Sixteen events we’re looking forward to in 2026

Hello and happy new year!

We hope you’ve had an excellent festive break. We sang rude Christmas carols in Ramsgate, went on an accidental Christmas Day pub crawl in Margate, and post-Christmas went up to London to see The Gingerbread City at the Museum of Architecture. We also ate our weight in roast potatoes and played Die Hard 2 three times back to back, but only managed to stay awake for the last screening.

Fresh from the new year with most of 2026 in front of us, we thought we’d take the opportunity to look down the barrel of the 12 months ahead. We’ve scoured the diary and pulled out sixteen events we’re excited about that are coming up this year around Thanet (with a couple further afield). 

Already there are lots of new events in Thanet being announced for the coming weeks and months. Until the end of January we’re offering 75% off on Supporter subscriptions for the first three months. That’s 75p a month until March. These voluntary subscriptions help to ensure that we can continue bringing you the best of Thanet every week.

Next Saturday, like every Saturday, we’ll bring you a round up of the latest news and things to do in Thanet and beyond. Right now, here’s our highlights for the next twelve months. 

Off Season
Back for a second year, bigger and more organised, the Off Season art trail fills shops, cafes, galleries and community spaces around Margate with work by local artists from January 23-25. It’s a double whammy of showcasing the immense talent contained within Thanet and getting people through the doors of local business during a traditionally quiet time. Check the website for listings. 

Margate Restaurant Week
Also in its second year, Margate Restaurant week returns from February 2-6, with restaurants across Margate and other nearby towns and villages offering three course menus for £20.26. A chance to feel decadent without breaking the bank, last year we also used it as an excuse to check out places we hadn’t yet made it out to. Full listings. 

Olby’s experimental programme
Olby’s in Margate’s Old Town is offering up its bar area for people to try out event ideas over the winter, resulting in an eclectic and very fun sounding programme. Among our faves are Rubbish Shopping Lists on Thursday, February 12 (eco artist and binfluencer Kieran Poole’s comedy show based on 1000 found shopping lists), Depths on Thursday, February 26 (a night of deep conversations with guided prompts and no small talk), Shronk on Thursday, March 5 (an evening of improvised music with an improvised line up). All events are free. See the full programme. 

Bridget Christie at the Marlowe
Canterbury’s Marlowe Theatre has stellar programming, with brilliant comedy and theatre lined up through to the end of the year. In particular, we’re looking forward to Bridget Christie performing her new show Jacket Potato Pizza on Sunday, February 15. We’ve been fans for a long time, but in the last couple of years her sitcom The Change has really reignited our love of how her brain works. Tickets £29.50. 

Chump’s in Broadstairs
Chump’s Comedy already has a whole host of big names lined up for shows in the next few months, including Adam Buxton and Phil Wang. More excitingly, this year Chump’s put on their first Broadstairs show, which will be held at the beautiful Palace Cinema on Wednesday, February 25. Paul Foot will headline, following sets from Alexandra Haddow and weird and delightful Andy Field. Tickets £15. 

Tracey Emin at the Tate Modern
London’s Tate Modern is set to open a new Tracey Emin exhibition next month. The career retrospective will include artworks spanning 40 years, including paintings, videos, textiles, neons, writing, sculpture and installations. It will include works that have never before been exhibited. The show is set to open on February 26 and run until August 31. More details.

Roni Size and LTJ Bukem at the Drill Shed
Postponed from last year and now moved to Margate’s newest music venue The Drill Shed, drum n bass heroes Roni Size and LTJ Bukem will be DJing on Friday, March 6, with MC Dynamite on hand to keep the crowd hyped. Tickets £28.80.

Don Letts at Ramsgate Music Hall
Continuing its always impeccable programming, Ramsgate Music Hall will be bringing living legend Don Letts for an intimate DJ set on Saturday, March 21. Known for introducing reggae to the punk scene when he was the resident DJ at the Roxy in London in 1977, he’s also an award winning filmmaker and a musician himself too. His knowledge goes deep and this will be an amazing opportunity to hear that in action. Tickets £20.

Broadstairs Food Festival
Absolute heaven for anyone who loves food and cooking, the Easter edition of Broadstairs Food Festival takes place on April 3-5. As ever, the event will showcase the best of Kentish cuisine with live demos, workshops, feasts, stalls and more. If you can’t make this one (or even if you can), the autumn edition is on October 3-5. More details. 

Lovebox at Dreamland
Dreamland in Margate has an impressive line up of acts performing this summer, including Fatboy Slim and Belle & Sebastian. Our big pick is the Lovebox festival, which is returning after seven years and leaving its former home in East London’s Victoria Park. Taking place on May 29-30, Rudimental and Scissor Sisters will play headline sets, with Horse Meat Disco, Armand Van Helden, Goldie, Friendly Fires, and Soul II Soul also on the bill. Tickets from £64.10.

Broadstairs Folk Week
Arriving at the peak of summer from August 7-14, Broadstairs Folk Week is one of our favourite times to see the town. For seven full days it's hard to find a spot where there isn’t something happening. You don’t need to be a folk connoisseur to enjoy it. If you want to head into a gig or two you certainly can, but it’s also great to just soak up the atmosphere and enjoy live music spontaneously appearing next to you without warning. Tickets on sale now. 

Margate Pride
Taking over Margate on Saturday, August 8, Margate Pride is always a highlight of the summer with parties filling venues and streets all around the town, as well as the parade and main Dreamland event. Numerous after parties take it into the small hours, and fringe events spread out into the weeks either side of the big day itself. Find out more. 

Smugglers Festival
It takes something pretty special to coax us away from Thanet during August’s peak seaside living glory. Smugglers Festival is that pretty special thing. Hidden in woodland near Deal, each year the team behind the event go above and beyond to create a magical world for a couple of thousand people to get lost in. Book weekend and day tickets. 

Ramsgate Festival of Sound
Taking place in September, Ramsgate Festival of Sound invites visitors to explore the town through sound, celebrate local talent and discover new ways of engaging with what surrounds them. There’s lots of music but also sound art, installations, film screenings and much more. This year will be its ninth edition. Find out more.

Thomas Green at Dreamland
Australian comedian Thomas Green will perform at Dreamland’s Hall by the Sea on Friday, November 20. As comfortable improvising as he is performing his written material, you never know where a show by this former primary school teacher and cult member is going to end up. Tickets £22. 

Ramsgate Winter Festival
The current Ramsgate Winter Festival programme isn’t quite finished yet, but we’re already looking forward to finding out what’s in store next winter. There’s a massive programme of events including a light art trail, a lantern parade, workshops and more. On Christmas Eve we loved Emily Peasgood’s silly, family-friendly-rude carol service, joyously joining in with festive classics like Yellow Snow, Oh Holey Tights and Last Christmas I Did a Big Fart. All while tiny rubber chickens were fired across the audience. Find out more.