July 2024 Newsletter

Welcome to our latest edition of the What’s on in Kent newsletter.

The summer seems to finally be here, just in time for the School Summer Holidays! We are sure many of you are looking for things to do throughout the holidays so why not checkout the app and search the ‘School Summer Holiday’ category.

If you are not yet a partner, get in touch by calling 01622 477778 or email sales@whatsoninkent.com and we can go throug–h the partner packages to best suit you and get your events added to your listing on the same day.

Coming up in this What’s on in Kent’s Newsletter:

Heart of Kent Hospice - Shaun the Sheep Tour

Heading to Ibiza this summer?

What’s on in Kent Sponsor Maidstone River Festival

What’s on in Kent Sponsored the Maidstone Wind Symphony concert

New Partners

Upcoming events

10,000 app downloads!!

Upcoming Partner Network meetings

Kent County Show

Chilston Park - FAM Tour

Visit Maidstone this summer and enjoy the fabulous new free art trail ‘Shaun the Sheep in the Heart of Kent’ brought to you by Heart of Kent Hospice.

The 109 large and small ewe-nique artworks will be displayed across Maidstone in key locations until 30 August 2024. One of the easiest ways to find them all and take part in this fun art trail is to download the free trail map from the App Store or Google Play or pick up a map from key locations around Maidstone Town Centre including Shaun HQ in Fremlin Walk or Shaun’s Baa-rn in the Mall.

All the locations will be listed on the map so turn detective and locate all 51 of the uniquely designed large Shaun the Sheep Sculptures and also discover all the little flocks of Shaun the Sheep Sculptures which were decorated and designed by local schools, community groups and care homes.

When you have completed the trail and found all the Sculptures visit Shaun HQ in Fremlin Walk or Shaun’s Baa-rn in the Mall to get your well-deserved finishers sticker. Shaun the Sheep merchandise will also be available to purchase and for just £1 you can enter a raffle to win your very own little classic Shaun sculpture plus other Shaun themed prizes.

Are you heading to Ibiza this summer? We have another app called ‘What’s on in Ibiza’ and it’s calling out your name!

What’s on in Kent Sponsor Maidstone River Festival

On 27th July, What’s on in Kent were proud to sponsor the Maidstone River Festival. Great fun was had by all, there were some amazing boats, fantastic bands playing and just a fabulous atmosphere, all whilst the sun was shining! We also had many people show a great interest in the What’s on in Kent app!

What’s on in Kent Sponsored the Maidstone Wind Symphony concert

Singing In The Rain

On Saturday 13th July we were proud to sponsor the Maidstone Wind Symphony Classical Summer Picnic Proms. Because of parking restrictions, we were limited to 150 tickets, but we managed to help sell them all by promoting the event with What's On In Kent.

The weather wasn’t kind to us, but it didn’t manage to dampen the mood of the audience who got into the spirit of the occasion. MWS are an incredible orchestra with some very talented players who have won many awards.

They will be performing another concert in October and details can be found on the What's On In Kent App and website.

New Partners

Welcome on board our newest partners to the What’s on in Kent app and website.

Battlekart Sittingbourne BattleKart combines electric karting, video games, and augmented reality for an exhilarating experience that will excite your senses!

Race through an unparalleled Playground, with various circuits, bonuses, and game modes projected directly onto the floor. This setup lets you interact with the environment and other players. Experience the thrill of high-speed racing in electric karts for an electrifying adventure.

Mercure Maidstone Great Danes Nestled in the picturesque countryside near to the renowned Leeds Castle, the Mercure Maidstone Great Danes Hotel offers 14 versatile meeting and function rooms that can accommodate up to 600 guests. Guests can enjoy amenities such as tennis, golf, a health club, gym, and swimming pool, making it one of the finest spa hotels in Kent.

Mercure Tunbridge Wells This four-star Royal Tunbridge Wells hotel was built around an 18th century Georgian oast house in the Kent countryside and is one of the most desirable event venues in Kent.

Millbrook Garden Centre (Gravesend) Situated just minutes from the bustling A2 and right next to the Pepper Hill Recycling Depot in Southfleet, on the outskirts of Gravesend town centre, Millbrook is conveniently only 10 minutes away from the Bluewater shopping centre.

The centre offers everything you need to grow your garden, along with a great selection of giftware, home furnishings, furniture, seasonal products, and accessories. It also features a brand-new Food Hall and Butchers, which offers a delicious selection of over 600 food and drink products from 53 local producers – reducing food miles and keeping the best flavours in the local community. The Millbrook Butchers, located in the Food Hall, provide amazing fresh meats, cheeses, and more.

Millbrook Garden Centre (Staplehurst) The popular greencafé at Millbrook, Staplehurst, is the perfect place to enjoy a hot drink or snack whilst shopping, or treat yourself to a delicious breakfast or lunch. Plenty of space and a large decked outdoor seating area for when the weather is fine, there is also easy access for both wheelchairs and pushchairs, and highchairs are available for our younger customers. Millbrook at Staplehurst is conveniently located near Marden, on the A229 just outside Staplehurst. It has all you need to help you grow your garden plus a great range of giftware, home furnishings and clothing as well as furniture and BBQs and of course our friendly, knowledgeable staff are always on hand to give you help and advice.

