Hello, BOTI gang. Did you miss us last week? Don’t answer that. We’re back with a bumper edition of good stuff, kicking off with the return of Brighton Cocktail Festival – aka the perfect excuse to discover more of the city’s best bars. It’s a food and drink lovers’ weekend (when is it not?), with Riddle & Finns throwing a big 20th birthday bash, a Latin American taco-fuelled party over in Roedean, free coffee with a side of sea swim up for grabs and a whole weekend devoted to all things mushroom (more on that here). And that’s just for starters. Tl;dr, there’s tonnes to get stuck into as we see out the end of summer.
BOTI’S BEST BITS
Drink your way around Brighton’s best bars over Brighton Cocktail Festival
If you do just one thing this weekend, make it this. Brighton Cocktail Festival is back for the second year and it’s bigger and better than ever. We did some important research ahead of the start – namely, drinking cocktails and let us tell you, there are some seriously good drinks to be had. It all kicks off on Friday, with 52 Brighton & Hove bars each creating three special serves for ticket holders, from Ukrainian-inspired cocktails at Bar Medusa to a dangerously drinkable Malteser-in-a-glass at The Grand. Your £20 ticket unlocks £6 cocktails and £4 alcohol-free serves for ten days, plus there’s a whole programme of masterclasses, parties, pairing dinners and more. Want to see our favourites from the preview tour and find out more about what to expect? Read our full preview here.
From Friday; £20
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Celebrate 20 years of Riddle & Finns
Riddle & Finns is turning 20 and just a cake was never going to cut it. The Brighton seafood institution is going all out with a suitably indulgent takeover Wagner Hall for its all-day birthday bash. It’s bringing back its much-loved seafood boil alongside fresh oysters, fish tacos, a champagne bar, plus live music, close-up magic and circus acts. The soundtrack runs into the night too, with DJ sets including Brighton’s Andy Mac. They were never one to do things by halves and we love that.
Sat; 1pm – 11.30pm; from £10 (the seafood boil is £50)
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Nose around Brighton’s history
Heritage Open Days is heading into its final weekend, with a load of free ways to explore the city’s past and get a peek behind usually closed doors. The Regency Town House is a particularly good place to start, with an exhibition on Brighton’s forgotten doctors, historic costume displays and activities, plus talks on everything from Georgian and Victorian death rituals to Regency remedies. Elsewhere, you can explore the working lives behind Brighton Dome, follow Aubrey Beardsley’s Brighton, head beneath the station for a tour of Brighton Toy and Model Museum or join local historian Geoffrey Mead for walks around some of the city’s most interesting neighbourhoods. Everything’s free, although some events need booking and a few have already filled up.
Sat and Sun; various times and locations; free
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See out summer with a sundown soundtrack
A pretty walled garden, a late-summer sunset and five live acts sounds like a pretty excellent way to spend Saturday night. Melting Vinyl is taking over One Garden in Stanmer Park for the first Melting Sundown festival, with an End Of The Road festival-esque line-up spanning modern classical, folk, ambient electronica and cinematic indie from Pillow, Bella Spinks, Jo Burke, Fred Hills and Sophie Sirota. There’s an outdoor bar too, so it’s the perfect spot to grab a drink and settle in as the sun goes down.
Sat; from 6pm; from £22
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Get stitching at a new embroidery studio
Brighton Open Market is getting a little more crafty this weekend as Tamara Carlier, aka The Hoop in Hand is opening the doors to her brand-new embroidery studio. Head upstairs to Studio 3 on Saturday and you can have a go at embroidery, meet fellow stitchers and get a first look at the workshops that’ll be running from the new space. There’s 15 percent off workshop bookings at the launch too, so if you’ve been bitten by the back-to-school bug and need a new hobby, now’s your chance.
Sat; midday – 5pm; free
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(FROM) FRIDAY
Refresh your wardrobe for autumn
Summer’s barely out the door and the autumn wardrobe temptation has already begun. One of BOTI’s favourite shopping spots Secret Store Pop Up is back at Sutherland & Sadler in Hove this weekend, launching its new-season edit of preloved designer fashion alongside more preloved goodies from Circle Boutique and Emma Stanton’s gorgeous boho-chic ethical jewellery. There’ll also be gifts and homeware to browse, but be warned, we know from past experience that the wares are seriously tempting, so you have been warned if you want to hold onto your money.
Fri and Sat; 10am – 5pm; free
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Give your Friday night to Offie Mag
Brighton’s Off Licence Magazine has a refreshingly simple formula for its monthly party: a small club, a good soundsystem and DJs playing whatever deserves to be danced to. Offie Mag Social is back at Alphabet’s crow’s nest on Friday, moving through funk, soul, house, disco, electro, footwork and jazz without getting too precious about genres. These nights sell out for good reason and this is your final chance to catch one for six weeks, before it reappears for Halloween, so don’t hang around if you’re up for a Friday night of dancing to great music.
