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Wednesday, October 7 

  • Live Laugh Love Ladies Club meets at The Octagon Cafe, 4 Pummery Square, Poundbury, 7pm-9pm. Speaker Clare Collins of Mirari Lingerie. Call Sally 07703 171545, email sallyannchildsslade@gmail.com livelaughloveladies.club/sallycs
  • West Dorset Community Orchestra rehearse in the Christian Fellowship hall, East Street car park, Bridport DT6 3QE from 6.30pm to 7.45pm every Wednesday.  New members welcome, particularly violins and violas. First four rehearsals are free. westdorsetcommunityorchestra.co.uk or 01308 456297.
  • Dorchester and District Gardening Club will host a talk on Gardening in the Goldilocks Era by Brian Hesketh, looking at some of the changes in our climate and how they affect our natural world and our gardens. United Church Hall, 49/51 Charles Street, Dorchester DT1 1EE. Doors 7.15pm for 7.30pm start. All welcome.  

Thursday, October 8

  • Beaminster Museum will be showcasing the Fire Flood Frost exhibition this month. Three great fires devastated the town and the exhibition reveals how people pulled together then and in times of crisis. The museum also has pre-history and geology displays plus a range of children’s activities. Open Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Bank Holidays, 10.30am-4pm and Sundays 2pm-4.30pm. Admission is free, but donations are very welcome.
  • Beaminster Short Mat Bowls Club meets every Thursday in the Public Hall, Beaminster at 6.45pm and would love to welcome new members. 
  • Write Now – a community poetry and prose afternoon will be held 1.45pm-4pm at Portland Museum, 217 Wakeham, DT5 1HS. A relaxed, creative afternoon celebrating the joy of sharing words is promised. Three local writers – Chris Fogg, Paul Snow and Dave Warren – will be welcoming visitors for an informal session where anyone can read their own work aloud. Whether you’re a seasoned writer or someone who simply enjoys putting thoughts on paper, this is a chance to share your voice in a friendly, supportive setting.  Writers are invited to bring a poem of up to 30 lines, or prose of up to 400 words. Your writing can be on any subject, from everyday moments to island memories, from the deeply personal to the delightfully imaginative. Pieces inspired by Portland are welcome but not required.  If you prefer to listen rather than read, you’re just as welcome. The afternoon is open to anyone. Admission and refreshments free.
  • Sherborne Historical Society meets at 8pm to hear from Prof Henrike Lähnemann on Networking Nuns: Letters from a Late Medieval German Convent. The 1,800 letters by the Benedictine nuns of Kloster Lüne give a vivid insight into monastic life from mid-15th-mid-16th centuries. Digby Hall, Hound Street DT9 3AA. Non-members: £5. sherbornehistoricalsociety.co.uk
  • Sherborne & District Gardeners’ Association meets at the Main Digby Hall, Hound Street to hear from Bryan Madders on chrysanthemums at 2.30pm. Non-members £3. Richard Newcombe 01935 389375.

Friday, October 9

  • Dorchester Oddfellows: Coffee and get together with bring and buy 10.30-noon Crossways village hall. Mary Brewer 01305 853125 marybrewer44@icloud.com
  • Beaminster’s Yarn Barton Centre is holding its annual fundraising quiz in the Town Hall, Fleet St, 7pm for 7.30pm, for teams of up to six. Licenced bar and raffle. Tickets £7pp, to include nibbles, available at the YBC (01308 862715).
  • Film: The People’s Emergency Briefing and discussion hosted by Leigh Climate Group at Leigh village hall DT9 6HL. Doors open 7.15pm, screening 7.45pm. Admission free. Bar. Over 16 only. Book at Ticket Tailor/Leigh Climate Group.
  • Friends of Bridport Millennium Green host Broadsides sea shanty and folk song band at the Town Hall at 7.30pm. Entrance on the door £10 includes wine and nibbles. Raffle. Contact: 01308 423078.

