
The weekend is here, hurrah, here’s our guide of things to see and do on the isle
Plastic Unwrapped

October 20, Dreamland, 10am to 3pm, workshops on the hour every hour, just drop in
Hall By The Sea, free event
Discovery Planet are kick-starting the new academic year with a series of three free science and creative workshops to explore the highly topical theme of plastic. Scientists from Kent University’s School of Physical Sciences will deliver the sessions, which will begin with a beachside introduction to the problems that plastic can cause, and are followed by three in depth examinations of the issue through hands on activities and experiments. Particularly considering the exciting role of chemistry and chemists in the future of plastic.
- 20th October – What Is Plastic?
- 3rd November – Recycling
- 17 November – Plastic Progress
Magical Beasts
October 20-22 and October 26-28, Ramsgate Micro Museum, Church Hill, Ramsgate, 1pm-4pm
Themed games event. There will be video game dragons and other magical beasties at museum.
Adult £5
Child £4
Family (1 or 2 adults and 1 or 2 children) £10
Children 14 years old and younger must be accompanied by an adult
Get Spooked at Dreamland
Get Spooked is back at Dreamland Margate this half-term, with seven days of frightfully good fun by the sea for families to enjoy at the amusement park. Get Spooked in a slippery slime factory, put your craft skills to use in a Halloween-themed costume workshop, get jumpy in a spooky games arena or lost in a puzzle hedge maze.
There will also be a character appearance from children’s TV superhero favourites, PJ Masks on Wednesday, October 24.
Get Spooked takes place between Noon-4pm on:
- Saturday 20 October
- Sunday 21 October
- Wednesday 24 October
- Thursday 25 October
- Friday 26 October
- Saturday 27 October
- Sunday 28 October
The amusement park will be closed on October 22- 23 October.
Indoor areas including the vintage arcade, roller disco and children’s soft play area, the Octopus’s Garden, will be open daily.
As well as a host of fun and entertainment, there are Dreamland’s new rides to enjoy, as well as the much-loved Dreamland Ark, where animal lovers can enjoy a special creepy crawlies experience as they climb aboard to meet spiders, reptiles and much more.
More information can be found at www.dreamland.co.uk
Hornby Hobbies October half term fun
October 20-21: Make ‘n’ Paint, 11am- 3pm, £2
October 22-26: £2 entry to the Visitor Centre or free if you come in fancy dress
Tabby McTat
October 21, Theatre Royal Margate
Shows at 2pm and 4:30pm
Tabby McTat is a cat with the loudest of meee-ews and a best friend with a guitar. Together they sing their favourite songs delighting the crowds, until one day Fred disappears. Separated and alone, Tabby finds shelter and a new life with all the home comforts that any cat could dream of. However, memories of his life with Fred haunt him, and he sets off to search the streets for his long-lost friend.
Tickets
Full Price £12.50
Concessions £11
Family of 4 £40
Early Bird Offer, All Tickets £10 if Booked Before 31 July
Booking fees – £1 per ticket in person/phone. £2 per ticket online
Call 01843 292795 or click here
Half term barbecue
October 20, 11am-3pm, outside Pop Up Margate in the High Street
Fresh Hope barbecue raising money for new toys and arts and crafts items for their Saturday Club for children with additional needs.
The Fresh Hope charity shop will also be open.
Margot Bandola: New Work
October 20-30,open 10.30- 5.30pm, Pie Factory Margate, Broad Street, Margate
Bandola’s expressionistic figurative works are proof that paint is inexhaustable in its ability to move audiences. She lays her passion on the line – expect a walk on the wild side.
Smallfoot (U)
Palace Cinema Broadstairs
An animated adventure for all ages, with original music and an all-star cast, Smallfoot turns the Bigfoot legend upside down when a bright young Yeti finds something he thought didn’t exist – a human.
News of this Smallfoot throws the simple Yeti community into an uproar over what else might be out there in the big world beyond their snowy village, in an all new story about friendship, courage and the joy of discovery.
Saturday 20 October, 3.00pm and 5.00pm
Ventoux
October 20, 7.30pm, Theatre Royal Margate
Ventoux is the most fearsome mountain encountered on the Tour de France.
It is also the story of Lance Armstrong and Marco Pantani – whose drug-fuelled race there in 2000 was the greatest cycling had ever seen. Ventoux charts the parallel lives of these champions who overcame great adversity in tandem, and the mountain that cast them in opposing directions.
