What’s on in Ramsgate – October 2026

Shortcuts for : Highlights | Halloween | Theatres & Cinemas | Hotels, Bars, Cafés | Community Hubs | Art Exhibitions | Shopping | Calendar | Maps

Ramsgate comes alive this October with a vibrant mix of art, music, food, and seasonal spookiness – headlined by the brand new, nine day Ramsgate Autumn Festival.

Highlights

The Art & Music highlights include the East Kent Artists’ Open Houses and the ‘Margate’ Rock Festival, which temporarily relocates to The Granville Theatre in Ramsgate.

The nine day Ramsgate Autumn Festival runs over Halloween, when the festivities kick into high gear with community events in Ellington Park and fancy dress events at local bars, including Silvers Showbar who are hosting two Halloween themed children’s events and the a Halloween themed 80s Party with Black Lace live on the 31st.

Another treat for the spooky season is the Halloween in concert celebration soundtracked by timeless classics like Thriller, Monster Mash, and The Time Warp at The Granville Theatre on the 29th of October.

Festival of Optimism

The Festival of Optimism is a Thanet wide event. Day 2 (2nd October) takes place in Ramsgate at Centenary Hall.

ℹ️ Click here for more information.

🎟️ Book here.

East Kent Artists’ Open Houses

East Kent Artists’ Open Houses (EKOH), is where local artists open their homes and studios to the public, offering a unique glimpse into their creative processes. The event runs over the following weekends 10th/11th, 17th/18th, 24th/25th October.

Artists taking part in EKOH and examples of their work.

📍Click here for location map.

Ramsgate Autumn Festival

The inaugural Ramsgate Autumn Festival runs from 23rd October to 1st November. It will take inspiration from the town itself : its Gothic architecture and Pugin heritage, literary connections, historic streets, underground spaces and, of course, the darker evenings of autumn.

Expect an eclectic programme of live music, literature and poetry, arts and culture, heritage, trails, talks, performances, workshops and special events, alongside plenty of opportunities to explore Ramsgate’s shops, cafés, pubs and restaurants.

– watch this space for more information

Margate Ramsgate Rock Festival

The 2026 Margate Rock Festival (MRF) takes place on Saturday 24 October. While it retains its original name, this year’s event temporarily moves to The Granville Theatre in Ramsgate. Festivities kick off early with a pre-festival event on Friday 23 October at Silvers Showbar.

Posters for some of the acts at the MRF.

Model Fest at the Museum

For trains, planes & automobile fans there’s a ‘model fest‘ event at the Manston History Museum on the 24th & 25th of October.

Scavenger Hunt & Beach Art

The Thanet Coastal Project is running a free Scavenger Hunt on 29 October (note : this is a date change, originally advertised for 22 October). The event takes place on Ramsgate Main Sands. Look out for shark and ray egg cases. There will also be beach art at the end of the event.

🎟️ Book here (booking opens in October).

🧟‍♀️🎃 Halloween 👻🦇

Discover a thrilling lineup of Halloween events and activities in Ramsgate. Swipe through the photo carousel below to see what is in store. There’s fancy dress parties, kids’ activities, a murder mystery at the San Clu, the Halloween Kids Disco and the Atomica Halloween Special at the Ramsgate Arts Club, the Kamperfest Halloween Camper Weekend at Manston Raceway Park, monster trucks and fireworks at Manston Airport and more…

Some of the Halloween events in Ramsgate.

Theatres, Musical Halls & Cinemas

The Ramsgate Music Hall is hosting several events this month to keep you entertained throughout October (see below). This month the events are at two locations :-

Ramsgate Music Hall

St George’s Church

Two Music Hall events will be held in St George’s Church.

The Granville Theatre

The Granville Theatre has the following events scheduled for October (including the temporary relocated Margate (now Ramsgate) Rock Festival :-

Ramsgate Community Cinema

Don’t forget to check out what’s on at the Ramsgate Community Cinema.

Hotels, Bars, Pubs, Cafés, Clubs and more

Local Hotels, Pubs, Bars and Cafés are hosting musical events and comedy events. Some events are being held in Ramsgate Clubs, check with them directly on their non members policy. The ‘October 2026 – Events in Ramsgate‘ map below provides event information, location and contact information.

Comedy & Cabaret clubs

There’s the Ramsgate Comedy Club (Chuckl.) at the Granville theatre, Wilson’s Comedy Club at the Queen’s Head and Vaults Comedy at the Ramsgate Arts Club. The Alley Bar also hosts cabaret acts and comedians.

Writing, poetry and book clubs

There are book clubs at The Bedford Inn, The Ramsgate Arts Club and the Perico Lounge and writing groups at the Artillery Arms and The Book Hotel at The Falstaff which also has a regular Friday Book & Bar nights where the Book Shop is open into the evening.

Chess clubs

The Ramsgate Chess Club meet upstairs in the function room at The Churchill Tavern, every Tuesday & Wednesday at 7:15pm and Dawnie’s Coffee Shop hosts Harry’s Chess Club every Saturday morning.

Quiz nights

There are regular quiz nights at The Book Hotel at The Falstaff , The Bellevue Tavern, The Churchill Tavern, the San Clu Hotel, Violets, The Royal Temple Yacht Club, the Honeysuckle Inn and the Perico Lounge and a monthly live music quiz at the Queens Head on the 8th of October.

Community Hubs


It’s also worth checking what’s happening at our Community Hubs. See Calendar below.

Art Exhibitions

Exhibitions this month at local Art Galleries, Pop-up Galleries and Hotels/Bars/Cafes with Gallery space include :-

For more information on Art Galleries in Ramsgate see Visit Ramsgate – Galleries and the Gallery Trail Map below.

There is also a Public Art Trail that can be used to explore Ramsgate :-

  • Click here for detailed information on the trail route.
  • Click here to go to the Public Art Trail Map below.

Shopping

Shopping events this month include :

Ramsgate also has an eclectic collection of shops scattered around the town. Click here for more information on the shops in Ramsgate. We also have a Retro Shopping Trail that’s a fun way to explore Ramsgate, see Retro Shopping Trail Map below.

We are Ramsgate – 20 for Ramsgate campaign

The ‘We are Ramsgate – 20 for Ramsgate‘ loyalty shopping campaign continues into October. Click here for details.

There’s always lots going on in Ramsgate.

For more information on events this month, download the Visit Ramsgate Monthly Events Calendar –

October’s What’s on Calendar

– Awaiting publication

More to Explore

Some events land in our inbox after the What’s on Calendar has gone to print so we’ll list them here to make sure you (and they!) don’t miss out!

Please note that events are subject to change, for the latest information see https:/www.facebook.com/VisitRamsgate and Event Organisers Social Media.

More Event information

Don’t Miss Ramsgate has a weekly news letter you can subscribe to for event information and Thanet Gigs provides a comprehensive Music Gigs listing that includes Ramsgate.

Visit Ramsgate Maps & Trails

Map operation

October 2026 – Events in Ramsgate

– To be updated. Several October events have yet to be announced.

Artists’ Open Houses

Gallery Trail

Public Art Trail

This Map provides the route for a self guided walk to view the Public Art in Ramsgate, the trail show where to find Sculptures, Murals and Installations (permanent and temporary). It also shows how you can incorporate the Ramsgate Raven Trail into the Public Art walk and highlights Ellington Park which contains several chainsaw carvings that use old tree stumps.

Ramsgate Retro Shopping Trail