Saturday, October 10

  • There’s bingo at Maiden Newton Village Hall, doors 2pm, eyes down 2.30pm.
  • Dorset Chamber Orchestra is at St Mary’s Church, Dorchester at 7.30pm, with Mozart’s Overture to The Marriage of Figaro, Corelli’s Concerto Grosso and Fauré’s Masques et Bergamasques. It concludes with Beethoven’s Second Symphony. Tickets are £18 (£5 for under 25s) at dorsetchamberorchestra.org or Linda on 07919 430790.
  • Repair Cafe Weymouth at Southill Community Centre, 137, Radipole Lane, DT4 9SS, 10am-12.30pm. Bring items for repair by specialist volunteers for an optional donation. Electrical, clocks, jewellery, sewing and leather repairs, mechanical, sewing machines etc. Every 2nd Saturday of the month. repaircafeweymouth.org 
  • Choral evensong, St Peter’s Church Dorchester, 4.30pm. 

Sunday, October 11

  • The Sherborne Steam and Waterwheel Centre is holding an open day 11.30am-3.30pm. The waterwheel and steam engines will be running. Basic refreshments, picnic area, toilet. Wheelchair access to all areas except for the visitor centre and toilet. Entry by donation. sswc.co.uk 
  • A harvest lunch will be held to raise funds for Pancreatic Cancer UK 12.30pm for 1pm at Litton Cheney Community Hall (DT2 9AU). Three-course lunch then entertainment by Tim and Angela Laycock. A bar and raffle available to boost the funds. Tickets £20 on 01308 482270, email: aking44634@aol.com or contact Sean on 07787 597871. No under-14s.

Monday, October 12

  • Dorchester Oddfellows host an afternoon of tabletop games 2-5pm at PIP Café Poundbury, St John Way, Poundbury, Dorchester, DT12FG. Free, including tea coffee and cake. Rosemary 07788 436797/ rosemarywdt2@gmail.com
  • Dorchester Townswomen’s Guild meet at Dorchester Community Church, Liscombe Street, Poundbury, DT1 3DF at 2pm for a talk on celebrations of Christmas around the world by Taprisha Juett. 01305 262302. Visitors very welcome (£4).
  • Maiden Newton hosts the must-see film The People’s Emergency Briefing at St Mary’s Church at 6.45pm for a 7pm start. Everyone is invited, free entry. After the film there’s refreshments and a facilitated discussion about what it means for the local community and what we can all do. Call Sarah on 07469 739978 to book a ticket or go to buytickets.at/na62/2325455
  • Weymouth Museum Teas and Talks welcomes Lindsay Fry on The Second World War in Weymouth – based on Lindsay’s father’s book about growing up in Weymouth in the war. Centenary Club, 21 Jubilee Drive, DT4 7BG, 2.30pm. Museum Friends £3 Non-members £4.

Tuesday, October 13

  • Royal British Legion, Dorchester Branch will hold a meet and greet social event 11am-1pm at The Junction Hotel, Great Western Road, DT1 1UF.  Meetings held 2nd Tuesday. All welcome.
  • Bridport Railway walk  at 11am led by a Bridport Museum guide from the Co-op car park, Sea Road North. Tickets (£8) from the museum website include a museum visit. The walk will explore what remains of the Bridport Branch Railway and station buildings. Hear about their fascinating history.
  • Southill Gardening Club welcomes local history enthusiast Graham Perry, on the development of the current town of Weymouth from Roman times up until the 20th century, using maps and pictures. Southill Community Centre, 7.30pm. Non-members welcome. Nigel Smith 01305 788939.

Wednesday, October 14

  • The Thomas Fowell Buxton Society will be holding its annual Anti-Slavery Day in the Main Hall at St Aldhelm’s Community Centre, Spa Road, Weymouth DT3 5EW 2pm-4pm. Main speaker is local historian Graham Perry on The Slave Trade in the Gambia. Joyce Fannon will give a presentation on the contribution of Dorset-born James Stephen (1759-1832) and that of his sons, George and James Junior, to the campaign against slavery. Christmas-themed Fair Trade stall and the society’s recent book Indomitable Courage: Buxton and his associates’ fortitude in adversity will be on sale for £10. Free entry, non-members welcome.
  • The Bayeux Tapestry and the Battle of Hastings – Dorchester-Bayeux Society talk at 7.30pm at Dorchester Town Hall, High East Street, DT1 1HF. Military historian Lt Col (Retired) James Porter will speak about the Bayeux Tapestry and the Battle of Hastings with images from the tapestry describing the epic events of 1066. The talk examines war strategies and conduct of the battle as well as the story of the almost 1,000-year-old tapestry. Tickets £6 for non-members on the door and at dorchester-bayeux-society.co.uk 

