November, 2pm to 7pm, Market Place and the Asda car park in front of the Swan Centre. Free entry. Stalls, Indian street food, lantern-making, live performances and a lantern procession at 5pm (The Rugby Town).
  • The Rugby Fireworks Show, Saturday 7 November, Whinfield Park, entry from Clifton Road only, CV21 3SD. Gates 4.30pm, low-noise children’s display 6pm, main display 6.30pm. £5 early bird up to two weeks before, then £10 adults and £5 for under 14s, under 3s free. Rugby Round Table’s 73rd display; John Barford car park is free from 4pm to 8pm and a free shuttle runs from North Street every eight minutes (Rugby Round Table).
  • Afternoon Tea with Mixed-Up Musicals, Sunday 8 November, 2.30pm, Benn Hall. £24.50 to £31, rated U (Benn Hall box office).

Remembrance Sunday falls on 8 November. Rugby Borough Council usually publishes its service and road closure details in the last week of October, and our Remembrance Sunday page will carry them. For Christmas, see our pages on the pantomimes, Luminate at Coombe Abbey and the Christmas lights.

Regular events

  • Rugby Market, every Friday and Saturday, 9am to 4pm, Market Place by the Clock Tower, CV21 3DU (The Rugby Town).
  • Rugby parkrun, every Saturday at 9am, Whinfield Recreation Ground, Clifton Road, CV21 3SD. Free 5k; walk, jog, run or volunteer (parkrun).

Getting there

The Benn Hall, Rugby Library and Rugby Art Gallery and Museum are all a few minutes’ walk from the Clock Tower, so one trip covers most of the town centre listings. Whinfield Park and Butlin Road are off Clifton Road, a 20 to 25 minute walk from the centre. If you are driving in, our page on parking in Rugby has the car parks and tariffs, and the roadworks and travel page has closures before a weekend trip.

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 something in Rugby or the villages? Email hello@rugbytownnews.co.uk with the date, time, venue, price and a photo. Listings are free of charge, and your event goes on this page and in the diary on our What’s On section.

Sources