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The best food and drink festivals coming to Kent in 2024

By: Sam Lawrie slawrie@thekmgroup.co.uk

Published: 05:00, 26 February 2024

Updated: 15:11, 27 February 2024

Grab your knife and fork and get ready for Kent’s scrumptious food and drink festivals.

Whether you want to sample some of the county’s best beers or indulge in treats from across the globe, we’ve got plenty of feast-ivals for you to tuck into this year…

Kent’s 2024 calendar is brimming with tasty food and drink festivals. Picture: Supplied by Foodies Festival

Bexley Beer Festival

This beer festival is celebrating its 17th birthday this year with more than 100 different beers and ciders. It’s organised by CAMRA, a group of volunteers who promote real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs, and will offer up some of the country’s best drinks, from traditional stouts to crisp pale ales.

Details: Thursday, May 9 to Saturday, May 11 at the Dartfordians Community Sports Club in Bexley. Festival is free to CAMRA members and £3 on the door for non-members.

The Broadstairs Food Festival takes place twice a year – once in the spring and once in the autumn. Picture: Alan Langley

Broadstairs Food Festival

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This annual seaside food festival returns to the cliffs above Broadstairs beach for the Easter weekend. This year, the programme is jam-packed with workshops and demonstrations, including cheese and wine pairings, sushi making and growing your own potted plants. There will also be stalls selling local produce and street food, including Dunk Cookies, Kent Cider, Radburger and the Vegan Habit.

Details: Good Friday to Easter Sunday at Victoria Gardens in Broadstairs. There will also be an autumn festival from Friday, September 27 to Sunday, September 29. Festival is free to enter.

Canterbury’s Cooking is set to return to Dane John Gardens this autumn

Canterbury’s Cooking

After launching last year, the Canterbury’s Cooking food festival is set to return this September. The event had a family focus last year, with children’s entertainment and workshops, as well as chilli eating competitions, live music, comedy and a food and craft market, so visitors can expect something similar this year.

Details: Friday, September 20 to Sunday, September 22 at Dane John Gardens in Canterbury. Ticket information is yet to be confirmed, but last year the festival was free to enter.

The Canterbury Wine Festival will return in May 2024 with more than 45 wines to sample. Picture: Canterbury Wine Festival / Carlos Dominguez

Canterbury Wine Festival

With more than 45 different wines to try from all over Kent, this festival is certainly a good reason to raise a glass. The festival, which has attracted more than 400 visitors in past years, also offers a 45-minute wine-tasting masterclass, a chance to meet the county’s top wine producers and bottles that are available to buy and take home.

Details: Friday, May 17 and Saturday, May 18 at Westgate Hall in Canterbury. Tickets can be booked online here.

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Deal Food and Drink Festival

Now in its ninth year, the Deal Food and Drink Festival is a free community event that brings together local businesses and residents of the seaside town. There will be a beach bar serving up summer drinks, a street food court where you can get your hands on quick bites, a music stage, fairground rides and children’s entertainment.

Details: Thursday, August 29 to Sunday, September 1 at Deal Castle. Festival is free to enter.

Folkestone Food and Drink Festival

This brand new festival will make its debut this summer, bringing with it a wealth of delicious food and drink. There will be a huge pop-up market filled with food trucks and local vendors, an al fresco dining area, live cooking demonstrations and food competitions, as well as lots of entertainment for the whole family, from music to fairground rides.

Details: Friday, July 12 to Sunday, July 14 at Radnor Park in Folkestone. Ticket information is yet to be confirmed.

MasterChef winner Tom Rhodes is one of the guest chefs appearing at Foodies Festival. Picture: Supplied by Foodies Festival

Foodies Festival, Tunbridge Wells

Feast your way around the dessert theatre, BBQ fire pit and pop-up food market at this year’s Foodies Festival. The touring festival, which recently announced it will be returning to a new venue in Kent this summer, brings with it a roster of top chefs including MasterChef champion Thom Rhodes and Thackeray’s head chef Patrick Hill who will be leading live demonstrations. There will also be live music from ‘90s popstar Peter Andre and disco group Sister Sledge.

