13 dated events coming up in and around Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Collected from the organisations running them, not from anyone paying to appear.
A live Ms Rachel tribute show for toddlers at Middleton Arena on Sunday 1 November at 1pm, with sing-alongs and plenty of joining in. Under 12 months go free on a paying adult's lap. From £19.43.
Rochdale Town Hall runs free family Halloween activities every day of half term, 26 October to 1 November, 10am to 4pm. No booking. The exact activities are still to be announced on its social channels.
Bookstart Bear Club at Rochdale Central Library on Fridays in term time, 9.45am to 10.30am, for toddlers up to pre-school. Free, but book a ticket per child. Children collect stamps in a Bookstart passport.
Bookstart Bear Club at Rochdale Central Library on Fridays in term time, 9.45am to 10.30am, for toddlers up to pre-school. Free, but book a ticket per child. Children collect stamps in a Bookstart passport.
Rochdale Town Hall runs free family Halloween activities every day of half term, 26 October to 1 November, 10am to 4pm. No booking. The exact activities are still to be announced on its social channels.
A live Ms Rachel tribute show for toddlers at Middleton Arena on Sunday 1 November at 1pm, with sing-alongs and plenty of joining in. Under 12 months go free on a paying adult's lap. From £19.43.
The first of Rochdale Council's three free school-night bonfires, with a reduced-noise display set to music at 7.30pm and a funfair from 6pm. There are no toilets on site, which is the practical point that matters with small children.
A monthly story session for pre-school children in the reading corner at Rochdale Town Hall, first Monday of the month at 11am, so 2 November, 7 December and 4 January. £2.10 a child, adults free.
Free council bonfire with a reduced-noise display set to music, so it is kinder on small ears and on the dog left at home. No parking and no toilets on site: walk there, and go before you leave the house.
The last of Rochdale Council's three free nights, on Cronkeyshaw Common, with the bonfire at 7pm and a reduced-noise display set to music at 7.30pm. No onsite parking and no toilets, so treat it as a walk-in, walk-out evening.
Rochdale's Ignite Fire Festival and Christmas lights switch-on fills the Memorial Gardens opposite the Town Hall, 20 to 22 November, 5pm to 8pm each evening. Free, for all ages, just turn up.
With puppetry, fabulous live music and lots of participation, a traditional tale with a twist presented by Peoplescape Theatre.
Middleton Arena's family panto is Cinderella, 26 November to 28 December, with Amy Dowden as the Fairy Godmother from 20 December. Suitable for all ages. Avoid the separate adults-only panto on 4 and 5 December.
Your usual SEND Sunday with a seasonal twist.
Sunday, 6 December 2026 and Sunday, 20 December 2026.
Starts at 9.30am. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Places you can turn up to whether or not anything is on.
A steep wooded gorge two miles out of Rochdale where the River Spodden churns through waterfalls beneath a 100-foot railway viaduct. Free and genuinely dramatic, but the paths are proper paths - boots, not buggies.
A flat, buggy-friendly lap of a reservoir with a good playground, pedalos and mini electric boats from the activity centre, and ice cream at both ends. Simple, cheap and reliably works.
Heywood's Victorian park holds a Green Flag and earns it: two playgrounds with the toddler one kept separate, a lake, a BMX track and a community cafe. Flat tarmac paths.
Rochdale's trampoline park, with a ninja course, battle beams, a kids arena, soft play and an inflatable park you can combine with the trampolines. Closed on Tuesdays in term time.
A big three-tier soft play in Heywood with separate areas for toddlers, infants and juniors, a spook room and aerial runways. No booking, one adult free, and weekday mornings in term time are the toddler session.
An indoor tarmac kart track in an old Rochdale mill that takes children seriously: junior sessions from age 8 in petrol karts, a Saturday morning Kids Club, and one-to-one starter coaching from age 6.