It’s the last bank holiday of the year until Christmas! Whether we’re blessed with a few last glorious days of summer or a preview of autumn, here’s how to make the most of it.
Bag yourself a free Innocent fruit cone
Feeling fruity? You will be. Smoothie supremos Innocent are heading down to the beach with their ‘ice-cream van with a twist’ this weekend. They’ll be handing out fresh fruit cones inspired by their smoothie recipes, as part of their mission to get more people eating fruit and veg. Each paper cone will be jam-packed with freshly diced fruit – the equivalent of what you’d get in three of Innocent’s little smoothies, apparently. Britain’s Best Home Cook, Eat Well for Less and Food: Truth or Scare presenter Chris Bavin and Innocent’s nutritionist Louisa Handley will handing out the goods and sharing fun facts and healthy snack ideas.
Saturday 24th August; 11am (and until they run out); free
Brighton i360, Lower Kings Road, Brighton, BN21 2LN
See the quirky artworks of this stand-up comedian
What do you get if you cross a comedian with an artist? No, not Vic Reeves, but Dylan Moran, apparently. We were totally unaware but the Black Books actor and stand-up has been sketching and painting all his life and often uses his images as backdrops for his shows. Together with artists Simon Thompson and Kiki Bond, he’ll be taking over seafront gallery Two Kats And A Cow for one week from Friday. He’ll be showing 250 original works – the first time his idiosyncratic sketches and paintings are being exhibited together and available to buy. And Dylan will be at the not-so-private private view on Saturday, too (6pm – 9pm)!
Saturday 24th August – Thursday 29th August; free
167 Kings Road, Brighton BN1 1NB
twokatsandacow.co.uk
Party at a lido
Here’s another joke-that’s-not-a-joke for you: when is a lido not just a lido? When it’s also a restaurant and a party palace, of course! (We know, we need to work on these.) Saltdean Lido has been going from strength to strength recently with the addition of the Deco restaurant and evening entertainment at the restored Grade II-listed venue. It’s their latest Lido Nights event this Saturday featuring live 80s music with a twist from Dolly and The Ravens, plus DJs playing funk, soul and disco. Have a swim, grab some light bites from the restaurant and a drink from the bar, and chill out/dance on the poolside terrace. Saturday sorted.
Saturday 24th August; 7pm – 11.30pm; £15
Saltdean Lido, The Oval Park, Saltdean Park Road, Saltdean, Brighton BN2 8SP
saltdeanlido.co.uk
Get stuck into a Greek feast
The Kemptown culinary couple behind Arissy Kitchen (Ari and Isy!) are leaving their residency at The Kemp on 30th August, but they’re going out with a Greek-feast bang this bank holiday. Known for bringing all the flavours of the Med to the table, their epic lunch spread this Monday is no exception. Think pork belly souvlaki, manouri, plenty of mezze and a BBQ in the suntrap garden (if there is sun, of course). Booking recommended – yamas!
Monday 26th August; midday – 4pm; dishes priced from £3
8 St George’s Road, Brighton BN2 1EB
kemp.pub
Help clean up the beach and get a free ice-cream
It’s not all about just quaffing beer over great views at Sea Lanes, you know – the site has teamed up with Leave No Trace to organise another beach clean this Sunday. As well as having the satisfaction of knowing you’re doing your bit to make our beaches nicer for everyone, you’ll also be rewarded with a free 99 ice-cream from the lovely Wood & Coal gang if you do a full cleaning shift. And as, weather willing, most of us will probably be spending a fair portion of this bank holiday at the beach, it only seems right to help stop it looking like the inside of a bin at the end of weekend. See you there?
Sunday 25th August; 9.30am; free; meet on the beach in front of Sea Lanes
Sea Lanes Brighton, 300 Madeira Drive, Brighton, BN2 1BX
Leave No Trace
Embrace your mod side
Mods, Mods we are Mods! Ok, we’re not, but it is the Brighton Mod Weekender this bank holiday so we’re getting into the spirit of things. Organisers New Untouchables have built up quite the rep with their guest club nights, energetic DJ sets and live gigs. Head to Volks for the daytime events (from midday), including a market selling records, clothes and memorabilia. Come evening time, the party carries on at Komedia and Patterns. But, of course, it’s the scooters and gear that make the event. They’re revving things up (see what we did there?) with a scooter rideout on Sunday between 1.30pm – 2pm, followed by the much-anticipated scooter competition from 3pm – 4pm outside Volks on Madeira Drive. It’s worth heading over just for the comp; if the last years are anything to go by, there are some seriously impressive rides out there.
Friday 25th – Monday 28th August; various times; from free
Various locations
newuntouchables.com
Have a quack at this summer fair
The Patcham Duck Fayre is back for 2024 with more stalls (and ducks) than ever. There’s an RSPCA-run dog show at 12.30pm for starters, with entries taken from midday. Not mad about dogs? There’s also everything you’d expect from a traditional summer fete (a tombola!), as well as fairground rides, retro gaming, a whole host of dance and music performances (including Marta Scott’s dancers who always bring the party), a family zone with free craft and circus skills workshops, face-painting and balloon-modelling, plus plenty of refreshments (Beelzebab and Cielo Cakery are just some of the traders). And yes, there’s a duck hunt – look out for the bright yellow quackers hiding in and around the stalls.
