The Hospice of St Francis Carol Concert

The Hospice of St Francis holds its annual carol concert at St Albans Cathedral on Sunday 6 December, their main fundraising evening of the year. It's a local tradition that brings together a few different elements on one stage: festive carols, Christmas readings and audience participation, with local choirs joining in throughout the night. Every ticket goes towards the hospice's work, so the whole thing is built around raising money for them.

The venue is St Albans Cathedral, the historic cathedral and abbey church at the heart of the city. It's a space that does more than just its religious life, hosting concerts, talks, exhibitions, tours and major cultural events, and this is one of them. The programme mixes the carols and readings with the local choirs and the audience singing along, so it's not a night where you just sit and listen — you're part of it.

It's a relatively short evening, running for about an hour, and it's on a Sunday, which makes it easy to fit in around the rest of your December. Doors open at 18:00, and the concert starts at 18:30, so you've got plenty of time to get in and find a seat before things kick off. Tickets are £10 to £20, and the whole night is about supporting the hospice's work.