Ramsgate Festival of Sound 2020 will take place this September 6-13 after being moved from its usual July slot due to Covid-19.
Producers Andrew Gibson and Gemma Dempsey have been working hard over the last few months to ensure the show could go on and be compliant with current guidelines.
The festival promises a fun and inspiring programme to entertain all ages and many of the events are free to attend.
This year the festival will have two Sonic Sundays in Vale Square.
On Sunday September 6, starting at 10am, the Bindlesticks Theatre Company present The Good Garden Witches – an outdoor adventure into a secret garden.
From 2pm-6pm there will be performances from the Lunatraktors and Thomas Traux, opening for the Screaming Alley cabaret.
These shows will be ticketed to ensure everyone’s safety and will be for ages 16+.
On Sunday, September 13 events will begin with free family fun Baby Sensory and Toddler Sense sessions and Famalamadisco in the morning, while Eats ‘n’ Beats will curate an end of festival celebration with Vale Square Residents Association featuring Philip Rambow, Sarah Head and Keith Wilkinson and Swing Noir from 5pm-8pm.
The Sonic Trail sound installations can be discovered around the town and seafront, and all can be visited any day noon – 5pm from Thursday September 10th to Sunday September 13th.
Find details at https://ramsgatefestival.org/
The Bedford Inn in Westcliff Road and The Ravensgate Arm’s pop-up at The Boating Pool will be home to some of the festival’s activities and installations too.
The Ramsgate Society’s historical talks are a festival staple – local author Rose Black will give a talk -with limited capacity audience- about her new Ramsgate based historical novel, The Unforgetting, at The Oak Hotel on September 7, while author Geraint Franklin and contributors Nick Dermott and Allan Brodie will give an online talk about their book, Ramsgate: the town and its seaside heritage, on September 11. This is produced as part of the town’s Heritage Action Zone.
The Busk At Dusk event, along the East Cliff, will begin in Winterstoke Gardens and continue down to the beachfront shelters from 6pm-9pm on September 12.
The promenade performances feature the Kings of Bhangra Four by Four presented by Cohesion Plus, The Snottledogs, sea shanty singers from Margate, and a much loved regular at Screaming Alley, Blanche Dubois.
Images created during lockdown by Thanet under 18s for Project Motorhouse’s @pmhisolate competition will be on view at Winterstoke Gardens and seated shelter area.
At beach level on the paved walkway there will be busking in the shelters from Philip Rambow, Trudi Jackson, Richie Triangle , Sarah Head and Keith Wilkinson, Rapturous and Katie McGarry.
The event is free and actors and volunteers will be making sure everyone has a fun evening while observing social distancing!
Local filmmaker Dan Whitehead will be filming the festival throughout and the finished film, Ramsgate: A Sonic Odyssey, will be shown at The Bedford Inn Cellar 6pm-10pm. Free to enter but as with any indoor event visitors will need to wear a mask and numbers will be monitored.
There are also some online only features. Ramsgate based composer Michael J McEvoy will provide a free film composing tutorial in collaboration for young people with Pie Factory Music. Viewers will then have the opportunity to compose music for a clip from an anime film.
Winners will receive prizes with a value of £20, £30 and £50.
Margate based composer Tom Adams has created an essay project for ages 11 and over. Participants can write whatever they like and the winning submission will be either narrated by him or the original writer with an underscore by Tom. See https://www.tom-adams.co.uk/an-essay-a-day-1
The winning submissions for both competitions will be featured on the Festival of Sound website.
Due to the the evolving situation regarding Covid-19 it is advisable to check the website for up to date information, as well as for how to book for the ticketed events
Also check Ramsgate Festival of Sound on social media and look out for the printed brochure with its Sonic Trail map coming this month!