Kendal has 42 events listed across its summer 2026 programme, with activities running through August and into September. The calendar includes exhibitions, concerts, family entertainment, creative workshops, outdoor sessions and community events, offering a mixture of free activities, ticketed performances and events for children, young people, veterans, businesses and community groups.
Residents and visitors can choose from one-off events and recurring activities, although organisers’ times, ticket prices and other details may change. People planning to attend are advised to check the Visit Kendal What’s On calendar before travelling.
Summer exhibitions and creative activities
Several exhibitions continue through the summer. Bellwethers: Fragility & Survival runs from 11 April to 3 October 2026 and is described as a multimedia experience exploring stories of fragility and survival through the voices of people in Barrow and Kendal.
The Paper Quilt Project is listed from 11 April to 19 September. It is a living community art piece being created while it is on display in the gallery. Joshua Donkor & Lela Harris: Familial Traces also continues until 3 October, bringing together two emerging portrait painters. The listing says Lela Harris’s work gives depth and humanity to figures overlooked or marginalised by history.
At Blackwell – the Arts & Crafts house, Useful/Beautiful runs until 29 August. The exhibition marks 25 years of contemporary craft at Blackwell and celebrates the makers, ideas and objects that have shaped its collection. Gallery admission includes entry to the exhibition.
On the Thick and Thin of Painting is listed from 29 July to 3 September, generally from noon to 5pm. Conceived by British painter Daniel Sturgis, it examines the physical and more ethereal boundaries of painting and is listed as free.
Young people have summer creative options too. Performance Unleashed Summer Camp runs from 3 to 7 August, followed by Arts Unleashed Summer Camp from 10 to 14 August. Both are for children aged seven to 14 and run from 9.30am to 3.30pm. Weekly Summer Art Club: Drawing with Lela sessions take place on 5, 12, 19 and 26 August for eight- to 14-year-olds, with prices listed at £2 to £10.
Concerts and Kendal Music Festival
The Manna House Summer Concert opens the August music programme on 1 August from 7pm to 9.30pm. It raises money for a charity supporting people who are homeless, at risk of homelessness or experiencing significant financial hardship across South Lakeland. Tickets are listed at £15.
Summer Sundays includes The Seals, the Agogo String Quartet and the Wihan String Quartet on 2 August, with performances listed for 2pm and 7.30pm and prices ranging from £15 to £27. Later dates feature Meetwood Flac on 9 August, Atomic Brass on 16 August, Bad Transmission on 23 August and The Seals again on 30 August. The garden events offer food and refreshments.
On 8 August, pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason is listed at 3pm, followed by String Fever at 7.30pm. Concerteenies presents The Duck With No Luck at 11am and 1pm on 9 August, before Meetwood Flac’s Summer Sundays performance at 2pm.
The two-day Kendal Music Festival takes place on 4 and 5 September. Created by Kendal BID, it promises bands, buskers and performances across genres. Tom Hingley, formerly of Inspiral Carpets, is listed to perform on 5 September from 8pm to 10.30pm, with tickets priced at £26.
Family, community and outdoor events
BounceFest is scheduled for 12 and 13 August for children aged zero to 12. Its programme includes bouncy castles, slides, obstacle courses, interactive games and a dedicated toddler area.
Cumbria Yoga Foundation’s Yoga in the Park sessions are listed for 29 July and 5, 19 and 26 August from 6pm to 7pm, and are open to all abilities. Other activities include a free Veterans Dry Stone Walling Taster Day on 7 August, a Kendal Ghost Walk on 11 August and a free open meeting hosted by the Buddhist Group of Kendal on 16 August.
The Lakes Adventure Writing Group meets on 27 July and 24 August from 6pm to 8pm. Future Fixers offers free business advice drop-ins on 20 August from 9am to noon. The Kendal Walking Festival is listed for 31 August, with guided walks exploring landscape, ecology, history and culture.
The Snuff Bar Smartypants Quiz returns on 4 August and 1 September. The social programme also includes speed dating for straight singles aged 21 and over on 5 September.