Festivals

Here in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead we are lucky to have very different types of events that fit under the 'festival' heading.  Explore a wide range of festival events taking place in 2020, from music and literature to food and drink.

Windsor Festival Spring Festival, 12 – 29 March 2020

A Lenten Feast of glorious music awaits the Festival audience in this year’s Windsor Spring Festival. The choral celebration being performed by so many young people and community organisations includes Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s St John Passion, Poulenc’s Stabat Mater, Stainer’s Crucifixion, Rachmaninov’s Vespers, and Zimbe! These events involve almost 600 performers, and present a unique collection of concerts to be given by, among others, The Choir of Royal Holloway, Taplow Youth Choir, St George’s School Choirs, Cantorum, Quire Voices, The Queen’s Six, Spelthorne Choral Society and Orpheus Sinfonia.  Book online or over the phone at 01753 743585.

Norden Farm Centre for the Arts Quest Family Fest, 6 – 19 April 2020

Take on a Quest with activities, shows and films this Spring holiday.  From Monday 6 April to Sunday 19 April, you can navigate your way through creative adventures and fearlessly explore a land where imagination rules supreme!  Quest Family Fest is a fun packed fortnight of new experiences for children and families. Including family friendly shows, films and activity clubs, plus daily craft and storytelling. Norden's Café Bar is open throughout the day serving a family friendly menu, along with free parking on site and a warm welcome.

Let’s Rock the Moor, 16 May 2020

Known as The Retro Festival, this family-friendly celebration of the 80s takes place at Marsh Meadow in picturesque Cookham. Let's Rock the Moor features household name headline acts, local bands, children’s entertainers, a circus, children’s rides, an 80s-themed children’s play area and multiple bars.

Maidenhead Festival, 18 – 19 July 2020

For two days in July Maidenhead Festival comes to Kidwells Park.  It's a free, family-focussed event featuring music, a beach, fairground, stalls and side shows and if you're lucky you might spot a friendly clown or acrobat!  Maidenhead Festival is the biggest, regularly organised, free, public event in Maidenhead and has many benefits for the community, including building spirit and goodwill and publicising local charities and other organisations that take part. 

Italian Tourist Board Festival of Food and Wine Racing Weekend, 4 – 5 September 2020

Ascot Racecourse’s two-day Italian Tourist Board Festival of Food and Wine Weekend is a real feast for the senses!  Get a taste of the action as fantastic racing is stirred with a host of culinary attractions from stallholders in the Grandstand.  These are two days when elite sport and culinary experts share top billing.

Windsor Festival, 19 September – 3 October 2020

Celebrating music, literature and the arts across two weeks, the Windsor Festival Autumn Festival is dedicated to delivering high-calibre performances in magnificent venues. Events range from internationally-renowned classical music, jazz and folk, to a broad range of talks, and insightful walks and tours. Events take place in prestigious venues including Windsor Castle’s Waterloo Chamber, St George’s Chapel, the Eton College Chapel and the Theatre Royal.

Windsor Fringe Festival, 26 September – 10 October 2020

The Windsor Fringe is the second oldest fringe in the UK after Edinburgh. Run by volunteers, it offers an innovative and affordable programme of music, dance, comedy, drama and art with a passion for being a platform for promoting new talent.

Cliveden Literary Festival, 14 – 15 November 2020

Cliveden is the magnificent English country house with a unique and extraordinary history of politics and intrigue, aristocracy and espionage, sex and scandal. Time and again, Cliveden itself has become a character in the story of these isles. Ever since 1666, the house has also been known for its literary salon, helping to inspire writers from Alexander Pope and George Bernard Shaw, Jonathan Swift and Lord Tennyson to Sir Winston Churchill. The Cliveden Literary Festival will evoke the spirit of the great writers and potentates who stayed here and continue the tradition of the house as a sanctuary for lovers of literature.

Autumn Racing Weekend and Ascot Beer Festival, 2 – 3 October 2020

For two days in October, Ascot is transformed into one of the country's most comprehensive beer festivals. Special edition glasses and beer vouchers are available on the day or can be pre-ordered with tickets for the convenience of you and your guests.  If gin is your thing then you’ll be pleased to know the The Gin Festival returns, with a variety of gins available to enjoy alongside mixers from Fever-Tree, the Official Mixer of Ascot.  On the Saturday, added 'oompah' comes from bratwurst, pretzels, litre beer steins, lederhosen and traditional German music in the Ascot Bier Haus, and visitors can enjoy giant lawn games including skittles and chess on the Trackside Lawn.  Cheer on the runners and riders in The Challenge Cup, the UK’s joint most valuable seven-furlong handicap.