Enjoy traditional folk music in a traditional seaside town as Broadstairs Folk Week returns this August.

The week-long festival will showcase music from more than 400 artists and things to do around the town, with free outdoor stages, pub gigs and ticketed events all playing their part.

The much-loved music event made its post-Covid return last year, but on a much smaller scale than previous years. However, this summer the festival organisers plan on bringing back the full festival with a bang.

The line-up is vast and ranges from big names to up-and-coming artists.

Festival headliners include Lindisfarne, Show of Hands, the Longest Johns, the Spooky Men’s Chorale, Spiers and Boden, Sharon Shannon, the Magpie Arc and Tim Edey.

Greener artists such as Erin Mansfield, Loshn Klezmer Trio and Foot Down will be also performing to crowds of potential new fans.

While many visitors come to sing and dance the week away, there is also plenty to do when the musicians are off-stage tuning their instruments and warming up their vocal chords.

Faversham brewery Shepherd Neame have partnered with the festival and will have a bar next to the outdoor bandstand, overlooking the sea, where punters can sample their favourite local beers such as Whitstable Bay, Spitfire and Masterbrew.

Three of the town’s Shepherd Neame pubs will be taking part in Broadstairs Folk Week. The Royal Albion, the Neptunes Hall and the Wrotham Arms will all be hosting live music, as well as serving up pub food, drinks and a lively atmosphere.

“Folk Week itself keeps evolving, and so does what we do for it,” says the Wrotham Arms licensee Jackie Lawson. “We always do lots of live gigs. I love it! Folk Week has a great atmosphere, and it is so nice to see all the regular Folk Week followers returning each year.”

There will also be a full programme of dances and ceilidhs - traditional Irish or Scottish social gathering with music and dancing - at the Sarah Thorne theatre.

Throughout the week, visitors can take part in workshops covering English folk dance, featuring dance workshops in English Folk dance, Cajun dance and Appalachian clogging.

Elsewhere in the town, there will be plenty of activities to join in with, such as African dance, drumming and guitar workshops, ukulele lessons, sea shanties, poetry readings and the Band in a Weekend project where young people can bring along their instruments and start their own bands.

The colourful festival parade, which sees Morris dancers, entertainers and festival mascots skip through the High Street, also returns this year after being put on hold in 2021.

Just next door to the bandstand in the Victoria Gardens you will also find the music and crafts fair. The free fair will be home to stalls selling gifts, arts and crafts, vintage fashion and more.

Inside the fair, you will also find food and drink vendors, including the Pork and Co, the Great British Cheese Company, the Olive Hut, Granny Sally’s Fudge, the Sawley Kitchen and the Jack Hamilton bar, which is run by festival volunteers.

While in town, you can also stroll down to the sandy beach, take a break in any of Broadstairs’ seafront bars and restaurants, and visit the town’s independent shops.

Broadstairs Folk Week will be welcoming visitors from Friday, August 5 to Friday, August 12.

Entry to the festival, including the bandstand, fair and a number of pubs gigs is free, but some headline and indoor performances are ticketed.

For more information and the full festival programme, click here.