Martinborough's year runs from jazz in September to harvest in April, with the two biggest days, Toast and the Fair, in between. Most of the Martinborough events that matter are fixed to a weekend pattern, which makes them easy to plan around and easy to miss if you book the wrong Saturday.
This is the next twelve months, from late September 2026 to the start of spring 2027: the festivals, the long lunches and the small monthly things, with the dates confirmed so far and what each one means for getting a bed.
What's on in Martinborough?
The big dates for the year ahead are the Martinborough Music Festival from 25 to 27 September 2026, Round the Vines on 31 October, Toast Martinborough on 14 November, Cruise Martinborough in late January 2027, and the Martinborough Fair on 6 February and 6 March 2027. Jazz in Martinborough returns on the first weekend of September 2027.
Around those, the vineyards run their own tastings, dinners and lunches through the year. For the whole weekend around any of them, the rest of the village is walkable from the Square.
September: jazz and chamber music
September is Martinborough's music month. The Town Hall on the Square hosts both festivals.
The Martinborough Music Festival runs from Friday 25 to Sunday 27 September 2026, with four concerts of chamber music over three days in the Town Hall, finishing with a Sunday afternoon concert at 2pm. Tickets are sold for each concert.
Jazz in Martinborough is held on the first weekend of September, with ticketed concerts in the Town Hall and free gigs at bars and cafés around the village. The 2026 festival ran from 3 to 6 September, so the next one is early September 2027. The organisers also run a college jazz showcase in Greytown a few weeks before the festival to bring on young players.
October: a symphonic feast and Round the Vines
October brings budburst in the vineyards and two of the more unusual events in the calendar.
Round the Vines is on Saturday 31 October 2026, the last Saturday of the month; check the organiser's page for what the day involves before you plan around it. The Runholder's first-Sunday roast falls on 4 October.
November: Toast Martinborough
Toast Martinborough is on Saturday 14 November 2026, from noon to 6pm at The Runholder, and it has sold out.
For the first time, Toast is held in one place rather than across the cellar doors, bringing eight neighbouring vineyards together at a single venue with local gin, beer, food and live music. It is for over-18s only. If you missed out on a ticket, it is still worth knowing the date, since it is the one weekend when almost every bed in town is taken. The vineyards behind Toast are open as usual on other weekends, and far quieter.
Later in the month, Union Square at the Martinborough Hotel serves a family-style Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday 26 November.
December: Christmas in the village
December is summer proper and the start of the busy season, with long evenings and the town filling up after Christmas.
The Christmas and New Year week is busy with holidaymakers, and many restaurants and cafés change their hours. Check before you rely on one.
January: classic cars and a meandering lunch
January brings the long, hot days and the classic cars. The Meandering Vineyard Lunch is on Saturday 23 January 2027.
Cruise Martinborough fills the town with hot rods, classic and muscle cars and retro caravans over several days in late January, with more than 300 vehicles in recent years. The cars cruise out to the lake at Lake Ferry, Greytown and further afield, and on the Saturday they park up for a show and shine on the Square from about 11am. The 2027 dates have not been confirmed yet; the 2026 event ran from 22 to 24 January, and registrations for entrants open in September.
January is also the peak of summer. In the valley, the long dry summer averages highs in the mid-20s, and nor'west days can pass 30°C, so plan outdoor events around the heat.
February and March: the Martinborough Fair and harvest
The Martinborough Fair is on Saturday 6 February and Saturday 6 March 2027, with about 500 stalls on the Square and the streets around it and up to 30,000 visitors on each day.
Both days are free to enter, from about 8am to 4pm. They are also the two days when the streets around the Square close and parking is furthest from the centre. Fair day parking and timing is worth reading before you set off.
Harvest begins in March and runs into April. The vineyards are at their busiest and the valley is at its most settled and sunny, which makes March the month to pick if you can only come once.
April to August: harvest, seedlings and a quieter town
After harvest, Martinborough settles into its quiet season. Autumn colour in April and May, frosty clear winters, and fires lit in the restaurants.
On Sunday 9 May 2027, Martinborough Manor holds a seedling sale of the hardy annual cut flowers it grows for its own bouquets. Through the winter, several vineyards run their own tastings and dinners, which are listed as they are announced.
Winter is the easiest time to book anything in town. If you want a Martinborough weekend without the crowds, June to August is when to come.
Events and accommodation
On five weekends a year, nearly every bed in Martinborough books out months ahead: the two Fair days, Toast, and the September festivals, plus the summer holidays. Book those as soon as you have tickets or dates.
On festival weekends, rooms in and around the village go first on the Square, then the villas and B&Bs within walking distance, then the vineyard and country stays further out. The next town up the valley, Greytown, is the usual overflow.
Finding out what else is on
Smaller events change week to week, and new ones are added through the year. The isite visitor centre on the Square keeps the local noticeboard, and the Martinborough events calendar is updated as listings are added.
These dates are the ones announced by the organisers as of September 2026. Festivals occasionally move, sell out or change format, as Toast did for 2026, so confirm with the organiser before you book travel around a date.
Frequently asked questions
Published July 26, 2026
