Currently on a rapid upward trajectory, Margate band Pigeon have announced that they will play a hometown show at the Drill Shed in Cliftonville on Thursday, January 7. Yes, it’s a way off, but this is likely to sell out quickly. Tickets £16. Pigeon will also be on BBC Two’s Later… with Jools Holland this Sunday. Where Else in Margate will be screening the whole show from 10pm.
To coincide with Refugee Week, community festival Homeward is set to take place at Kollektiv Gallery in Folkestone on June 19-21. Bringing together artists with lived experience of displacement and the wider community, it will feature film, performance, art, movement and shared meals. See the full programme.
Chapel House Estate in Minster hosts a fundraising afternoon tea in aid of the Evie Dove Foundation. Founded in 2022 in memory of a teenager from Worth in Kent who died from a brain tumor, the charity funds specialist training for paediatric healthcare workers. 100% of profits from this event will go to the organisation. Tickets £45.
Margate Winter Gardens has announced that its opening weekend will be March 12-14 next year. Details of performers on each night are being drip fed because - hey - there’s time. But right now, we can tell you that Australia’s finest ABBA tribute act Björn Again will headline the venue on Sunday, March 14. Tickets from £29.43. While you wait for the other shows to be announced, why not check out this artist’s impression of what the refurbished Winter Gardens will look like.
Turner Contemporary in Margate has announced its autumn exhibition. Something Missing? will be artist Sophie Calle’s first institutional exhibition in the UK since 2009. It will bring together her most important work across photography, video and installation from 1986-2024. “Sophie Calle is one of the most distinctive artists of our time,” says gallery director Clarrie Wallis. “We are thrilled to present her first institutional exhibition in the UK in over fifteen years.” The show will run from October 3 to January 24, following the current exhibition by Hulda Guzmán.
Andy Malt
Ramsgate’s Alley Bar has announced another Edinburgh Fringe preview, and this one gets you two amazing acts from the price of one. Drag artist Fanny Bleach and comedian Tilly ‘Turbo’ Fletcher will be test running their new shows at the venue on Saturday, June 20. Fanny Bleach has been described as “a Mighty Boosh and Leigh Bowery mash-up”, while Turbo has been likened to “a daytime tribute to Chris Morris’ Jam.” Tickets £10.
The Bottleneck in Broadstairs switches away from its usual focus on one wine-maker for its next tasting. On Wednesday, July 8, they’ll be doing an Old World v New World blind tasting, sharing ten wines from different regions around the world - from Champagne to California. This’ll be a real treat for any wine lover. Cheese and charcuterie also included. Tickets £65.
Another wine-tasting event, Gal + Gather’s next Sips & Snax event takes place at Salt in Broadstairs on Saturday, July 11. The women-only event will offer up a welcome drink and five wines to taste, plus charcuterie boards for £35 a head. DM on Instagram to book.
Not into wine? The next Kent Whisky Explorers whisky tasting night takes place at Little Swift in Margate on Thursday, July 16. This time host Paul Vig will guide you through a range of English and Indian drams. As ever, the night will also be raising money for men’s health charity Movember. Tickets £30.
Margate’s Crab Museum has announced three launch shows for its new children’s book The No-Brainer Brain Explainer. Featuring a read through of the book and puppet show from author Bertie Suesat-Williams, the events will take place on June 13, 20 and 21. Free tickets.
Another event laid on by the Crab Museum, Connor the Ecologist and Bi-Curious George will be leading an interactive ecology walk around Margate on Saturday, June 20. Connor will take you on a walk to learn about the lifecycles of plants and animals around the town, before you head back to the museum to hear from George about trans-masculinity, hormones and being a pest. Tickets £10.30.
Queer Run Margate’s Summer Runnin’ event returns this August, raising money for Margate Pride and Margate Queer Library. It’s a non-competitive run or walk, with options of 2.5k, 5k or 10k. Everyone is welcome and it will all finish with a party on the beach. Entry is free, but you can choose to add a donation.
The Palace Cinema in Broadstairs will screen new documentary Everybody to Kenmure Street followed by a Q&A with director Felipe Bustos Sierra on Wednesday, June 17. Produced by Emma Thompson and featuring music by Mogwai’s Barry Burns, the film follows a spontaneous mass protest in 2021 by local residents in the Glasgow district of Pollokshields to stop the UK Home Office deporting their neighbours. Tickets £8.
Horse Meat Disco will be at the Drill Shed in Cliftonville on Saturday, October 3 for an extended DJ set. With a mix of disco, house, Italo, soul and more for the acclaimed collective, this will be a joyous night. Tickets £19.14.
Margate Pride’s Summer Quiz will take place at Cliftonville Community Centre on Wednesday, July 15. Raising money for this year’s Pride and celebrating the event’s tenth anniversary, join for a raucous night of question answering and clay-based bonus rounds. Tickets £12.
A bit further from home, but there are plenty of merpeople among us. Seed Talks is putting on a talk about the history of mermaids, sea spirits and women. On at the White Rock Theatre in Hastings on Tuesday, June 16, anthropologist Dr Helen Cornish looks at the centuries of myth, history and storytelling around the mermaid. The talk unpicks mermaid representations, as ancient sea spirits and sirens to modern reinventions, and how they reflect changin attitudes towards the sea, women’s power and outsiders. Tickets from £13.50.
Louie on Sea has announced its next supper club as part of its Terraza Summer Series. Ramsgate chef Jack Hancock brings his pop-up Hearth to Margate. Think local produce, French techniques and, Asian-influenced flavours. Tunes from Shirley Ottou and Tim Garatt from Margate Radio. On July 3 & 4, for a 6.30pm sitting. £49 a head.
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