Details: Friday, July 5 to Sunday, July 7 at Dunorlan Park in Tunbridge Wells. Tickets can be booked online here.

Faversham’s Hop Festival is one of the county’s biggest free festivals. Picture: Martin Apps

Hop Festival, Faversham

Kent’s biggest beer festival is set to take over the town once again this year, with another weekend of bands and booze lined up for the end of the summer. There will be pop-up bars from local brewers and cider producers, as well as lots of tipples from Faversham’s Shepherd Neame brewery and plenty of pubs to visit. There will also be countless food stalls across the market town and a stacked programme of bands, from up-and-coming singer-songwriters to fist-pumping rock bands and sing-along tribute acts.

Details: Saturday, August 31 and Sunday, September 1 in Faversham town centre. Festival is free to enter.

Iron Pier Spring Beer Festival, Gravesend

With beers from Iron Pier and other local breweries, this spring festival is a great way to try out some of Kent’s best pints. There will be 20 casks and 16 kegs available, along with different food trucks each day to help soak up the drink.

Details: Friday, May 3 to Sunday, May 5 at the Iron Pier Brewery in Gravesend. Festival is free to enter.

Kent Food Fest, Sevenoaks

It’s in the name, so visitors to this summer festival can expect a hearty helping of delicious eats. There will be a farmers market, gourmet street food, global cuisine, award-winning beers, spirits and wines and cake-making classes for the kids across the two days. There’s also a busy programme of entertainment lined up, including a classic car show, tribute acts, a well-being village, a local art exhibition and circus performers.

Details: Saturday, June 15 and Sunday, June 16 at Little Elses in Sevenoaks. Tickets can be booked online here.

You don't need to visit Germany to celebrate Oktoberfest – it’s right here in Kent

Oktoberfest, Maidstone

Tuck into a Bavarian sausage and raise a stein or two as this German beer festival returns. There will be authentic food, such as bratwurst, and beir for punters to enjoy during their session, which is a nod to the annual festival in Munich. Not only will there be great food and drink, there’s also Oompah music, tribute bands and live DJs.

Details: Saturday, September 28 at Mote Park in Maidstone. Tickets can be booked online here.

Rochester Castle hosted the first Medway Food and Drink Festival last year

Medway Food and Drink Festival

Another festival that made a name for itself last year was the Medway Food and Drink Festival, which launched in the grounds of the historic Rochester Castle last June. The mouth-watering event is back this summer for another weekend of local produce, hot food, beer and cocktail bars and live entertainment, including live music and street performers.

Details: Friday, June 7 to Sunday, June 9 at Rochester Castle. Tickets can be booked online here.

Scouting For Girls will headline the Thanet and Tunbridge Wells dates of this year’s Sausage and Cider Festival. Picture: Jasmine Marceau

Sausage and Cider Festival, Birchington-on-Sea

This festival has been touring the country for a few years now, but it's finally making its debut in Thanet this July. With a host of tasty street food on offer including, of course, sausages and more than 30 ciders to sample, there’s plenty to keep you fuelled throughout the day. You’ll need your energy, too, as the festival boasts a line-up of high-energy tribute bands, a floor-filling silent disco and a headline set from pop rock band Scouting For Girls.

Details: Saturday, July 27 at Quex Park in Birchington-on-Sea. The festival will also be at Dunorlan Park in Tunbridge Wells on Saturday, June 15. Tickets can be booked online here.

Shivering Sands Easter Beer Festival, Ramsgate

Toast the Easter weekend with a drink from two of Kent’s independent breweries. The festival will start at the Shivering Sands Brewery and, once you’ve given those beers a taste test, you can hop on a free shuttle bus to the nearby Gadds at the Ramsgate Brewery and sup a few more pints there.

Details: Good Friday and Saturday, March 30 at Shivering Sands Brewery in Manston, near Ramsgate. Ticket information is yet to be confirmed.

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