Thursday, October 15

  • Cash bingo at Charleton Horethorne village hall (DT9 4FY), 6.30pm, eyes down 7pm. 01935 814199. Proceeds to hall funds.
  • Friends of Bridport Millennium Green meet at the WI Hall at 2.30pm for a talk on The Hidden Ancestry of Jim Rowe, auctioneer. Refreshments available. £6 on door, 01308 423078.
  • Internationally acclaimed guitarist-singer-songwriter Dean Carter will be at D’Urbervilles Café, 90 Cheap Street Sherborne DT9 3BJ, to bring you a special set of new  instrumentals and songs  from his repertoire themed around the works of not only the Swan of Avon but all bards, past and present in Bard For Life at 7pm. Tickets £12, which will fund recording/releasing the new Bard For Life material – patrons will be listed on the album artwork.

Friday, October 16

  • Weymouth Octoberfest 2026 is today and tomorrow  in the Ocean Room at the Pavilion – £12.50 per session, giving you £5 of beer tokens (non-CAMRA members); or £10 of beer tokens (CAMRA members), plus a souvenir glass. Extra £5 of tokens with a student ID card. Sessions on Friday and Saturday lunch (11am-4pm), and Friday and Saturday evening (6.30pm-11pm). Tickets in Weymouth from The Dolphin, The Globe and The Doghouse pubs, or direct from the Pavilion box office (£15.50), or The Royal Portland Arms or Dorchester’s Copper Street Brewery Tap and The Convivial Rabbit. 
  • Netherbury Nature Group will hear a talk on bumblebees by Trudy Smith at the village hall from 6.30pm. Cash bar. All welcome. Entry £3.
  • Weymouth and Portland U3A invite visitors to their monthly meeting on at St Aldhelm’s Church Centre, Spa Road, Weymouth, 10am. Speaker on Sailability, which helps people with disabilities take to the water. All welcome, £1.

Saturday, October 17

  • Weymouth Bay Church (DT4 7TH) hosts Moonlight Swing Band at 7.30pm. Tickets from Pete 01305 562985  £12 or on door £15 – cash please.
  • St Mary’s Church, Edward Road, Dorchester (DT1 2HJ) hosts Come & Sing: The Armed Man, a 20th century work by Karl Jenkins. Register at eventbrite.co.uk for a rehearsal at 2pm or on the day. You will be accompanied by a 30-piece orchestra and soloists for a performance at 4.30pm, open to all. Info jpsburn@gmail.com 
  • Free concert, 12.30pm at St Peter’s Church Dorchester – David Davies (organ).
  • Nepalese floods crisis coffee morning at All Saints church, Wyke Regis, 10am-noon. All welcome – cakes, books, Fairtrade stall.
  • Wyke Regis Gardening Club hosts a quiz at 7pm, open to members and guests. Soft drinks and nibbles provided but bring whatever else you would like. £5pp, teams of up to six. Tickets from the clubhouse in Rylands Lane, open Wednesdays 2pm-4pm and Saturdays 9.30am-12.30pm. Membership is £10 a year. enquiries@wrhs.org.uk or call 01305 602137.
  • Coffee, cake and stalls will be on offer at the United Church Hall in South Street for the Dorchester committee of the Children’s Society, 10am-noon. Entry free.

Sunday, October 18

  • Choral eucharist, St Peter’s Church Dorchester, 10.30am.
  • Dorchester Oddfellows host apple picking at Lower Muckleford Farm, DT2 9SW. 10am start, ploughman’s lunch provided. Free. Rosemary 07788 436797/ rosemarywdt2@gmail.com
  • Dorset Cottage Garden Society meet at Puddletown Village Hall at 2pm for a presentation on Naughty Plants by a representative of The Gold Club. Plant stall, raffle and refreshments. Guests welcome at £5.
  • A literary talk on Wessex writers will be held as part of The Dorchester Literary Festival at 11am followed by cream tea at the Old Tea House in High West Street 1pm–2pm (pay separately). Join Mark Chutter of the Thomas Hardy Society, for a walk exploring local writers including Thomas Hardy, William Barnes, the Powys brothers and Sylvia Townsend Warner. Dogs welcome. Meet at the Thomas Hardy Statue at Top ’O Town at 11am. To book a cream tea call Deborah Dalley on 01305 263719. Tickets £14.