Join 2Magpies as they re-stage the race using breathtaking video accompaniment and a pair of road bikes, asking the question – how far will we go to succeed?
Tickets
Full Price £12
Concessions £10
FOMT £8
Booking fees – £1 per ticket in person/phone. £2 per ticket online
Call 01843 292795 or click here
Sixties Gold
October 20, Margate Winter Gardens, 7.30pm (doors open 6.45pm)
Following last years’ successful tour, Sixties Gold returns with an even stronger line-up of artists that, between them, scored over 50 UK Top 30 hits.
With a career spanning 6 decades, The Searchers now embark upon what will be their ‘Farewell 60s’ tour. It all began in Liverpool, where they were tipped to be as big as The Beatles, The Searchers spent 128 weeks in the charts, with sales of more than 50 million, including 3 massive UK No.1 hits.
The Merseybeats. Another success story from the Liverpool, Memorable hit records including; Sorrow, I Think of You, and Wishin’ and Hopin’.
Following on in the wake of Merseybeat, The Fortunes added another dimension to the sound of the classic pop song. With hits including; ‘You’ve Got Your Troubles’ and ‘Here It Comes Again’, The Fortunes remain one of the UK’s premier harmony groups.
This will be ponytailed P.J. Proby’s final tour. His controversial trouser splitting shocked the nation and in 1964 he was the Melody Maker teen idol award winner. His hit records spent 91 weeks in the charts.
Steve Ellis, the original lead vocalist and founder of Love Affair who had five Top 20 singles, including their No. 1 Everlasting Love.
Finally, Vanity Fare, scored with three top 20 hits in the late sixties, including their catchy ‘Hitchin’ A Ride.
Tickets
Full Price £35
Restricted View £33
Booking fees – £1 per ticket in person/phone. £2 per ticket online
Call 01843 292795 or click here
LDN Wrestling
Margate Winter Gardens, 5pm (doors open 4.30pm)
Tickets
Full Price £15
Concessions £12.50
Child £12.50
Group of 4 £52
Booking fees – £1 per ticket in person/phone. £2 per ticket online
Call 01843 292795 or click here
Never Such Innocence
October 20, 7.30pm, Sarah Thorne Theatre, Broadstairs

British actor Christopher Kent will be presenting his acclaimed show Never Such Innocence in Broadstairs.
He will appear, with the virtuoso concert pianist William Green, at The Sarah Thorne Theatre as part of The Canterbury Festival.
Never Such Innocence tells the individual story of Christopher’s great uncle, 19-year-old conscript Private Percy O’Key, through his real-life letters and diaries. Theses are interspersed with the words of writers such as Wilfred Owen, Edward Thomas, Siegfried Sassoon and Vera Brittain and piano music of the period by composers including Elgar, Ravel, Debussy and Schoenberg. It is a compelling journey from innocence to loss, told with unflinching clarity and compassion.
Tickets: 01843 863701
www.ticketsource.co.uk/sarah-thorne-theatre
Artists Open Houses
October 20-November 4, 11am – 5pm (unless stated)
Now in its 18th year, East Kent Open Houses has gone from strength to strength with more artists than ever – over 200 spread over 67 houses and studios.
The artists’ trail gives the public a personal insight into how an artist works within their specialised field. The trail is your chance to visit artists in their homes, to speak to them in person about their work and to find out what is happening in your local area.
Opening weekend, October 20-21
- Darren Lewis at 32 Holly Lane, Margate
- New Paintings (2016-2018): Margot Bandola at Pie Factory Margate
- Claire Gill, Ian Allan and Margo Selby at Lombard Street Gallery, Margate
- Gay Gower and Jose Fonseca at 6-7 Lewis Crescent, Margate
- Brook Hobbins at 27b Ethelbert Square, Westgate-on-Sea
- Barbara Colla, Gillian Highland, Paul Fowler, Ruth McDonald, Brian Hodgson and Karen Hiscock-Lawrence at New Kent Art Gallery, Broadstairs
- Martin Cheek at 21 Harbour Street, Broadstairs
- Lana Arkhi at 98B High Street, Ramsgate (11am-4pm)
- Christine Jeffryes, Gemma Cohen and Jacqui Mann at 87 Bradstow Way, Ramsgate
- Ami Blastock at 21 Lloyd Road, Ramsgate
- Nigel Cunningham and Viv Yankah at 5 Marlborough Close, Broadstairs (11am-4pm)
- Tony Caroli at 1 Montefiore Avenue, Ramsgate
- Rich Cameron at 57b Albert Street, Ramsgate
Good Vibes with Grumpy Brown
October 20, 9pm – 2am, Olby’s Soul Café, King Street, Margate
Grumpy Brown is back and warming you up with a mix of Soul, Funk, Afrobeat, Jazz and anything else he fancies.
