> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.strangetourist.co.uk/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Things to do this August bank holiday weekend in Thanet and beyond - URL: https://www.strangetourist.co.uk/things-to-do-this-august-bank-holiday-weekend-in-thanet/ - Published: 2026-08-22T07:00:48.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-22T07:00:47.000Z - Description: Here’s how to spend your August bank holiday in Ramsgate, Margate and Broadstairs and further afield - Author: Strange Tourist - Tags: Local guides, Things to do in Thanet and beyond, Things to do in Broadstairs, Margate, Ramsgate, Art, Broadstairs, Canterbury, DJ set, Film, Food, Music, Thanet, Things to do in Margate, Things to do in Ramsgate We’ve got three days of no work coming up. How are you going to spend August bank holiday? We’ve rounded up the best things to do in Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate this August bank holiday to make your long weekend a breeze, whether you’re looking for club nights, gigs, galleries or a new pop up restaurant to try. Break days up at the beach with exhibitions, a meal out, puppets and nights out. Catch a film, relax at a gong bath, take the family to see some art or even have a go at improv comedy - find something to do with our guide of the best events and shows this long weekend. We’ll continue to update this guide, so keep checking back in. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/06/39/0639efc0-b873-4e30-ac06-2893b029d0e0/content/images/2026/08/CarlFreedman_LMG1install-1920x1440-1.jpg) Lindsey Mendick’s Where You And I Begin exhibition closes this weekend. **Photo: Carl Freedman Gallery* ### **Chilled things** Margate sculptor **Lindsey Mendick’s Where You And I Begin** wraps up at **Carl Freedman Gallery on Sunday.** Head over to have a look at times unsettling ceramics and an exhibition that looks at intimacy and co-dependency. It’s your last chance to catch the **final show** by the latest cohort of **Tracey Emin Artist Residency** artists. Representing 15 months of studio practice and artistic development at TKE Studios, the exhibition features work by nine artists. **Finishes Monday**. **Margate’s Pie Factory** hosts **Louise Reiger** and her exhibition **Anemoia, Thursday to Monday**. Taking inspiration from the 60s, 70s and 80s, the exhibition looks at memory and nostalgia for times one has never actually known. Another **exhibition closing on Monday,** this one at **The House Hotel** in Ramsgate. Artist **Caroline List** presents **Light Puzzle**, an exhibition that explores the emotional and spatial effects of colour and light. Exhibited works draw on colour theory, light contrasts and optical depth and explores abstraction through compositions and colour horizons. **Broadstairs Bandstand** puts on three afternoons of free music over the bank holiday. **Pulse 89, 3sT and Twice the Spice 35 on Saturday to Monday 2pm-4pm**. Little information is available for these, so the gigs are pot luck. **The Free Association** is running an **improv comedy** taster sessions at **Cloud Zen in Margate on Saturday**. The two hour workshops will be relaxed with no being put on the spot and no performance to an audience. It’ll give you an introduction to the skills developed in the company’s longer courses. [**Tickets £20**](https://thefreeassociation.arlo.co/w/courses/147-improv-dropin-taster-margate?ref=strangetourist.co.uk). The **Palace cinema** in Broadstairs screens **Lady**, featuring Fleabag’s Sian Clifford as a lunatic narcissistic aristocrat, Lady Isabella. She hires a struggling filmmaker to create a documentary about her, and things get weird as Lady Isabella searches for human connection and seeks to be seen. It’s on **Friday at 4.30pm, Saturday at 4.30pm and 7.30pm, and Sunday at 7pm.** [**Tickets £9**](https://thepalacecinema.co.uk/production/lady/?ref=strangetourist.co.uk). [Palace cinema celebrates 60 years at the heart of Broadstairs“Cultural institution” the Palace cinema’s 60 year journey to become “a place that really is about film as opposed to two hours of entertainment”![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/06/39/0639efc0-b873-4e30-ac06-2893b029d0e0/content/images/icon/Strange_Tourist_Vector_DOT_SMALL-8fdf8e0c-443d-46a6-8427-94a299e46626.png)Strange TouristAndy Malt![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/06/39/0639efc0-b873-4e30-ac06-2893b029d0e0/content/images/thumbnail/DSC_5202-1-36d57b97-c1e0-4c04-8f04-c0f9ac1155b6.jpeg)](https://www.strangetourist.co.uk/palace-cinema-celebrates-60-years-at-the-heart-of-broadstairs/) **Floating Frequencies Soundbath** sets up its prayer bowls, tuning forks, crystals and gongs at **Bleak House**, for a restorative **bank holiday Monday gong bath**. Relax, heal, reenergise and potentially sleep through this immersive experience that strictly starts at 10am - no latecomers. Two spaces remain. Snap them up for[**£25 each**](https://www.eleanoryankah.com/event-details/floating-frequencies-at-bleak-house-31st-august-10am?ref=strangetourist.co.uk). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/06/39/0639efc0-b873-4e30-ac06-2893b029d0e0/content/images/2026/08/hpps-1.jpg) Tiny Daniel Radcliffe returns to the big screen. **Image: Warner Bros. Pictures* ### **Family things** To mark the **25th anniversary of the release of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone**, the **Carlton cinema** in Westgate will be screening the movie from **Friday to Sunday.