Things to see and do in Thanet, October 10-12

Family Hub Friday: Gorillas

10th October. 11am to 2pm, Powell-Cotton Museum, Quex House and Gardens

Join Powell Cotton Museum for a gorilla-themed adventure filled with stories, crafts, and fascinating facts. Perfect for childminders, carers, and families with little ones.

Come and explore the museum and gardens while your little ones get creative and curious.

Book in advance or drop-in for this event.

Ideal for under-5s, with older siblings welcome too.

Family loyalty cards are welcome. These are given to users of Thanet Children’s Centres on request and admit adults and over 5’s for £1 each, under 5’s go free.

Adult £7.50

Child (over 4) £6.50

Concession £7.00

Infant (under 3) FREE

Powell-Cotton Members FREE

Family Hub Card holders: Adult £1, Child £1, Under 5 Free.

Book now

Jah Wobble & the Invaders of the Heart

10th October, 7pm, Where Else? Margate

Jah Wobble’s career speaks for itself, spanning over 40 years, he’s played on countless albums with performers such as PIL’s John Lydon, Brian Eno, Bill Laswell, Sinead O’Connor,, Primal Scream, Bjork, The Orb, The Cranberries, Dolores O’Riordan and many more.

All ages event

Tickets £25 plus booking fee Book now

LEE (15)

Friday 10th October, matinee 2pm, Ramsgate Community Cinema, Paragon Works, Albert Street, Ramsgate,

Come and see Kate Winslet doing her brilliant best in this biopic of the fashion model, Lee Miller, who became a wartime photo-journalist and well-respected artist/photographer. We are excited to be programming this now to inspire some of you to travel to the Tate Modern, London, to visit the upcoming exhibition honouring her work.

https://www.facebook.com/ramsgatecommunitycinema

Free Family Highlight Tour: The Sunken Boat – A glimpse into past histories

11th October, 11.30am, Turner

Discover the stories behind the artworks during a fun, hands-on Family Highlight Tour at Margate’s Turner gallery

Free family tours run every Saturday and start at 11.30am in the Sunley Gallery, lasting approximately 30 minutes

Ligatures & Textpletives

7th October – 13th October, open 11am-4pm, Joseph Wales Studios Margate

An exhibition by Wavy Gravy Davey exploring legibility and illegibility in written language using textual ligatures to subvert everyday words. Some will be obvious, some not so, and some will be rude.

A ligature in graphic design refers to the combination of two or more characters into a single glyph or typographic unit. Ligatures are created to enhance the appearance and readability of text by replacing certain character combinations that may visually clash or create awkward spacing with a more aesthetically pleasing and harmonious alternative.

Alma/Doll

9th October – 12th October, Hold Creative Spaces Ramsgate,11am – 5pm

Live Performances:

10th October 11.30am / 3.30pm

11th October 11.30am / 3.30pm

12th October 11.30 am

ALMA/DOLL is a lyric cabaret/opera/installation piece about the infamous ‘Kokoschka’s Doll’ – a life-sized fetish doll commissioned by painter Oscar Kokoschka of his ex-lover Alma Mahler, made by the avant-garde textile artist Hermine Moos; the story is told from the viewpoint of the women involved —Alma Mahler, Hermine Moos, and the Doll herself.

Set in a doll’s house, the piece will weave Alma’s own music with original sound art, voice overs and film. The interactive installation version can be explored in the viewer’s own time. A live performance version, with a narrator/doll character guiding the story, will be presented at set times.

Sky Full of Stars – A Tribute to Coldplay

10th October, 7.30pm, The Granville Theatre Ramsgate

Get ready for an electrifying night of music and magic with Sky Full of Stars—an authentic tribute to Coldplay.

From the anthemic Viva La Vida to the uplifting A Sky Full of Stars, plus all the songs you love, including Clocks, Yellow, Paradise, and Hymn for the Weekend.

Tickets available from £37.40 + £2.50 booking fee Book now

The Social at Olby’s

10th October, 7pm to midnight, Olby’s Soul Café Margate

A monthly evening of quality music, from swing to rhythm & blues, rock n roll to boogaloo, with some ska & 60s soul

DJ Jerome and Lindsay will be your hosts for the evening with guest DJ TBC

Pre-event Soul Cafe Menu Available click here to book a table (tables not reserved in the venue space)

Free Book now

Horror Double Bill

Sarah Thorne Theatre Broadstairs, Friday 10th October , Saturday 11th 7.30pm, Sunday 12th 2.30pm.

