One of the biggest annual celebrations in the county is the English Festival in Medway.

The free day out for the whole family celebrates our patron saint with the most iconic and ironic English traditions, including an appearance by St George.

Riverside Country Park at Rainham will transform into a trio of exciting zoned areas for the annual festival, to be held between 11am and 5pm on Saturday, April 23. There will be a countryside experience zone where baby farm animals will be ready for snuggles in cuddle corner, as well as sheepdog and duck- herding displays.

A seaside area will offer the chance to sit back and relax on the sandy beach with fish and chips. There will also be bingo, donkey rides and crazy golf.

The third zone is the village square, where there will be plenty of goods to buy. And while the adults have a leisurely browse, children can hop aboard the little red bus for a journey around the park.

Also at the event, the Canterbury Shakespeare Festival will be performing extracts from Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummers Night’s Dream.

Parking at Riverside Country Park is limited, so to avoid being caught in traffic it’s best to take advantage of the park-and-ride service from Dockside Outlet Centre, which will run all day and cost £1 return.

Or try the park-and-walk from Bloors Wharf (at the bottom of Bloors Lane) and take a riverside stroll to the park. Parking on site is £3.

More details at www.visitmedway.org

Make a song and dance about St George

William Shakespeare did it. Jane Austen did, too. So why don’t you? Celebrate St George’s Day with some quintessentially English barn dancing, that is.

On the day itself – Saturday, April 23 – between 8pm and 11pm in Hothfield village hall, near Ashford, there will be a barn dance organised by John and Karen Sweeney, who run regular dances and teach dance.

John said: “Dancing has given us incredible pleasure and we want to bring that same joy to lots more people through these great social dances. You don’t have to bring a partner as the idea is to change partners for every dance. It’s a great way to have lots of fun and make new friends.”

Dosido, circle, star, gallop down the hall and swing your partner – there aren’t many moves to learn.

For details call 01233 625362 or visit contrafusion.co.uk

Castle capers

Relive the story of George and the dragon with the sights, smells and sounds of a medieval village at Dover Castle this weekend.

Watch a medieval knights’ horse show and see St George do battle against the dastardly dragon on Saturday, April 23, and Sunday, April 24.

For details go to english-heritage.org.uk

Fun in Folkestone

Folkestone’s going all out to mark St George’s Day. From 11am Scouts, Cubs, Beavers and other youth groups will be parading through the town on Saturday, April 23. They will leave from the town centre and head to Leas Cliff Hall, where there will be fun activities in and around the venue.

At 3.30pm, doors open for a Strictly Come Dancing competition, which will be followed by live music and entertainment.

Entry to the Strictly competition costs £5 per person, or it’s £30 for the entertainment, three-course meal and a drink. For details, visit folkestonefestivals.org

Doing it in Dartford

Street entertainment, music and dance performances will all be laid on in Dartford for the annual celebration.

This year’s activities start on Friday, April 22, with morris dancing and brass bands, followed by a parade by local schools in the High Street, at which the flag of St George will be raised.

On Saturday, April 23, there will be entertainment in the High Street between 11am and 1pm from Premier Brass Band, when crowds can meet and greet St George.

Merriment in Maidstone

Maidstone will be awash with patriotic performances for the patron saint’s day.
Yarn bombers will have knitted feisty fiery dragons in Jubilee Square, where there will also be baton-twirling morris men, clog dancers, traditional music and folk rock through the afternoon this Saturday.

The programme gets under way at noon with live music from the Maidstone band Fate the Juggler and the Sally Ironmonger Trio.

The Black Lion Courtiers, a five-piece indie folk band from Rochester, will be on stage from 2.20pm, followed by Medway folk band Larkspur at 3.30pm.

The Royal Albion in St Faith’s Street will have the Legendary Skynflynt Big Band playing at 2pm al fresco, with the pub putting on a pie-and-mash menu.

There will be magic shows for youngsters at 2.15pm and 3.15pm at D’Lishious in Market Buildings and Maidstone Museum is running a children’s craft workshop to make a dragon. Plus there will be free face-painting for under-12s in Jubilee Square and Fremlin Walk.
Other entertainment includes street theatre and morris dancing from the Kettle Bridge Clogs, Kits Coty Morris and Vixen Morris in Jubilee Square, Earl Street and Fremlin Walk.

Festivities and food

An all-you-can-eat buffet and plays performed by the Phoenix Players will be part of the St George’s Day celebrations at the Phoenix Tavern, Faversham. The pub, which has raised more than £15,000 for charity, will be staging the day on Saturday, April 23, at 6pm, which includes a buffet from 5.30pm. It will be in aid of two charities, Crohn’s and Colitis UK, and the Redwood Rescue and Rehome. For details, call 01795 591462 or visit phoenixtavernfaversham.co.uk

Even the food is going to be themed for St George’s Day in Maidstone on Saturday, April 23. In keeping with the free festivities happpenings in the town centre, the Living Cafe, Museum Cafe and Art Lounge in Market Buildings will have offers on cream teas – plus red, white and blue cupcakes, specially for the day.

Celebrate St George’s Day in style with a specially-created six course tasting menu devoted to all things English. On Saturday, April 23, Faversham’s Red Sails Restaurant in Conduit Street will be offering a menu which includes their take on classics Devils on Horseback, smoked salmon and fillet of beef, as well as a few surprises. There’s also a matching drinks menu – one for each course – with many coming from Kentish winery, Chapel Down. The menu costs £55 a head, £85 with drinks. Tables are available to book between 7pm and 9pm. Call 01795 533535 to reserve.

Bottoms up! Shakespeare celebrations