** [**Tickets from £4.35**](https://westgate-on-sea.picturedromecinemas.co.uk/event/113160?ref=strangetourist.co.uk). **The bOing! Family Arts Festival** returns to **Canterbury’s Gulbenkian Arts Centre on Saturday and Sunday**. Free to enter, many of the performances and activities are also free. Ticket prices for paid events are capped at £7.50\. [**See the full programme**](https://boingfestival.com/?ref=strangetourist.co.uk). Problematic puppets **Punch and Judy** bring their domestic issues to **Viking Bay,** with the final two days of show **Saturday and Sunday, August 29-30\. Shows are free, and are at 11am, 12pm and 1pm.** ### **Food things** **Friends of Foe and Komorebi Kitchen** will be teaming up for a special food **pop-up** at **HOFFS in Margate on Saturday and Sunday**. Fusing their Sri Lankan and Japanese cooking into one full-flavoured menu, they’ll be offering **three courses for £37\.** [**DM on Instagram to book**](https://www.instagram.com/friends%5Fof%5Ffoe/?ref=strangetourist.co.uk). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/06/39/0639efc0-b873-4e30-ac06-2893b029d0e0/content/images/2026/08/Smugglers22-174.jpg) Grab last minute tickets for Smugglers. **Photo: Tilly May* ### **Going out things** **Smugglers Festival** returns for woodland fun and late night lemon and spoon offs from Thursday to Sunday. The final few tickets remain, with weekend and family day tickets still available, [**from £92.70**](https://smugglersfestival.com/products/smugglers-festival-2026?ref=strangetourist.co.uk). [Smugglers Festival’s journey to become a magical and mysterious summer highlightWith most of its stages hidden in woodland, Kent’s Smugglers Festival is an “inspiring and magical” experience, says programmer Stewart Hughes![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/06/39/0639efc0-b873-4e30-ac06-2893b029d0e0/content/images/icon/Strange_Tourist_Vector_DOT_SMALL-26873c97-116a-4568-b37c-3449187ad1e1.png)Strange TouristAndy Malt![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/06/39/0639efc0-b873-4e30-ac06-2893b029d0e0/content/images/thumbnail/Smugglers22-252-1-a0f666a3-91fb-40b9-b837-da605a7d83f5.jpg)](https://www.strangetourist.co.uk/smugglers-festivals-journey-to-become-a-magical-and-mysterious-summer-highlight/) Kick the long weekend off by reviving your teenage dance moves when **Fatboy Slim** plays **Dreamland on Friday**. It’s **sold out,** but check the various social, WhatsApp groups and [Twickets](https://www.twickets.live/en/event/2032137455229997056?ref=strangetourist.co.uk) for last minute spare tickets. Over in **Olby’s Soul Cafe**, alt karaoke night, **I’m Not Kara-okay** returns for the bank holiday for all the emo, punk and metal fans on **Friday. Doors at 8pm,** [**tickets £1**](https://www.seetickets.com/event/i-m-not-kara-okay-/olby-s-creative-hub/3677939?ref=strangetourist.co.uk)**1**. Head to **Ramsgate** bar **Penelopes** on **Saturday**, for **Ibiza DJs, small plates and wine**. **Summer’ween** is coming to **Where Else in Margate on Saturday**. It’s like Halloween but in the summer. Rock, punk, emo and metal club night Can’t Stop will be putting on a fancy dress party. Rock up in your best heat appropriate scary costume. [**Tickets £7**](https://www.gigantic.com/can-t-stop-summer-ween-tickets/margate-where-else/2026-08-29-21-00?ref=strangetourist.co.uk). **Balearic Boutique** will be taking over the **Sun Deck on Margate on Saturday** with **DJ Jo Mills** headlining the day. Drop in between **2pm and 10pm.** **Free entry**. **Queer cabaret** night **The Plague** is on at **Where Else** in Margate on **Saturday**. Hosted by **Freeda Nip and ELZ**, the event will raise money for Trans Club. [**Tickets £5**](https://www.outsavvy.com/event/37677/margplague-queer-cabaret-night?ref=strangetourist.co.uk). **Margate Soul Weekender** is bringing a taste of the festival to **Broadstairs on Sunday at The Pavilion, Harbour Street. Running 7pm-12am, Super Soul Sunday** sees classic soul, funk and rare grooves and a festival vibe fill the air and invites you to boogie along. [**Tickets £5.50**](https://www.seetickets.com/event/super-soul-sunday/the-pavilion/3708129?ref=strangetourist.co.uk). **Margate’s Faith in Strangers** puts on a drum n bass night, with **Goldie** and his **Metalheadz Blue Note Sessions**. Featuring **Ed Rush and Bailey** also, this day party kicks off at **4pm on Sunday**, with[ **tickets £27.72**](https://faithinstrangers.co.uk/events/metalheadz-dayparty-2026-08-30?ref=strangetourist.co.uk). Once Metalheadz Blue Note Sessions is done and dusted, **Faith in Strangers** hosts 80s snooker champ **Steve Davis** and composer **Kavus Torabi** from **10pm on the Sunday,** [**Tickets £12.10**](https://faithinstrangers.co.uk/events/steve-davis-kavus-torabi-dj-set-2026-08-30?ref=strangetourist.co.uk). It’s **Neptune’s Fest** over at **Neptune’s Hall in Broadstairs on Sunday**. **DJs Rosy Ross, and Jonny Henfre**y will be spinning vinyl in the garden all afternoon, then **Briain Not Brian** will take to the decks in an after hours tent later. **Pizza and rotisserie chicken served 1-8pm. Free entry.** **Babyshambles** will be performing on Dreamland’s Scenic Stage on **Sunday**. Support from Big Special, Warm Duscher, Gans, and Pregoblin. [**Tickets £49.50**](https://www.dreamland.co.uk/event/babyshambles/?ref=strangetourist.co.uk). Want more? [Subscribe to our newsletter](https://www.strangetourist.co.uk/#/portal) for a hit of arts, culture and fun things to do around Thanet and beyond in your inbox every Saturday morning.