First a gothic horror. “Lord Byron – The First Vampire”. In the stormy summer of 1816 Byron and the Shelleys write gothic horror stories. From this Frankenstein arises but also the first vampire story in English, by Byron’s doctor. Is Byron the model for its vampire lord? Will the vampire win or will the forces of good win out?

Second in this double bill is a comedy. “Essence Of Evil.” A care home has a sudden influx of new residents who think they are a vampire, a werewolf, catwoman and Frankenstein’s monster. Are they deluded or is it true? And who is the strange new resident doctor? What is her research project?

Full details on www.sarahthornetheatre.co.uk

Disco Inferno

10th October, from 7pm, Silvers Showbar Ramsgate

Silvers Showbar is bringing you the best of 70s & 80s music and live performances all night long!

Fancy dress is highly encouraged – anyone dressed up gets half-price drinks from 8-9pm (selected drinks apply) Plus, there’s a prize for the best fancy dress!

Tickets £5 + booking fee Book now

Margate Maritime Walk

11th October, 2pm, meet outside the Visitor Information Centre (Droit House) next to Turner

Robin Colyer leads a local history walk on behalf of Margate Civic Society

There is a suggested donation of at least £5 for the walk, which lasts approximately an hour and a half… all funds are donated to the Margate Civic Society.

For further details, please phone 07878 537448 (private group tours are also available – please contact for more information.)

She Rises with the Sea poetry readings at Bleak House

Saturday 11 October, 11am-12noon, Bleak House Broadstairs

To celebrate the new POW Thanet and Rise Up Residency mural on Retort House in Albion Street car park, by artist KMG, join local and visiting poets for readings of their original work and other writers’ poems centred around women and girls, folklore and the sea. Everyone is welcome to bring a poem or two to share.

No Prep 1/8th Mile Drag Racing – King of the South

11th October – 12th October, Manston Raceway Park

Spectators… Day tickets £20 (in advance) or £25 on the day / Weekend tickets £40 (in advance) or £50 on the day.

Children under 10 free / Children 10-16 years £10 Book now

Channel One Sound System UK Tour

11th October, from 10pm, Faith In Strangers Cliftonville

Bar/Restaurant open for food & drinks from 6pm

This is an 18+ event

Tickets £22.66 Book now

Looping the Loop workshop

Saturday October 11,11am – 3pm, Ramsgate Space

Building a life-size elephant – with a water squirting trunk – is the mission at Looping The Loop workshops.

The Sanger’s Monster Menagerie sessions will also create a lion with a moving jaw big enough to put your head inside!

Participants can get involved and learn how to use traditional materials like willow for the structure and muslin for the skin to bring the creatures to life.

Once the puppets are complete, Looping the Loop will take them out into the streets to animate them, creating a magical spectacle for the whole community.

There will also be separate craft stations for younger children to make their own elephant masks and other circus-themed crafts.

Session is free.

The Phantoms

11th October, 7.30pm, The Granville Theatre Ramsgate

Featuring former Phantoms direct from the West End production of ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ alongside West End and TV star Lee Mead, the cast take you on a journey through the best of the West End, Broadway, and beyond from modern day smash hits to unbeatable classics.

From £40.15 plus £2.50 booking fee Book now

The Enemy

11th October, Dreamland Margate, 7pm – 11pm, last entry 9.30pm

Indie giants The Enemy haven’t let off the gas since reforming in 2022. A sold-out reunion tour across the UK almost 40,000 tickets strong, straight into massive festival appearances in 2023 including the likes of TRNSMT, Isle Of Wight and a headline slot at Godiva Festival: all before 2024’s triumphant ‘Indie Til I Die’ tour with The Subways and The Holloways.

This event is classified as an all ages welcome event. This means that anyone under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult over the age of 18 (adult refers to a parent, guardian or older relative that is responsible for the care and actions of the under 18 year old). The ratio for adult to child is classed as 1 adult can accompany 2 under 18’s at an event.

Tickets (check availability) £32.36 plus £1 booking fee Book now

East Kent Artists Open Houses 2025

11th October – 26th October

A house and studio-based Artists’ Trail, spread over 3 weekends in October, across Margate, Broadstairs, and Ramsgate

Thanet Houses open 11am – 5pm over these weekends:

11th -12th October

18th -19th October

25th -26th October

Now in its 25th year, EKOH has gone from strength to strength with more artists than ever – now over 250 artists spread over 80 houses and studios across East Kent.

The artists’ trail gives the public a personal insight into how an artist works within their specialised field. It opens up a wealth of information and interest to pave the way for making new contacts and discovering opportunities for anyone interested in taking up new fields of creativity. 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.

All houses are open all weekends unless otherwise stated.

