East Grinstead's torchlit bonfire is on Saturday 17 October and Ardingly's fireworks on the 24th. Forty-two dated listings, from quiz nights to Remembrance.

The Sussex bonfire season reaches Mid Sussex in the next six weeks. East Grinstead’s torchlit procession is on Saturday 17 October, Ardingly’s ticketed fireworks are on Saturday 24 October, Lindfield keeps to Thursday 5 November and Cuckfield follows on Saturday 7 November. Around them sit October half term at Borde Hill, Wakehurst and the Bluebell Railway, a full month at Chequer Mead, and Remembrance Sunday in all three towns on 8 November.

Everything below comes from the organisers’ own pages, re-checked on 6 October 2026, and every entry links to its source so you can check before you set off. A price is shown only where the organiser publishes one. The page covers today to mid November and is rewritten as new dates are confirmed.

This week

Tuesday 6 to Sunday 11 October.

  • Attention All Shipping: A Celebration of the Shipping Forecast, Wednesday 7 October, 7.30pm, Chequer Mead Theatre, East Grinstead. £20. Charlie Connelly’s show about the shipping forecast as the broadcast begins its second century. (Chequer Mead)
  • Think Floyd, Thursday 8 October, 7.30pm, Chequer Mead Theatre, East Grinstead. £36.50. The Pink Floyd tribute band’s 2026 tour. (Chequer Mead)
  • A talk on the Bayeux Tapestry, Friday 9 October, doors 7.30pm, Cyprus Hall, Burgess Hill. £5, members £3. Simon Stevens gives Burgess Hill Heritage and History Association’s illustrated talk, timed to the tapestry’s display at the British Museum. All welcome. (Burgess Hill Town Council listing)
  • The Bubble Show, Sunday 11 October, 2pm, Chequer Mead Theatre, East Grinstead. £15. A family show the theatre lists as suitable for ages 2 to 12 and up. (Chequer Mead)
  • Show Time with Mid Sussex Brass Band, Saturday 10 October, 7.30pm, St John the Evangelist Church, Burgess Hill, RH15 9AA. Music from the stage and screen for the band’s 40th anniversary. £10 in advance from TicketSource or the church Help Point, £12 on the door if any are left. (St John’s Church, TicketSource)

Later in October

Schools in West Sussex break up for half term on Friday 23 October; our October half term page has the dates and more ideas.