Monday, October 19

Weymouth Museum Teas and Talks welcomes Tony Flux speaking on Thornhill paintings in Weymouth and beyond at the Centenary Club, 21 Jubilee Drive, Weymouth DT4 7BG at 2.30pm. Tea available from 2pm. Friends of Weymouth Museum £3 Non-members £4.

Tuesday, October 20

Beaminster Horticultural Society holds its monthly meeting with a presentation by Micky Little on snowdrops, the fair maids of February. Micky has been a professional horticulturist for the past 47 years and finished his career working for Avon Bulbs, who were at the forefront of the snowdrop world. His talk is informative but has a very humorous undertone. Beaminster Public Hall, DT8 3EF. Doors 7pm, talk from 7.30pm. Raffle, bar refreshments, plants may be available. Guests £3. Further information from bemhortsoc@gmail.com

Wednesday, October 21

Bere Regis village hall will host the Village Quiz at 7.30pm, with questions set by Susan Stone. All profits to the hall. £10 a team (up to five) – bring drinks and snacks. Book with Alison at popinplace@gmail.com

Thursday, October 22

  • A pottery afternoon will be held at 2pm at Poppies Tearooms, King George V Road, Bovington, BH20 6JQ. Cream tea £6. Choose your own pot to decorate costing between £15 and £30. To book your place contact Rosemary 07788 436797/rose mary.rogers@oddfellows.co.uk 
  • Royal British Legion, Dorchester branch meeting at The Dorford Centre, Bridport Road, DT1 1RR at 7pm. Contact Carol Lewis at: dorchesterdorset.secretary@ rbl.community
  • Sherborne Historical Society will hear from Henrietta Butler on Mission Timbuktu at 8pm at Digby Hall, Hound Street DT9 3AA. The story of Alexander Gordon Laing, an intriguing but doomed explorer, who in 1826 was the first Christian to report from Timbuktu. Non-members: £5. sherborne historicalsociety.co.uk
  • Portland Curiosities – a talk by Geoff Kirby, 2.30pm-4pm at C2000 Hall, Straits, Easton. Tickets £4. An afternoon exploring some of the island’s most unusual tales, forgotten places and wonderfully eccentric characters. Quirky, surprising and sometimes downright bizarre stories that make Portland such a unique place. Geoff’s decades of research form a lively mix of folklore, local history and anecdotes – revealing the island as you may never have seen it. From odd and colourful Portlanders of the past, to mysterious corners of the landscape, Geoff’s warm humour and deep knowledge of the island make this an entertaining journey through Portland’s lesser known stories. Book: portlandmuseum@gmail.com or call 01305 821804, or book at Eventbrite.
  • The third Dorset Downs Repair Café will be held at Maiden Newton community centre in Chilfrome Lane 7pm-9pm. Bring your items to be fixed!

Friday, October 23

  • Chris Jagger (brother of the Rolling Stones’ Mick) performs with Eliet Mackrell on fiddle and David Hatfield on double bass at St Nicholas Church, Broadwey, Weymouth (DT3 5DN). Doors 7pm for 7.30pm. Tickets £25 from susanamalik@yahoo.com. Cash bar!
  • Artsreach presents Widdershins by David Mynne at Piddletrenthide Memorial Hall DT2 7QF at 7.30pm. Tales from a long-forgotten village in a dark wild corner of Cornwall. David is an amazing performer who will bring to life a host of characters before your very eyes. Tickets £13 & £6 from 07786 880676.

