Editing Folkestone (section)

==Culture==
Folkestone has been home to many galleries over the years. The long-established Metropole Galleries, located in the one-time Metropole Hotel on the Leas, staged year round exhibitions until it closed in 2008. Its place has been largely taken by the Creative Foundation. The Foundation has opened a medium scale theatre, conference and music venue in the heart of the Creative Quarter named Quarterhouse.<ref>[http://www.quarterhouse.co.uk/ Quarterhouse] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523101857/http://quarterhouse.co.uk/ |date=23 May 2013 }}. Quarterhouse. Retrieved 17 July 2013.</ref> It offers a year-round programme of live music, comedy, film, talks, theatre and children's entertainment. George's House Gallery and Googie's Art Cafe hold frequent exhibitions by local artists and the Folkestone Art Society, established in 1928, holds three annual art exhibitions and publishes an annual art review of work by local artists. [[Leas Cliff Hall]] is the biggest entertainment and function venue in Folkestone with a large choice of concerts, comedy and theatre. An earlier venue the [[Pleasure Gardens Theatre]] opened in 1886, later converting into a cinema before closing in 1964.

The first [[Folkestone Triennial]] art event took place between June and September 2008 with artists such as [[Christian Boltanski]] and [[Tracey Emin]] making site specific work for a wide variety of locations around the town. Many of the commissioned works remain permanently in the town.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://folkestonetriennial.org.uk/past-years/2008/intro/ |title=Folkestone Triennial 2008 |access-date=6 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100926151016/http://folkestonetriennial.org.uk/past-years/2008/intro/ |archive-date=26 September 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The 2011 Triennial 'A Million Miles From Home' was launched on 24 September 2010 and commissioned 19 international artists to develop new works for Folkestone's streets, squares, beaches and historic buildings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://folkestonetriennial.org.uk/ |title=Folkestone Triennial |access-date=6 April 2011 |archive-date=21 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521114011/http://www.folkestonetriennial.org.uk/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Folkestone has an annual Chamber Music Festival each May curated by the [[Sacconi Quartet]]. The festival is based in the town's 13th century Parish Church of St Mary and St Eanswythe in the Bayle and comprises concerts of chamber and ensemble music with guest performers. The church also hosts a series of Sunday afternoon concerts under the auspices of Bayle Music presenting local, national and international performers as well as occasional concerts by visiting choirs and ensembles. Folkestone New Music promotes concerts of contemporary music<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.folkestonenewmusic.com/ |title=FOLKESTONE NEW MUSIC |website=FOLKESTONE NEW MUSIC |access-date=6 July 2019 |archive-date=6 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190706104027/https://www.folkestonenewmusic.com/ |url-status=live}}</ref> and Folkestone Early Music explores music, from medieval to baroque, through a year-round programme of concerts, talks and workshops.

The annual ''''Folkestone Documentary Festival'''' was founded in 2021 and takes place at the Silver Screen Cinema and Creative Folkestone Quarterhouse each October. The festival also hosts the Folkestone Doc Club at the Silver Screen Cinema, which brings the latest and greatest documentaries to Folkestone every month.

Folkestone, together with [[Hythe, Kent|Hythe]], has an [[amateur theatre]] group: [[Folkestone & Hythe Operatic & Dramatic Society]]. It is a charitable organisation, producing and performing several different shows a year at its own venue, the [[The Tower Theatre (Folkestone, Kent)|Tower Theatre]], located in [[Cheriton, Kent|Shorncliffe]]. The society also has a youth section, which puts on three performances a year at the Tower Theatre: the Brigadier Thomas Memorial Competition, a summer show and a Christmas revue.

The literary journal ''[[The Frogmore Papers]]'', published by the Frogmore Press, was founded in Folkestone in 1983. The Folkestone Book Festival takes place every November.

Folkestone Museum, which holds a collection of fossils, archaeological remains and paintings relocated to Folkestone Town Hall in spring 2017.<ref name=museum>{{cite web |url=https://folkestonemuseum.co.uk/pages/about/ |title=A History of Folkestone Museum |publisher=Folkestone Museum |access-date=13 March 2021 |archive-date=4 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304055634/https://folkestonemuseum.co.uk/pages/about/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Folkestone has an annual '''''Comic Convention''''' each May organised by ''Planet Folkestone''. The convention is a volunteer-run event which raising funds for local charities including Academy FM, East Kent Hospitals and Help for Heroes. Each year more than 7,000 people attend the event, which brings celebrities from TV and film to the coastal town. Folkestone Film, TV and Comic Con 2016 had many actors attending including the television actors [[Sylvester McCoy]] and [[Peter Davison]] from Dr Who and [[Julian Glover]] from Game of Thrones.<ref name="planetfolkestone.co.uk">{{cite web |url=http://www.planetfolkestone.co.uk |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150311143455/http://www.planetfolkestone.co.uk/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=11 March 2015 |title=Planet Folkestone }}</ref> The 2018 event took place at the iconic Leas Cliff Hall.

Folkestone is home to the ''''Hellfire Film Festival'''' that runs throughout the year at various locations.<ref name="hellfirefilmfestival.com">{{cite web |url=http://hellfirefilmfestival.com |title=Hellfire Film Festival |access-date=23 January 2021 |archive-date=28 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928174838/https://hellfirefilmfestival.com/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

An annual '''''Zombie Walk''''' also takes place in Folkestone around Halloween with permission from Shepway District Council. The walk is a way for adults and children to celebrate Halloween and has a larger and larger following every year.<ref name="planetfolkestone.co.uk"/> In 2016, in the event's 6th year, the organisers "''Planet Folkestone''" announced that they were stepping down from organising the free event as they could no longer commit their own time and resources to the event due to its ever-increasing costs and restrictions.

Strange Cargo was established in Folkestone in 1995. The group put on a number of annual events including the Cheriton Light Festival<ref name="http://www.strangecargo.org.uk/news/2018/cheriton-light-festival-2018/">{{cite web |url=http://www.strangecargo.org.uk/news/2018/cheriton-light-festival-2018/ |title=Cheriton Light Festival |access-date=1 June 2018 |archive-date=14 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181114023332/http://www.strangecargo.org.uk/news/2018/cheriton-light-festival-2018/ |url-status=live}}</ref> in the winter and [[Charivari]] Day,<ref name="http://www.strangecargo.org.uk/news/2018/charivari-day-2018/more/">{{cite web |url=http://www.strangecargo.org.uk/news/2018/charivari-day-2018/more/ |title=Charivari Day 2018 |access-date=1 June 2018 |archive-date=1 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401042741/http://www.strangecargo.org.uk/news/2018/charivari-day-2018/more/ |url-status=live}}</ref> a street parade taking place in July which all local schools are invited to take part in.