Ramsgate Through The Senses returns from May 17-19t with a programme of some 21 events to inspire the mind and body and celebrate the beautiful blossoms and stunning produce this time of year brings.
Curated by long-term friends and festival founders Gemma Dempsey and Helen Emler, the festivities include children’s workshops, unique food and beverage experiences, foraging, a pottery throw down, yoga, holistic therapies and a choral performance.
On the culinary side of things, Bruce Stratford will be the chef for a very special immersive dining event ‘ A Salon with Lady Palmer’ at a private Ramsgate residence. Each of the five courses will showcase delicious seasonal produce, paired with specially selected wines.
If you’re a fan of chocolate, look no further than the workshop with chef Jessica Leah. She has created a selection of chocolate pairings which will give your tastebuds quite the workout. Proceeds from this workshop will go towards The Perfect Place to Grow in Margate.
Chef and fermenter Thom Eagle will host a kimchi workshop using a variety of seasonal vegetables, allowing guests to take home their own kimchi creation. Continuing the relationship with Wine Garden of England the festival has partnered with Riedel, the 300-year-old glassware company which was the first in history to recognize that the taste and aroma of a beverage is affected by the shape of the vessel from which it is consumed.
Guests at the Riedel Wine Glass Experience will get to experience this first hand in a tutored tasting with Riedel’s UK Ambassador Martin Turner. The wines for this workshop will be selected by Jo Ginn of the Wine Garden of England.
Nick Robinson of The Oast Smokehouse returns with a couple of educational foraging excursions along the nearby coastline.
Using another stunning private residence complete with its own tunnels. there’ll be a unique yoga and music experience courtesy of Charlotte Ellis Andy Waterworth and Pablo Hussey called The Sound of a Billion Souls. Taking its inspiration from coccoliths – the organisms that created the chalk that forms the Thanet landscape – the event will also include a special culinary addition to be announced soon.
Another sonic element to Through the Senses will be provided by Claire Dugue, a French luthier based in Ramsgate since 2001, and one of only a handful of highly skilled hurdy gurdy makers in the world. Comprising of 200 moving parts and using a variety of specific woods, she’ll show how this strange and fascinating musical instrument is made at her local studio.
Now in its third year, for 2024 Ramsgate Through the Senses CIC is partnering with Social Enterprise Kent as part of its Cost of Living Programme and have devised workshops around the theme of ‘You Are What You Eat’.
The workshops are free to those dealing with financial hardship, mental health issues or living in isolation.
A communal meal is a great way to bring people together and chef Mike Spackman has created ‘The Canny Shopper’ workshop. Attendees will learn how to shop and cook on a tight budget, followed by delicious meal they have helped to create.
Amy of Forth and Forage will guide a group around Ramsgate in a special urban forage and nature walk. Being in the outdoors and getting to know more about plants , whether they be in a park or sprouting amongst the paving stones – is a perfect way to boost one’s serotonin while marvelling at Mother Nature.
The non-culinary side of the festival includes a ‘Pottery Throw-Down’ with Mike Child, A ‘Floral Cyanotype’ workshop with Melanie King, ‘Fragrant Facial’ with Willow Kail Organic Beauty, and fun for children and families with James Frost’s plant puppet making class; ‘Recordermania’ with artist Rosie Carr and more including nature walks with Kent Wildlife Trust.
Leave a Reply