Saturday, October 24

  • Minterne Gardens’ annual Spooky Halloween Trail, a thrilling adventure perfect for all ages, will be on from today until Sunday, November 1. The trail is about 45 minutes long, winding through beautiful Himalayan gardens, where you’ll encounter lots of spooky characters cleverly hidden along the way. Halloween costumes are a must to fully immerse yourself in the eerie atmosphere and add to the fun. Pick up your spooky map and prepare to discover creepy creatures and haunted surprises around every corner. Admission: U5 free children 5 and over: £5 and adults £13.
  • Thomas Hardy and the Powys Family is the title of a Hardy Society study day at The Casterbridge Room, The King’s Arms, 30 High East Street, Dorchester, DT1 1HF, 10am-5pm. £35 non-members. The event will look at the Wessex region as a context for the life and works of the Powyses and how they connect with, and were inspired by, Thomas Hardy and Dorset. The event will be followed by a group dinner at the Kings Arms. Book at hardysociety.org
  • Bridport Museum’s new exhibition Bridport’s Sea Dragon – Unexpected Survivor starts today, about an unusual ichthyosaur recently found on the Jurassic Coast. Includes short film and VR experience. Free to those with a £5 annual museum entry. Ends April 2027. bridportmuseum.co.uk
  • Choral Evensong, St Peter’s Church Dorchester, 4.30pm. 
  • Sherborne Town Band will be in concert with the Pendyrus Male Choir at Sherborne Abbey at 7pm, £20 per ticket (U12 free). Book at ticketsource.com
  • There’s a vintage toy and flea market at the Digby Memorial Hall, DT9 3NL, from 8.30am (£5 entry, £3 after 9am), closing at 1.30pm. Call Hilary on 07736 666414 or hilarychisholm@aol.com to book a stall.

Sunday, October 25

  • Netherbury Repair Café is held the hall on the last Sunday of the month, 10am-12pm. Bring your garden tools to be repaired and sharpened, and items to be fixed, including electricals, bikes, textiles, ceramics, electronics, wooden and metal items. Home-made cakes, vegan and vegetarian-friendly. They are always looking for new volunteers! Contact Lisa Willis on 07870 950 666 or info@repaircafenetherbury.org, repaircafenetherbury.org
  • The Literary and Artistic Bohemia in Chaldon Herring – a walk, talk and Sunday lunch, 11am-3pm at The Sailors Return, Chaldon Herring, Dorchester DT2 8DN. Free to THS and Powys Society members those attending the Hardy & Powys Study Day. £10 to non-members. £10 deposit for Sunday lunch (refundable against cost of Sunday lunch – payable separately). Mark Damon Chutter will lead this walk and talk around Chaldon Herring to discover the Literary and Artistic Bohemia created by The Powys Circle in the 1920s and 1930s, before hearty lunches at the village’s thatched pub. Book at hardysociety.org
  • It is probably the last Bridport Vintage Market of 2026! Gather at St Michael’s Trading Estate in Bridport from 10am for glorious stalls, live music and more.
  • Pippa and the Pumpkin Trail comes to Mapperton until Saturday, October 31, 11am-3pm. Help Pippa the mischievous cat and her friends solve the mystery of the missing pumpkin on a trail through the gardens. Every child receives an activity booklet and prize, with free seasonal crafts daily in the Coach House Café. Children £5, with one accompanying adult free. Dogs welcome on leads. Book: mapperton.com

Monday, October 26

  • The Golden Cap Association host an illustrated talk on Quirky Bridport by Chris Stevens, volunteer speaker for Bridport Museum at 2.30pm at United Church Hall, East Street, Bridport DT6 3LJ. £5 including light refreshments. 
  • It’s Tudor Week at Athelhampton House! Enjoy the sights and sounds of the era 10am-4pm (last entry 2.30pm) every day until Friday, October 30.
  • Piddle Valley Gardens Club will meet at Piddletrenthide Memorial Hall, 7pm for 7.30pm, to learn about hedges and barriers, formal vs informal, planting, cultivation, wildlife, trimming and shaping, breaking wind… and everything else we know! A talk by The Gardens Group. Guests £2 inc refreshments.

Tuesday, October 27

Bridport U3A talk at United Church Hall, East Street, DT6 3LJ. Chris Western on the 1893-96 North Polar Expedition, led by Fridtjof Nansen. Talk lasts an hour then Q&A ,then refreshments. Members free, guests £3.

Thursday, October 29

Dorchester Art Club hosts a workshop with Dorset artist Jake Winkle (winkleart.com) 10am to 4pm at St George’s Church Hall, Fordington, DT1 1LB. Free parking. Tea, coffee and biscuits. Penny 07747 049501.

