Keep Colchester Cool is an independent publication covering the people, places and events that shape Colchester’s cultural life.

Since 2009, it has been helping people find live music, theatre, comedy, exhibitions, festivals and community events, while telling the stories behind the city’s artists, venues, organisations and creative community.

Keep Colchester Cool began during a lunchtime conversation about how difficult it could be to find out what was happening in Colchester each week. Later that day, founder Ben Howard created the Keep Colchester Cool Facebook group. Today, the community has more than 5,000 members, while this website has become its editorial home.

What you’ll find here

Alongside selected What’s On listings, Keep Colchester Cool publishes news, interviews, features, event previews and guides covering culture and events across Colchester.

The aim isn’t to list everything taking place in the city. Instead, KCC provides a home for events worth knowing about and stories from the people and organisations contributing to Colchester’s cultural life.

Independent

Keep Colchester Cool is independently published by Ben Howard Communications and remains editorially independent.

Where content is produced in partnership with a venue, organisation or commercial partner, this will not determine KCC’s wider editorial coverage or what we choose to write about.

Get involved

Got an event, story or something happening in Colchester that we should know about? Get in touch.

We welcome submissions from venues, artists, promoters, charities, community groups and local organisations. You can also contact us to suggest a story, request an amendment to existing content or discuss working with Keep Colchester Cool.

Please use the Contact page to get in touch.

Ben Howard
Founder and Editor, Keep Colchester Cool