  • Burgess Hill District Lions Club pub quiz, Thursday 15 October, quiz 8pm, doors 7pm, The Woolpack, Howard Avenue, Burgess Hill, RH15 8TS. £5 a head. Teams of four to six, booked in advance on the Lions’ website. A light supper is included. (Burgess Hill District Lions Club, via the town council listing)
  • Simenon in Aunis and Saintonge: a talk in French, Thursday 15 October, 7.45pm, Haywards Heath Town Hall, 40 Boltro Road. £5 for visitors, free for members. Isa Martin on the 34 novels Georges Simenon wrote in Aunis and Saintonge before and during the Second World War, for the Mid-Sussex Franco-British Society. The talk is given in French. (Burgess Hill Town Council listing)
  • Haywards Heath Mayor’s Quiz Night, Friday 16 October, Haywards Heath. The Mayor’s charity quiz, with teams competing to be crowned Quiz Champion while raising money for a local cause. The council’s events page no longer carries the time, venue and price, so confirm them by email to eventsandcommunity@haywardsheath.gov.uk before you go. (Haywards Heath Town Council)
  • Giants of Steam, Friday 16 to Sunday 18 October, Bluebell Railway, from Sheffield Park Station, TN22 3QL. One-day adult tickets from £38.50, children from £19.25. The railway’s autumn gala. Visiting engines 92134 and 71000 Duke of Gloucester run alongside 73082, 80151 and 34059 from the home fleet. There is a talk by Steve Wakeland of the BR Class 8 Steam Locomotive Trust at 5.30pm on the Friday. (Bluebell Railway)
  • Nick Cope family concert, Saturday 17 October, 11.30am, Chequer Mead Theatre, East Grinstead. £19.50. A 60-minute concert for families, advisory age three and over. (Chequer Mead)
  • East Grinstead Community Bonfire, Saturday 17 October, from 6pm, East Grinstead High Street, then East Court. A remembrance service at the war memorial at 6pm. The torchlit procession leaves Church Lane at 7pm, goes along the High Street and down London Road, pauses at Railway Approach at 7.45pm and sets off again at 8pm for East Court. Bonfire and fireworks at East Court at 9pm. (East Grinstead Community Bonfire)
  • Halloween half term trail at Borde Hill, Saturday 17 October to Sunday 1 November, 10am to 5pm, Borde Hill Garden, Haywards Heath. £3.50 a trail plus garden admission. A scarecrow story trail from Pumpkin Patch Meadow, with games and a prize. Free to child and family members. (Borde Hill)
  • Wallace & Gromit: Fantastic Fungi Trail, Saturday 17 October to Sunday 1 November, Wakehurst, Ardingly. £3 a trail pack plus garden entry. A family trail about fungi for Aardman’s 50th anniversary, on buggy-friendly paths. There are no costume characters. Wakehurst family members go free. (Kew, Wakehurst)
  • NHS app drop-in help session, Monday 19 October, 10am to 12pm, Burgess Hill Library. Free. A West Sussex Libraries session for Get Online Week. Bring photo ID, and your NHS number if you have it. (Burgess Hill Town Council listing)
  • The Distance, Burgess Hill Theatre Club, Wednesday 21 to Saturday 24 October, 7.30pm, plus 2pm on the Saturday, Burgess Hill Theatre, 98 Church Walk, RH15 9AS. £15. Deborah Bruce’s play about parenthood and friendship, set in Brighton. The ticket includes a programme, and online booking carries a fee. (Burgess Hill Town Council listing)
  • The Ghost Train, Thursday 22 October to Sunday 1 November, train departs 6.30pm, Bluebell Railway, from Sheffield Park Station. Adults from £42, children from £21. An evening theatre piece on the platforms and at Horsted Keynes, back at Sheffield Park at about 8.25pm. The station opens at 4.30pm and the railway asks you to arrive by 6pm. The railway’s timetable now lists a run every night from 22 October to 1 November. (Bluebell Railway)
  • Together in Harmony, Saturday 24 October, 3pm to 5pm, St Andrew’s Church, Cants Lane, Burgess Hill. A £15 donation. Vicki Lee and Susan Fleet’s fundraising concert for ten years of Befriended, with a tribute to Dame Vera Lynn. Book by email to office@befriended.org. (Burgess Hill Town Council listing)
  • New Leaf eco hub, Saturday 24 October, 10am to 12pm, Haywards Heath Town Hall, 40 Boltro Road, RH16 1BA. The town council’s new hub for practical, eco-friendly action, with activities on cutting waste, reusing what you have and making more sustainable choices. (Haywards Heath Town Council)
  • Ardingly Fireworks Spectacular, Saturday 24 October, site opens 4pm, South of England Showground, Ardingly, RH17 6TL. Adults from £15, children £12.50, family £50, parking from £3, plus a 10% booking fee. Lower noise children’s display at 6.30pm, the light up at 7.30pm, then the main display to music. Fairground rides are £2 until 5pm. The organiser asks you to arrive by 5.30pm. (Ardingly Fireworks)
  • Adrian Cox Trio: The Wonderful World of Bechet, Saturday 24 October, 7.45pm, St John the Evangelist Church, Burgess Hill, RH15 9AA. Clarinet, guitar and double bass play the music of Sidney Bechet. The church’s TicketSource page gives 7.45pm and tickets from £10.78 to £16.17 including the booking fee; the town council’s listing says 7pm, so go by your ticket. (St John’s Church, TicketSource)
  • Lego and Lager, Sunday 25 October, 12pm to 8pm, Only with Love Brewery and Taproom, Burgess Hill. Free. An afternoon of Lego building, with the children welcome. (Burgess Hill Town Council listing)
  • Family Fun Sessions for families of children with SEND, Monday 26 October, 12.30pm to 2pm and 2.30pm to 4pm, The King’s Church, Burgess Hill. Free. Games, crafts, an inflatable assault course and a giant train track, with advice services for parents and carers. Places must be booked, one ticket per family. (Burgess Hill Town Council)
  • Tree climbing at Borde Hill, Thursday 29 to Saturday 31 October, hour-long sessions from 10.30am, Borde Hill Garden, Haywards Heath. £25 a person. Five sessions a day, the last starting at 3.30pm. (Borde Hill)
  • The Addams Family, Thursday 29 to Saturday 31 October, 7.30pm, plus 2.30pm on the Saturday, Chequer Mead Theatre, East Grinstead. £23, under 16s £21.50. COS Musical Theatre’s production of the musical. (Chequer Mead)
  • Tap-O-Ween, Saturday 31 October, 12pm to 10pm, Only with Love Brewery and Taproom, Burgess Hill. Halloween at the taproom, with spooky music; fancy dress encouraged. No price is listed. (Burgess Hill Town Council listing)