Margate Artists’ Open Houses

Broadstairs Artists’ Open Houses

​Ramsgate Artists’ Open Houses

DRUM

11th October, 7.30pm, ARK – Cliftonville Cultural Space

As the afternoon sun hits BBC Broadcasting House in London, photographer James Barnor meets broadcaster Mike Eghan for the very first time. Thrown together by lives built far from home, the two rising Ghanaian creatives must manoeuvre through their perception of identity, success, assimilation and home.

This joyful and poignant fiction fuses storytelling, music and dance with archival material to capture a unique snapshot of London in the swinging sixties.

General admission: £14 + booking fee / Concession: £10 + booking fee Book now

Tom Thumb, Boogie Night!

11th October, 7.30pm, Tom Thumb Theatre Cliftonville

Tom Thumb will be transformed into a Studio 54-style palace for one night only!

Expect a sparkly glitterball, Lava lamps, beaded and foil curtains, 70’s style food and cocktails, and VIP haven area on each floor.

Dig out your platforms, sparkle up that afro, and dress to impress.

The original and ultimate DJ Cripsy will transport you back by spinning all the best disco tunes.

From £15 Book now

Maximum Joy

11th October, 7pm, Margate Arts Club

Fundraiser for Arts in Ramsgate & the Amra Family in Gaza, at Margate Arts Club

A proportion of funds raised will support Arts in Ramsgate and all proceeds will be managed by the registered CIC: 15907695

Arts in Ramsgate will also fundraise for the Amra family in Gaza who they have been supporting since a fundraiser at the beginning of 2025. They aim to help them avoid needing to go to deadly official aid points by collecting and sending direct donations for food, clean water, wood for cooking, and nappies for their babies, Hoor and Habiba.

Pay what you can, suggested donation £10 (no one turned away for lack of funds) Book now

Walpole Bay: Seaweed and their Secrets

11th October, 9am – 11am. MEET: On the beach, on the east side of the tidal swimming pool at Walpole Bay, Cliftonville, Margate, Kent (below the lower promenade car park)

A great opportunity to find out all that you ever want to know about seaweed!

This walk & talk is led by seaweed expert Ian Tittley from the Natural History Museum and Kent Field Club.

Thanet Coast’s chalk reef provides the perfect substrate for different algae communities within the designated North East Kent Marine Protected Area. Join this walk through rockpools and on the chalk reef to discover seaweed, their uses and properties on this outdoor talk.

These walks are suitable for people of 14 years and above, and last for about 2 hours walking over the rough terrain on the beach and rocky shore. Please wear footwear suitable for the sand and rocky beach/rock pools – such as Wellington Boots; and wear clothing to suit the coastal weather condition on the day (raincoat/windproof – for rain/wind; layers to keep warm, if it is cold; or suntan lotion/hat/cover up to avoid sunburn, if sunny!)

Suggested online donation of £5pp. https://www.thanetcoast.org.uk/events-and-activities/

UK Bookshop Day + Wiska Wildflower Book Clubs

11th October, The Happy Reading Children’s Bookshop Broadstairs

Session 1: 10am – 10.45am

Session 2: 11am – 11.45am

Session 3: 1pm – 1.45pm

Join Nicci and Inky Willis AKA Kate Willis-Crowley at Happy Reading Children’s Bookshop in Reading Street, Broadstairs, above the STAPLE cafe for a ‘Wiska Wildflower’ read along and creative book-based activities session to celebrate the Isadora Moon author/illustrator, Harriet Mucaster’s brand new series for young readers. They absolutely love anything from the world of Harriet Muncaster!

Told in diary format and packed with beautiful full-colour illustrations, this is the enchanting story of Wiska Wildflower and her search for friendship at Inkcap’s Academy – her new school.

Wiska Wildflower is relieved when she makes friends with Cleobelle and Primrose on her first day at Inkcap’s Academy. They love Wiska’s drawings and ask her to help them design matching outfits for a special fashion show in Spellbrooke City.

But the more Wiska gets to know her new friends, the more she feels she must hide her true self and follow their rules. Can Wiska find the bravery she needs to get her creative spark back and discover true friendship?

Each £5 ticket includes a paperback copy of ‘The Diary of Wiska Wildflower: The New School’ by Harriet Muncaster (Oxford University Press) to take home and treasure!

Suitable for children aged 7+

Tickets £5 Book now

Book Presentation & Signing: Richard Savin

11th October, noon to 5pm, Westgate Galleria

In the revamped Book Corner there will be a special meet & greet with acclaimed local author Richard Savin.

