Riverfest is nearly here!

We are counting down the days to this year’s Great Stour Riverfest, which gets underway this Sunday (21 September).

The festival is our annual celebration of the River Stour and features a fun-packed week of activities and events.

It all kicks off on Sunday with the incredible spectacle that is the Rotary Club of Canterbury’s Annual Duck Race in the Westgate Gardens, starting at 1pm – find out more, including how to sponsor a duck.

And the festival wraps up with a Riverfest fair at the Riverside development at Kingsmead on Sunday 28 September.

This special free family event, between midday and 4pm, features stalls from local organisations and community groups and is suitable for all ages, but with a particular emphasis on helping young people learn about and engage with the river.

It also coincides with World Rivers Day – find out more info about the fair.

There are plenty of other events taking place through the week, but as is usually the case with Riverfest due to its popularity, these have sold out as spaces were limited.

The focus for Riverfest this year is on wellness, nature and the rights of rivers, and the schedule of activities has been put together by the local community in partnership with us and Canterbury BID.

You can see the full line up of events and find out more about Riverfest.

Published: 15 September 2025