Sunday 25th August, 11am – 4.30pm; free
Patcham High and Junior School fields, Ladies’ Mile Rd, Brighton, BN1 8TA
patchamduckfayre.co.uk
Celebrate LGBTQIA+ winemakers
If you’re something of an oenophile or, um, just love wine, then you’ll want to check out the Queer Wine Club, an evening dedicated to celebrating LGBTQIA+ winemakers, tasting some of their fantastic wines and learning all about them. “Recovering restaurant industry diehard and wine nerd” Alex will be hosting a panel on all things vino with Beck of Haar Winery and Kristen from Off The Line Vineyard. They’ll also be collecting for BOBU – Back Off, Back Up – which trains hospitality venues to become safe spaces for the queer community.
Sunday 25th August; 6pm – 8pm; from £15 (includes complimentary charcuterie boards for the table)
Arcobaleno, 120 Saint George’s Road, Brighton, BN2 1EA
Get tickets
Nab a spot at this hot-ticket neighbourhood bar
One of the most sought-after seats in town right now is at Voya Brighton. Taking over what used to be Oseta Cafe, this cosy neighbourhood bar-restaurant is only open on two weekends each month. So as word of mouth continues to spread about its top-notch creative cocktails and food and buzzing atmosphere, it’s become almost as hard to book a table as it was to get Taylor Swift tickets. Having achieved that rare success of nailing food, drinks and the atmosphere, unsurprisingly, they’re almost totally sold out for this Friday and Saturday (there’s still space at 10pm and 10.30pm if you’re quick), But, luckily for us all, they always hold a few spots back for walk-ins. As well as a tight selection of superbly made cocktails (the smooth, rich Rum Bread – brown butter-washed eminente reserva rum, maple miso and marsala – is our current favourite) and a short menu of seriously moreish small plates (the mushroom birria and sweetcorn ribs with fermented habanero butter were both so good we reordered them twice), they also play a carefully curated selection of excellent tunes on an equally excellent sound system. Get there early for your best chance of getting a walk-in spot at this hidden gem while you still can!
Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th August; 5pm – 11pm (last order for kitchen at 10.30pm)
34 North Road, Brighton, BN1 1YB
Voya Brighton
See off summer in style at an intimate festival
If you want to make the most of what may be the last few days of summer, heading to a festival is always a good bet. And it doesn’t get much better than Neon in Nature, the boutique wellness and music festival set against the stunning backdrop of Great Ote Hall, a 13th-century Sussex manor just 20 minutes from Brighton. The super-intimate festival (numbers are capped at 400) brings together the best of music, wellness, and sustainability for a weekend that’s as feel-good as it gets. But this isn’t your average festival. The volunteer-run event is all about making a difference, with every penny of the proceeds going to incredible global causes. Imagine a festival where you can kick off the day with a yoga class, dive into a cold plunge, unwind in a hot tub, and then groove to live and electronic music under the stars. And that’s just the beginning. There’s also a swimming pool to dip into, climate and social justice talks to get inspired by, daily dress-up themes, and enough good vibes to keep you buzzing all weekend.
Friday 23rd August – Monday 26th August; weekend tickets from £136.14; day passes and glamping packages are also available
Great Ote Hall, Janes Lane, Burgess Hill, RH15 0SR
Neon in Nature
Get outta town: East Preston
This lesser-known spot wedged between Worthing and Littlehampton is worth a trip for its beaches (there are huge expanses of low-tide magic every day) alone, but this weekend, it’s also playing host to a food and drink festival on the village green. Stock up on goodies from local traders, such as Worthing’s Summit Tasty who are there with their loaded fries, and Cat Burglar Dough Co, for, um, starters. But don’t miss that trip to the beach or a gawp at the multi-million-pound houses that stud the private roads around it. It’s about 40 minutes by car or train (to Angmering, then a 20-minute walk) or if you’ve got an hour and a half to kill, the 700 bus takes you all the way there.
Saturday 24th August; midday – 5pm; free
East Preston Village Green, East Preston, BN16 1NP
More information
Need more?
What else? On Saturday, there’s a cake, book and plant fundraiser for the Hanover Homeless Project (12.30pm – 4pm; free), while fans of illustration will want to head over to this artwork and print sale in a cute Hove mews (11am – 4pm) where you’ll be able to browse and buy works from Lucy Sherston, Yuk Fun, and more, plus get a live portrait from Lucky Frog Studio. History buffs might fancy a trip to Arundel Castle for the three-day Festival of History (Saturday – Monday; from £15) that allows you to get hands-on with medieval matters, from crafting to age-old battle tactics like axe-throwing. For gorgeous bird’s eye views over Brighton by sunset, cocktails and a surprisingly intimate experience (much more so than similar higher-priced events in London), check out Seascape, the i360’s theatrical cocktail bar (Friday and Saturday; ticket price includes a cocktail; 7.30pm; from £20.50).
If you’re still reading, hello, thank you, we love you! Don’t forget to sign up to our newsletter (below) for all our best bits and first dibs on exclusive competitions.
Photo credits: Dominic Alves (Mods)
Recent Comments