Fri; from 10.30pm; from £11.50
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Get angry at The Dance Space
“We Are Not Ugly, We Are Not Beautiful, We’re Angry!” is quite the starting point for a dance show. The words come from the women who disrupted the 1970 Miss World contest, and now the WomanEwer multi-disciplinary project is using them to explore beauty, clothes and the expectations still placed on women’s bodies through We Are Not Beautiful, a full-length dance production. It’s presented as part of Rough Cuts, which gives you an early look at new work while it’s still being made, with the chance to join the conversation afterwards.
Fri; 7pm; pay what you can – suggested donation is £5
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Rave beyond borders
How do you describe a band whose debut album bounces between psychedelic jazz, desert blues, Italian library music and Chicago post-rock? Probably best to stop trying and go hear them. Rave At Your Fictional Borders are bringing their hard-to-pin-down sound to The Rose Hill as part of their album tour. The international trio includes drummer and bassist Dave De Rose, whose CV includes playing with Moloko, Róisín Murphy, Mark Ronson and John Grant. This is one for the musically curious.
Fri; 7pm; from £8
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Say goodbye to R-Bar
It’s the end of an era for Brighton’s LGBTQ+ scene as R-Bar closes its doors for good this weekend. They’re going out properly though, with Cabaret of Queeriosities on Friday, queer DJs until late on Saturday and one final epic Lip Sync For Your Life All Stars on Sunday, hosted by Tayris Mongardi. A last chance for a drink, a dance and a very fond farewell to one of the city’s much-loved queer spaces. Plus, there’s 40 percent off drinks every day of their closing week.
Fri – Sun; various times
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Take a walk on Brighton’s witchy side
Turns out Brighton’s past gets considerably stranger once you start looking beyond the Pavilion. Strange Strolls’ Friday evening walking tour traces the city’s witchcraft, magic and occult history, taking in a ley-line nexus, stone circles, an alleged occult cult, the satanic panic and the first blue plaque to honour a witch. It starts outside The Walrus and covers around a mile, which seems a fairly manageable distance to travel into the supernatural.
Fri; 6pm – 7.40pm; from £10
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(FROM) SATURDAY
Knit yourself a chunky cardi
Knitting needles? Apparently optional. Cocoon&me is teaching you how to make an entire chunky cardigan using nothing but your fingers and some extremely squishy chenille yarn. Former knitwear designer Paula will take complete beginners through the process from first loop to finished, boxy cardi, so you’ll leave with something you can actually wear rather than an abandoned six-inch scarf. We’ve made a blanket before and can confirm it is extremely satisfying.
Sat; 11am – 5.30pm; £84
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Go on an indie bookshop crawl
Finally, a crawl where coming home with more books is positively encouraged. Bookshop Crawl UK is back in Brighton & Hove on Saturday, with the choice of joining a group for an afternoon of bookshop-hopping, recommendations and a refreshment stop, or going rogue with a self-guided kit. The latter includes a big list of participating bookshops, opening hours, insider info and an ID card unlocking special extras along the way. It’s basically your free pass to spend the day browsing and buying books in some of Brighton’s best.
Sat; 1pm – 4.30pm; £18
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Try Brighton’s newest Pilates studio for free
Curious about Strong Pilates but not quite curious enough to commit to a membership? The Australian fitness brand opens its new London Road studio this Saturday, with free community classes on Saturday and into next week giving Brighton its first chance to try the workout. Strong sits at the sweatier end of reformer Pilates, combining Pilates-style moves with strength and cardio for a higher-intensity workout. Saturday’s launch also has studio tours, refreshments and goodie bags, while Boost and Glow will be on site offering B12 and vitamin D injections and IV drips (book these in advance). Because apparently you can never have enough wellness.
Sat; 8am–2pm; free, classes must be booked in the app
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Breathe, dip, caffeinate
When your Saturday morning starts with breathwork on the beach, followed by a sea dip and a coffee, you know you’re a Brightonian. Middle Kid Club and Introscape Breathwork have teamed up at Sea Lanes for a beginner-friendly guided session designed to nudge you out of your comfort zone, with an optional swim afterwards and a coffee and friendly chat to warm back up. It’s going ahead come rain or shine, which feels particularly brave given we’re heading into late September.
Sat; 9.45am – 11.30am; £12
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Go rock-pooling against the clock
Your childhood rock-pooling skills finally have a competitive outlet. The Big Rock Pool Challenge at Ovingdean Beach sends teams off against the clock to find and identify as many marine species as they can, with equipment and expert help provided. Better still, everything you spot contributes data to marine biodiversity conservation, so getting invested in finding a tiny crab is actively encouraged.
Sat; 10am; free, but you need to sign up
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See summer out with tacos and Latin beats
Artcore Brighton and La Cantina are squeezing in one last garden party before summer officially clocks off. Old School Studios’ sculpture garden will be filled with Latin rhythms from 3pm, with DJs including Señor Smith (from Sonido Sabroso), live music from Buena Familia and supremely danceable headline act Pollito Boogaloo, plus tacos and cocktails from La Cantina.
