Incoming: David Bowie, Pride, London Film Festival

East London's David Bowie Centre opening, lots of Margate Pride events, art pop-ups, a junior skateboarding competition and more. Scratch all of these dates into your diary right now.

V&A East Storehouse opens its free David Bowie archive on Saturday, September 13, with tickets opening up soon. The archive contains costumes, lyrics, sketches and things that reveal the icon’s inner workings. Full details.

Margate Arts Club has launched Ripe, a new arts festival held over August 22-24. Get ready for avante garde, pioneering and witty art, with performances, a craft fair, workshops and music on the bill. Come for Narmy and OG from Cheeky Sound Systems, cabaret scratch nights, burlesque, folk gigs and a stack more. Tickets £9-30.

Megan Metcalf Studio pops up in Ramsgate on Tuesday to Saturday, August 12-17 from 11am to 4pm. Head to Margo Shop on Addington Street for prints, cards, tablecloths and other lovely things. Launch and late-night shopping on Thursday, August 14 from 5-8pm. 

Margate Pride events are coming up thick and fast:

• The Margate Bookshop puts on Letters to My Younger Queer Self with Daniel Harding, on Thursday, August 7 at CAMP. Free tickets.
• Transcream £5 vegan soft serve on Saturday, August 9 from 9am-12pm that comes with Doubloons sauces. Find this at Unit 2 Fullers Yard, Victoria Road. 
• Margate Pride Art Map launches Friday, August 1 from 5.30pm, so take yourself on a self-guided tour, before ending up at The Pie factory for music and drinks. 
• Winner of the Pride Art Map Open Call Gallery Show Exhibition, Lady Kitt, presents their multi-sensory exhibition Varda Dorcas at The Margate School August 1-10. 
• The Leztopia x Margate Arts Club Pride pre-party is on Friday, August 8, from 7pm-2am. Tickets £5-12.
• Ash Mukherjee will perform his brilliant coming of age show Vishnu’s Got My Back at the Tom Thumb Theatre on August 29-30. Tickets £12.

Horniman Museum and Gardens in London will host a sunset performance of big band ditties by the South London Jazz Orchestra on Thursday, August 28, with street food, picnic boxes and a bar to also enjoy. Early bird tickets from £7.50.

The Perfect Place To Grow hosts Tiles Of Joy, a community workshop and hospo demo at their lovely training cafe and kitchen at the back of the TKE Studios. Folk are welcome to create a tile of joy, which will feature as part of a permanent display on the site, that represents strength in community. Alongside this, the TPPTG team will host a demo and whip up a buffet for you to get stuck into. Drop by on Tuesday, July 29, between 11am and 1pm. Reserve your spot at ani@theperfectplacetogrow.org. 

You might think July’s too early to start talking about Christmas, but here we are; Canterbury’s Marlowe Theatre has just announced the cast for its pantomime. The production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs will star Sarah Hadland (Miranda, Strictly Come Dancing) and Phil Gallagher (CBeebies' Mister Maker). The show will run from Friday, November 28 to Sunday, January 11. Tickets £18-70. 

The BFI has announced that this year’s London Film Festival will be opened with the premier of the third instalment of Rian Johnson’s Knives Out series on Wednesday, October 8 at London’s Royal Festival Hall. The full programme for this year’s LFF will be announced on September 3. The event itself runs from October 8 to 19. Find out more. 

Drum n bass duo Sigma have announced that they will play an extended DJ set at Faith in Strangers in Cliftonville on Saturday, November 8. They will be joined by a still to be announced guest CM, and local DJ Sabrina will be on hand to warm up the crowd before the main event. Early bird tickets £17.10. 

Broadstairs Folk Week is back this year from August 8-15. Celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, it will feature performances from acts including Lindisfarne, Martin & Eliza Carthy, Eddi Reader, Goblin Band, and Falle Nioke. There’s also a massive programme of events and activities beyond that, including a children’s festival. Many shows will also be livestreamed. See the full programme. 

British skateboarding’s national governing body (so, in charge of the Olympic team, among other things) Skateboard GB is bringing its Survival of the Sickest junior skateboard competition to Revolution Skatepark in Broadstairs on Saturday, September 27. There will be under 16 and under 12 categories for boys and girls. Entry £10. 

The Kent Pop Exchange officially launches on Thursday, July 31. It’ll kick off with a networking session for young people aged 16-30 on the East Kent DIY music scene. After that, there will be a showcase with performances from Pynch and Debdepan. Get free mixer tickets and £5 showcase tickets now.