Every display of the season, with parking and what each organiser has and has not published, is on our Mid Sussex fireworks page.

November

  • Talk: Flanders and the Somme, then and now, Tuesday 3 November, 7.50pm, Cyprus Hall, Burgess Hill. £3 for visitors on the door, free for members. Ian Everest’s illustrated talk on the sites of the Western Front and what can be seen on the old front line today, after the RBL Women’s Section AGM. (Burgess Hill Town Council listing)
  • Lindfield Bonfire Night, Thursday 5 November, from 7pm, Lindfield High Street and Lindfield Common. Free. The procession forms up outside the Stand Up Inn at 7pm and sets off at 7.30pm. The bonfire is lit at 8.15pm and the fireworks start at 8.30pm on the Common, ending at 9pm. Free to attend, with a street collection. The High Street, Black Hill, Lewes Road and Hickmans Lane close from 6.30pm to 9.30pm. (Lindfield Bonfire Society)
  • Chequer Mead 30th Birthday Gala, Thursday 5 November, 7pm, Chequer Mead Theatre, East Grinstead. £20. The theatre’s fundraising celebration of its 30 years. (Chequer Mead)
  • Free museum tour, Friday 6 November, 11am, East Grinstead Museum. Free. The volunteer-led tour the museum runs on the first Friday of every month. No booking, just turn up. (East Grinstead Museum)
  • East Grinstead Comedy Club: November, Friday 6 November, 8pm, Chequer Mead Theatre, De La Warr Road, East Grinstead, RH19 3BS. £18. Marcus Brigstocke headlines, with Ria Lina and Tom Alban, hosted by Abigoliah Schamaun. (Chequer Mead)
  • Foraging walk at Borde Hill, Friday 6 November, 10am to 12pm or 1pm to 3pm, Borde Hill Garden, Haywards Heath. £30 a person. Two guided sessions. The price is the same for members. (Borde Hill)
  • Chequer Mead Winter Fair, Saturday 7 November, 10am to 4pm, Chequer Mead Theatre, East Grinstead. Free entry. Stalls through the theatre. Entry is free to the public; the £25 on the booking page is the stallholder’s table fee. (Chequer Mead)
  • Cuckfield Bonfire and Fireworks to Music, Saturday 7 November, gates 5.30pm, ends 9pm, Cuckfield Park, Cuckfield, RH17 5AB. Adults £12, children £5, family £30. The charity display run by Cuckfield Bonfire Society. Under fives go free. (Cuckfield Bonfire Society ticket page)
  • Burgess Hill Remembrance Parade, Sunday 8 November, parade leaves at 10.15am, from the rear of Cyprus Road car park to the War Memorial Garden, Burgess Hill. Wreaths are laid at the War Memorial Garden, with a church service at St John’s straight afterwards. Church Road, Civic Way, Crescent Road, Crescent Way, Cyprus Road and Mill Road close from 10am. (Burgess Hill Town Council)
  • East Grinstead Remembrance Parade and Service, Sunday 8 November, 10.30am to 12pm, High Street and London Road, East Grinstead. The town’s parade and service. (East Grinstead Town Council, Town Events 2026)
  • Haywards Heath Remembrance Sunday, Sunday 8 November, service shortly before 11am, the War Memorial, Muster Green, Haywards Heath. The service leads into the two minutes’ silence, then the parade marches to Boltro Road, where the salute is taken at the Town Hall. The council’s page is headed 2025 but gives Sunday 8 November, which is this year’s Remembrance Sunday. (Haywards Heath Town Council)
  • Burgess Hill Armistice Day service, Wednesday 11 November, 10.45am, from the Help Point, Church Walk, to the War Memorial, Burgess Hill. Councillors, Royal British Legion members and council staff march to the War Memorial for a short ceremony and the two minutes’ silence. (Burgess Hill Town Council)
  • East Grinstead Remembrance Day service, Wednesday 11 November, 11am, High Street War Memorial, East Grinstead. A service with the two minutes’ silence. (East Grinstead Town Council, Town Events 2026)
  • Blackadder II, Red Curtain Repertory Theatre, Tuesday 10 to Saturday 14 November, 7.30pm, plus 2.30pm on the Saturday, Burgess Hill Theatre, Church Walk, Burgess Hill. An amateur stage version of three more episodes, Money, Potato and Chains. Nightly at 7.30pm from Tuesday 10 to Saturday 14 November, plus 2.30pm on the Saturday. The town council’s listing is headed 11 to 14 November, but the company’s ticket page sells the Tuesday too. (Red Curtain Repertory Theatre, TicketSource)