Free entry.
A Star is Born (15)
A Star is Born stars four-time Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper and music superstar Lady Gaga in a sweepingly romantic remake of this classic weepy. Tipped for Oscar glory and completely unmissable.
In this new take on the tragic love story, Bradley Cooper plays seasoned musician Jackson Maine, who discovers–and falls in love with–struggling artist Ally (Gaga). She has just about given up on her dream to make it big as a singer… until Jack coaxes her into the spotlight. But even as Ally’s career takes off, the personal side of their relationship is breaking down, as Jack fights an ongoing battle with his own internal demons.
Saturday 20 October, 7.45pm
Pudding and Prosecco night in aid of the Llewelyn School Big Build

October 20, Café Darcy, Marine Gardens, Margate, from 7pm to 11pm.
Pudding and Prosecco, five course pudding menu plus a glass of the sparkly stuff as well as entertainment from musicians Siobhan McFadyen and Mark Taylor. Costs £25 per person. During the evening there will also be a prize draw for a party for up to 16 children in the mobile Gaming Vault. Tickets for this are £10. Find out more from the Gaming Vault on 07572338186 or find them on facebook here.
To book for the Pudding and Prosecco night call 01843 221872 or find them on facebook here.
Shell Grotto Halloween fun
Grotto Hill, Margate
Children’s entry free every day from today, until Sunday, October 28. The Halloween decorations up and the Grotto has a design your own Jack-o’-lantern competition sheet for the children.
Open 10am-5pm. More details here
Screaming Alley dance troupe open rehearsal
October 20, 4.30pm, St Laurence parish hall, High Street, St Lawrence
This is a chance for anyone who lives in Thanet to join a dance troupe. No experience necessary but you do need to be able to commit to at least 5 rehearsals a month. The group routines that you learn are going to form a pivotal part of all future Screaming Alley events which are set to get bigger and bigger.
Screamland at Dreamland
Seven interactive scare mazes at Dreamland amusement park.
New scare mazes include the Dreamland Sleep Experiment, Mary Decomposed and Upside Down, along with firm favourites such as Dead and Breakfast. With animated actors and top scare creators working across the production, prepare to be scared witless!
Screamland takes place between 6-11pm on Saturday 20 October, Thursday 25 October, Friday 26 October, Saturday 27 October and Wednesday 31 October.
Tickets
Standard – access to each of the 7 scare mazes and unlimited rides.
Fast Track – access to each of the 7 scare mazes via the fast tracked queue lane and unlimited rides (limited numbers).
No Scare – for the scaredy cats! This includes access to the park and unlimited rides.
Groups – believe in safety in numbers? Opt for the group ticket for groups of 10 and over.
More information can be found here
Pilgrims Hospice, Thanet 5k Colour Run

October 21, from the Oval, Eastern Esplanade, Palm Bay, set off 11.30am
Watch the runners dash through bright paint clouds and get covered in colour in aid of local hospice care.
The Big Sing: Performance of music and reading to commemorate The Great War
October 21, performances noon and 2pm, Turner Contemporary
A performance of music and readings to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of the Great War. Performed by Turner Contemporary Gallery’s resident choir: The Thanet Big Sing Community Choir
The concert will reflect the humour and pathos of ordinary soldiers in the trenches, as well as giving voice to families back in “Blighty”: much of the material will be drawn from or commenting on the period and will make reference to the relevance of local area at that time. There will be a combination of choral works, songs and readings.
The spoken elements will be drawn from archival materials, first-hand accounts and contemporary reflections on the War, using Thanet-relevant accounts wherever possible. Research sources will include Margate museum, Westgate-on Sea Heritage Centre and similar local community archives. The sung material, original and curated, will connect with the spoken to create an holistic sonic picture of a community coping with war.
Convoy Game in aid of Ramsgate RNLI
October 21, Royal Victoria Pavilion, Ramsgate
Cost £1 per game or £5 to enter the competition. Prizes and raffle.