Good evening, and welcome to this week’s On The Town. The use of the C-word in this newsletter may be upsetting for some, but I am afraid sometimes there is no avoiding it. Because, whether we like it or not, Christmas is coming and if you want to secure your spot at the best of the festive season’s entertainment it pays to get in there early.
That said, it feels like there is plenty of summer still to come—so if you have an event coming up in the next few weeks do let me know and I will endeavour to include it in a forthcoming what’s on round-up.
Looking ahead to Christmas at Quarterhouse
The highlight of the festive season at the Quarterhouse promises to be award-winning puppetry and visual theatre company Smoking Apples bringing A Christmas Carol to the stage. They will be imagining the world of Scrooge, Tiny Tim and the spirits of Christmas past, present and future in a way you’ve never seen it before, presenting a fresh spin on the classic work by Charles Dickens. The show will run from December 19 until Christmas Eve.
If you are the sort of person who is itching to fire up a festive playlist in November, then there’s a chance Christmas Rockaoke will be right up your street. Backed by the Joe Bulley Band, singers will have the chance to get up on stage on December 5 and belt out their favourite yuletide hits.
The little ones are not being forgotten, though. The next day, December 6, will see Mrs H and the Sing-a-Long Band stage their Christmas special, perfect family fun for the under-fives. And finally, on December 13 there will be a Royal Ballet & Opera live screening of Peter Wright’s production of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker.
BOOK NOW: Tickets for all these festive shows are on sale now. You can find full details of the Quarterhouse’s Christmas programme here.
Do you have an event in Folkestone you would like to promote in a forthcoming edition of the On The Town? Send details to us and we’ll help spread the word!
What’s on this week
🔊 The Orb ft. Lee Harris & Dom Beken will be performing Metallic Spheres at the Quarterhouse on Friday evening, August 28. Originally released in 2010, with a second chapter released in 2024, Metallic Spheres was a landmark collaboration between The Orb and David Gilmour, blending ambient electronics with the unmistakable tones and textures of the legendary Pink Floyd guitarist. Get your tickets for the show, which starts at 7pm, here.
🎆 Saturday night, August 29, brings the huge Big Summer Blow Out party at the Harbour Arm. There will be live music, free movie screenings and a fireworks display. Find out more about the celebrations here.
🎸 Folkestone-based singer-songwriter Lucy May Walker will be hosting her monthly writers round at the Music Workshop on Sunday, August 30, from 4-6pm. The event is inspired by the writers rounds of Nashville, which see a number of performers on stage at the same time, taking turns to play their songs and tell the stories behind them. These sessions have proved popular in the past, often selling out, so grab your ticket as soon as you can here.
🌭 The team at the Beer Shop will be hosting Hop Dogs: A Festival of Beer & Dawgs across the bank holiday weekend. They will be pouring six beers from across Europe and serving six delicious hot dogs, each inspired by the countries the beers have come from. It all kicks off on Friday, August 28.
🎞️ Films showing at Silver Screen Cinema this week include The Odyssey, The End of Oak Street and Toy Story 5. Full details of all this week’s screenings can be found here.
🎵 The Folkestone Festivals summer season of free live music continues at the Bandstand this weekend, with Pink Floyd tribute band On The Run playing on The Leas at 2.30pm on both Saturday, August 29, and Sunday, August 30.
🎞️ Cult 80s adventure movie The Goonies will be showing at the Harbour Arm on Friday, August 28, as part of this year’s free cinema programme. The 7pm screening is completely free to attend, you don’t need a ticket, and spaces are available on a first come, first served basis. You can find out more about this and other upcoming events at the Harbour Arm here.
Book now
🎙️ Comedian Phil Wang will be performing at the Leas Cliff Hall on March 6 next year. The comic—who you may recognise from one series of Taskmaster, one episode of Would I Lie to You, and one minute of Wonka—is touring his new show UH OH. You can get tickets for the Folkestone date here.
If you want us to tell the people of Folkestone about your forthcoming event, please drop an email with all the details to rhys@folkestonedispatch.com. Your regular weekly Dispatch will be with you on Wednesday morning.
In case you missed it…
🚣♀️ Venetian Fete prepares to take to the water
Good evening, and welcome to this week’s On The Town. Now, by and large, you can expect this Monday email to focus on what’s on in Folkestone, especially since there always seems to be so much happening in town. But occasionally we will throw the spotlight on events happening elsewhere in our corner of Kent, and that’s the case this week. Although those…