Remembrance arrangements for all three towns, with closures and parking, are on our Mid Sussex Remembrance Sunday page, and the full Lindfield route and closures on our Lindfield Bonfire Night page.

Further ahead, Haywards Heath Town Council now gives Saturday 28 November for its Christmas Festival, Burgess Hill’s four-day Christmas Festival opens on Thursday 26 November and East Grinstead’s lights go on on Saturday 21 November. Glow Wild at Wakehurst starts on 26 November and the Chequer Mead pantomime on 5 December. The Winter Fair at Ardingly showground is on 21 and 22 November, and every Christmas market in the district, from Burgess Hill’s chalets to Lindfield’s Festival Night on 8 December, is on our Mid Sussex Christmas markets page.

Regular events

  • Clair parkrun, every Saturday at 9am, next on Saturday 10 October, Clair Park, behind Clair Hall off Perrymount Road, Haywards Heath. Free. A free, timed 5k of four and a half laps on tarmac paths. Register with parkrun first and bring your barcode. (parkrun)
  • East Grinstead parkrun, every Saturday at 9am, next on Saturday 10 October, East Court, East Grinstead. Free. A free 5k of three laps on grass and trail paths, with free parking at East Grinstead Town Football Club. The organisers give RH19 3LS for sat navs. (parkrun)
  • Wakehurst parkrun, every Saturday at 9am, next on Saturday 10 October, Wakehurst, Ardingly, RH17 6TN. Free. A free 5k on unpaved, hilly paths. Parking is free for runners until 11am, after which charges of up to £13.50 apply. (parkrun and Kew)

East Grinstead Museum’s free tour comes round on the first Friday of every month; the next is listed under November.

Getting there

Pay and display charges in Mid Sussex District Council car parks stop at 6pm Monday to Saturday, so most of the evening events above start after charging ends; our parking page has the tariffs. Bonfire nights and Remembrance parades close town centre roads, and the closures appear on our roadworks and travel page. For rail, see train times. More ideas are in our guide to things to do in Mid Sussex and the rest of the What’s On section.

Send us your event

Organisers: email hello@midsussexnews.co.uk with the date, time, venue, price and a photo. It is free of charge, and it always will be. Your listing goes on this page and in the diary on our What’s On and front pages.

Sources