Sat; 3pm – 11pm; from £5
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Go on a crawl with a difference
Forget pubs, this crawl comes with Renaissance polyphony. Brighton Early Music Festival’s Consort of Voices is spending Saturday popping up for free 20-minute performances in four churches, starting at St Paul’s on West Street before heading to Queen’s Park, Woodingdean and Rottingdean. Dip into one or make a day of it and follow them across the city. No booking, no tickets and a great way to experience something a little different ahead of the start of the festival proper on 2nd October.
Sat; 11am, 12.30pm, 2.15pm, 3.30pm; free
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Make up a Jane Austen novel
Jane Austen wrote six completed novels. Austentatious has managed rather more, mainly because it invents a brand-new one every night. The hit improv show lands for one night only at Theatre Royal Brighton on Saturday, with the cast taking a title suggested by the audience and turning it into an entirely improvised Austen-style story, complete with period costume and live music. Get ready for a night of romantic misunderstandings, ridiculous characters and very little idea where things are going to go or how they’re going to end.
Sat; 7.30pm; from £20
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Get ringside with wrestling’s Black Swan
You don’t need to know your piledriver from your powerbomb for this one (yes, we had to google those). British wrestling star Cara Noir is back in Brighton for the first time since 2020, swapping the ring for the Caroline of Brunswick for a rare out-of-character Q&A and watchalong. He’ll be talking about the making of his mute, ballet-inspired ‘Black Swan’ persona, his career and the creative side of wrestling, before revisiting his memorable Brighton match with PAC and other bouts from BritWres history. Wrestling as performance art? We’re officially intrigued.
Sat; 7.30pm – 10pm; from £13.70
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SUNDAY
Join Brighton’s biggest family bike ride
There’s something pretty joyful about seeing a load of kids take over the streets on bikes. Kidical Mass is back on Sunday, with colourful, fully stewarded family rides with music setting off from different parts of Brighton & Hove before joining forces for one final pedal to Stanmer Park. And the destination’s rather good too: you’ll roll straight into the annual Apple Day harvest celebration, with apple pressing, live music, food and more. Bells, flags and bike decorations are very much encouraged. Wholesome Sunday fun at its finest.
Sun; various pick-up points from 12.15pm; free
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Take a free dip and warm up with a free coffee
Cold-water swimming season never really ends in Brighton, does it? Chilly Dippers has teamed up with newly opened Blank Street for a free Sunday dip, starting at its East Street café before heading down to the sea en masse. Afterwards, it’s back to Blank Street for a free coffee or ice-cream, and a free towel among the goodies. There are only 40 places, so this one’s worth booking rather than deciding at 10.55am that a swim suddenly sounds like a good idea. And yes, we’ll still be supporting Brighton’s great indie spots, but a free coffee is a free coffee after all.,
Sun; 11am – midday; free, but you need to book
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Swing the night away
The days might be getting shorter, but there’s still time for an afternoon of live music in the open air. Down for the Count All-Stars are bringing the jazz clubs of the Swing Era to BOTI fave Brighton Open Air Theatre, with Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Glenn Miller instrumentals alongside songs made famous by Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole and Louis Armstrong. Add a picnic and you’ve got a pretty lovely way to squeeze a little more life out of outdoor season.
Sun; 2pm; from £26
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Tell a different Brighton story
Brighton’s full of stories that don’t make it onto blue plaques or into guidebooks. This creative Story Lab at Brighton Contemporary Art’s The Vault invites you to dig into one of them, using collage, image-making and conversation to explore a personal or overlooked side of the city. Start with a person, photograph, building, journey or memory, or just turn up with absolutely no idea and see where you end up. Achieving a polished masterpiece is not the aim of the game here. They’ve got a two-for-one offer on tickets at the moment, so grab a friend for the fun.
Sun; 2pm – 4pm; from £7.21
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GET OUTTA TOWN
Sauna, supper, sound
My Little Farm near Hassocks is seeing in the change of season with its first Sensory Dinner, and it’s quite the Saturday night set-up. There’s an optional session in the farm’s wood-fired sauna before a three-course dinner cooked over an open fire using seasonal farm veg, foraged mushrooms and wild fermentation. A live sound journey from Lisa-Marie, featuring handpan, guitar and other instruments, weaves through the evening too.
Sat; from 5pm; £81.96
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See summer out at BroadFest
Still refusing to admit summer is over? We get it. Technically you’ve got until Tuesday’s autumn equinox to ride it out. And over in Worthing, BroadFest is making a three-day argument in your favour. The free community festival takes over Broadwater Green from Friday to Sunday with two live stages, a DJ tent, street food, market stalls and a funfair. Friday kicks things off with an 80s party, Saturday’s go bands and DJs, and Sunday adds a reggae party to the mix. And it’s all totally free.
Fri – Sun; free
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