Richard’s remarkable career has taken him from journalism and broadcasting with the BBC, to running three London restaurants, to becoming the author of 21 novels, best-selling memoirs, and gripping short stories. His travel memoir Turn Left at Istanbul even hit #1 on Amazon in 2020!

Fans of cosy crime will especially love his Walpole Bay Hotel Mysteries, set in 1914 Margate — which follow the exploits of two irascible ladies of a certain age as they solve a few murders – in between cocktails, lunching, and not a little shopping. Excitingly, the series is now in development for a TV pilot.

Whether you’re a keen reader, an aspiring writer, or simply curious to meet one of our most talented local authors, this is a wonderful opportunity to hear more about Richard’s work — including the new family saga he’s working on now.

Margate Bookie

Margate Bookie Big Weekend 11th – 12th October… The heart of the Margate Bookie festival – a packed weekend of talks and workshops at the Turner Contemporary and The Margate School. Speakers include Jay Rayner, The School of Life, David Whitehouse, GD Wright, Adam Weymouth, Jacqueline Crooks, Xiaolu Guo, Raymond Antrobus, Victoria Adukwei Bulley and many more.

Children’s Bookie 11th – 12th October… Two days of events for children aged 3-11, with readings, activities, and more. Speakers include Dave Pigeon illustrator Sheena Dempsey, Lockett & Wilde author Lucy Strange, The Dinosaur the Pooped illustrator Garry Parsons, and Margate’s own Crab Museum.

For full details of the festival including timings and tickets, visit www.margatebookie.com

Broadstairs Farmers Market

12th October, 10am to 1pm, Bleak House Broadstairs

Local produce, artisan bakes, rolled ice cream, sunshine, family friendly, dogs welcome!

Radiohead X Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror

12th October, 7pm, The Palace Cinema Broadstairs

Pairing iconic British alternative-rock band Radiohead’s music with the iconic silent film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922).

An unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Nosferatu (1922) is the quintessential silent vampire film, crafted by legendary German director F. W. Murnau. Rather than depicting Dracula as a shape-shifting monster or debonair gentleman, Murnau’s Graf Orlok (as portrayed by Max Schreck) is a nightmarish, spidery creature of bulbous head and taloned claws – perhaps the most genuinely disturbing incarnation of vampirism yet envisioned.

They’ve shown Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror with a live piano accompaniment before but this imaginative experience, featuring Radiohead’s Kid A (2000) and Amnesiac (2001) albums, promises something very different – and equally chilling.

Adult £10.00
Child £4.00
Adult (Concession) £9.00
Carer (CEA Card) £10.00

Book now

Uncover to Recover: Restart a Heart Month Campaign Stunt

Sunday 12th October, 11am-12:30pm. Margate Main Sands

To bring attention to the gender disparity in cardiac arrest survival rates during Restart a Heart Month (October 2025), join members of East Kent Federation WIs to perform a striking awareness demonstration for the Bystanders Can Be Lifesavers campaign.

At low tide on Margate Main Sands, WI members will be forming a large heart shape while wearing bras over their clothing, which will be captured via drone photography from above. This visual statement aims to draw media and public attention to a critical issue: in public cardiac arrest incidents, women are significantly less likely to receive bystander CPR than men.

Floating Frequencies Multi-instrumental Sound Bath

October 12, 5.30pm, St George’s Church Ramsgate

An immersive evening of sound designed to carry you into deep rest & relaxation. Surrounded by the serene architecture and acoustics of St George’s Church, you’ll be guided through a sound journey featuring a rich tapestry of instruments, from a gong and crystal quartz singing bowls to chimes, a shruti, framed drums and more.

This session is the perfect way to close your weekend, leaving you deeply rested, balanced, and restored for the week ahead.

Eleanor draws on a diverse background in Ayurveda, breathwork, sound, energy and colour therapy. She has trained at the College of Naturopathic Medicine and Ayurveda Institute UK. In the field of sound, Eleanor has trained with Sound Healing Bali, and with the world-leading Tama-Do Academy, founded by Fabien Maman, a pioneer in sound and vibrational therapy.

No experience is needed. This session is open to all.
Cushioned mats and eye pillows are provided.
Please bring a warm blanket or sleeping bag, cushion for your head, and anything else you need to be comfortable and warm lying down.
Please avoid eating up to two hours before the session – this allows your body to be in a fully rested state – however if necessary please keep it light.

https://www.eleanoryankah.com/events

Art Party

October 12, 3pm, The Orchid Room 236 Northdown Road, Cliftonville

Sip, chat and enjoy the work of Chris Vervain, an artist inspired by her passion for dance