Saturday, October 31

  • Musical Meditation for All Souls, St Peter’s Church Dorchester, 5pm. Free.
  • A Spooky Weekend kicks off at Portland Museum today and tomorrow, 10.30am-3.30pm (DT5 1HS). Full programme of hands-on activities designed to spark creativity and celebrate Portland’s quirky folklore. Children will have the chance to make their very own Nanny Diamonds and Mer chickens – two legendary creatures from Portland’s storytelling traditions. It’s a perfect blend of craft and local history, giving young visitors a chance to learn about the island’s myths while bringing them to life with paper, colour and imagination. Halloween themed crafts, including jack o’ lantern paper creations, fluttering bat decorations, and badge making. A Spooky Eye Spy Challenge will send children exploring the museum for Halloween surprises, and the Pirate’s Graveyard Excavation invites brave adventurers to dig for mysterious treasures. Paint your own fossils, face painting, and glitter tattoos available for a small cost, plus refreshments. Tickets: £3.50 child / £2.50 per adult. Islanders: £2.50 per child / £1.50 per adult.
  • Weymouth Choral Society invites you to come and sing Rutter’s Requiem and Chilcott’s A Little Jazz Mass 10.30am-4.30pm at Thomas Hardye School in Dorchester (DT1 2ET). Workshop with Bournemouth Symphony Youth Chorus and pianist Louise Dukes. Tickets £20 at weymouthchoralsociety.org.uk

Sunday, November 1

  • Jazz Mass, St Peter’s Church Dorchester, 10.30am. Free.
  • A Taize service will be held at 6pm St Mary’s Church, Dorchester DT1 2HJ. A multisensory act of worship on the theme of All Saints with beautiful chants, silence and iconography framing a reading from an epistle. Short practice session with a cup of tea at 5.15pm. 

Monday, November 2

  • Weymouth Museum Teas and Talks welcomes Jeff Little speaking on The Battle of Trafalgar at the Centenary Club, 21 Jubilee Drive, Weymouth DT4 7BG at 2.30pm. Tea available from 2pm. Friends of Weymouth Museum £3 Non-members £4.
  • Simon Goldsack from Holme for Gardens near Wareham will be giving an illustrated talk on the making of a new public garden  at Dorchester and District Gardening Club at United Church Hall, 49/51 Charles Street, DT1 1EE, doors 7.15pm for 7.30pm. No booking necessary, visitors £4 on door. Bring and buy stall and draw. All welcome. Contact: Jane 01305 268523 or dorchestergardening@gmail.com

Thursday, November 5

  • Dorchester Oddfellows: Bonfire Party 7pm at Lower Muckleford Farm. Fireworks and refreshments including filled rolls and something to drink £10. Contact Rosemary Rogers for catering purposes 07788 436797/ rosemarywdt2@ gmail.com
  • Sherborne Historical Society hears from Dr Nicola Tallis at 8pm,  on Young Elizabeth: Princess. Prisoner. Queen. The story of Elizabeth I’s youth as she steered her way through perilous waters towards England’s throne. Digby Hall, Hound Street DT9 3AA. Non-members: £5. sherbornehistoricalsociety.co.uk

Saturday, November 7

  • There’s a toy and flea market at the Digby Memorial Hall, DT9 3NL, from 8.30am (£5 entry, £3 after 9am), closing at 1.30pm. Contact Hilary on 07736 666414 or hilarychisholm@ aol.com to book a stall.
  • There’s bingo at Maiden Newton Village Hall, doors 2pm, eyes down 2.30pm.
  • A Christmas Fayre will be held at Weymouth Bay Methodist Church, Melcombe Avenue DT4 7TH 10am-2pm. Many craft stalls, refreshments – coffee, cakes and bacon butties plus bric-a-brac stall raising funds to support Dorset County Hospital Emergency Critical Care appeal Free entry.
  • Repair Cafe Weymouth at Southill Community Centre, 137, Radipole Lane, Weymouth, DT4 9SS, 10am to 12.30pm. Bring items for repair by specialist volunteers for an optional donation. Electrical, clocks, jewellery, sewing and leather repairs, mechanical, sewing machines etc. Every 2nd Saturday of the month. repaircafeweymouth.org