Clarke Williams Ltd Insurance Brokers

At Clarke Williams we’re not your typical insurance brokers. We’re all about exceptional customer service, and we’re proud to have the reviews and awards to prove it. We believe in real conversations, not just transactions. We want to get to know you, understand your needs, and build a relationship that lasts. That’s why we encourage you to pick up the phone or send us an email as your first point of contact for your insurance needs.

Kent Academy of Musical Theatre

Musical Theatre classes, adult show choir, rehearsals, shows, trips and qualifications

Upcoming Events

Live Lounge at the Korean Cowgirl - Cave Hotel and Golf Resort - 2nd August 2024

BMX Induction Racing Journey - Cyclopark - 3rd August 2024

Hever Castle Supercar Weekend! - 3rd- 4th August 2024

Invicta Model Railway Show - Bredgar & Wormshill Light Railways - 4th August 2024

Summer Proms at Fort Amherst - The Cockney Knights - Fort Amherst - 4th August 2024

PATINA Classic Car Show 2024 - 4th August 2024

Punch & Judy and Magic Show at Millbrook Garden Centre, Staplehurst - Millbrook Garden Centre Staplehurst - 7thg August 2024

Young Shots Morning - West Kent Shooting School - 8th August 2024

Summer BBQ Buffet - Orida Hotel Maidstone - 9th August 2024

Motors by the Moat - Leeds Castle Kent England - 10th - 11th August 204

Matilda JR - Avenue Theatre Productions Jr - Avenue Theatre - 14th -18th August 2024

Bidden Tractor Fest - Kent Event Centre - 17th -18th August 2024

Sandwich Food & Drink Festival - 16th-18th August 2024

The Filipino Community Variety Show - 17th August 2024

Messy Play at the Seaside at Millbrook Garden Centre, Gravesend - Millbrook Garden Centre (Gravesend) - 21st August 2024

Amazing Thailand Festival 2024 Maidstone, UK - Thai Orchid - 24th - 25th August 2024

Medieval Times - Lympne Castle - 26th August 2024

Our What’s On In Kent app now has 10,000 app downloads and regularly receiving between 25,000-30,000 page views per month, so thank you to each and every one of you. Clearly this is great news for our partners as they get a lot of exposure.

Don’t miss out on the chance to promote your business to the thousands of people who are searching our site every day! Our partner packages start at just £30 per month, making it a pocket-friendly choice for any businesses big and small. Get started today by exploring our advertising options at https://whatsoninkent.com/advertisewithus.

Feel free to get in touch with the team at What’s On In Kent by giving us a call on 01622 477778 or email sales@whatsoninkent.com.

If you know of anybody that would like to receive our newsletter, please let us know or feel free to forward this on!

Upcoming Partner Network meetings

Another benefit of being a Partner on What’s on in Kent is that you are part of a large group of businesses throughout Kent.

We have some great Network meetings coming up:

August – The Kentish Lady River Medway tour with a visit to Allington castle

September – Chapel Down winery – vineyard tour and tasting

October – Battlekarts – Partner network meeting at the latest and only venue of its kind in the UK.

Keep a lookout for these events and many more.

Kent County Show 2024

Over the 5th - 7th July 2024, Nick and the team at What’s on in Kent had a fantastic day at the Kent County Show! I mean, what better place to get the What’s on in Kent app and website in front of thousands of Kent people and businesses!

Chilston Park Familiarisation Tour

Recently we were very privileged to be invited by our partner Chilston Park, part of Hand-Picked Hotels to experience their fine dining, accommodation and superb hospitality as part of their familiarisation tour.

The Event was organised by Chilston Park Hotel in Partnership with Opulence who specialise in corporate hospitality Wine Tours.

The day started at Chilston Park with a delicious hearty breakfast where we met the other guests. After breakfast and introductions, we boarded a luxury minibus provided by AMB Travel of Ashford for the Short journey to another one of our Partners, Balfour Winery. We were then met by Lindy Hayton who provided us with a welcome drink of their “Leslie’s Reserve” Lindy then gave us a guided tour of the Balfour estate explaining someof the processes in looking after the vines to their exacting standards.

The estate also has an abundance of wildlife including deer and birds of prey. The weather wasn’t the best, but the hospitality was! We sheltered from the rain and as luck would have it there was a 2018 magnum of Balfour Brut Reserve from the Oast House Meadow Vineyard waiting for us. We then concluded the tour by going to a private tasting room where we were given expert tuition on how to sample and taste the wine which was an unctuous experience and sampled their Blanc de Blanc 2018, Skye’s Chardonnay 2022 and Liberty’s Bacchus 2023.

We were then treated to a delicious three course meal of locally sourced ingredients where we were given specific wines to accompany each dish perfectly.

After lunch we got back on the bus for the short journey to Herbert Hall, where we met Nick Hall and Kirsty Smith. Herbert Hall is a very exclusive boutique winery where they produce small numbers of high quality sparkling wine and supply the likes of Harrods and Fortnum & Mason. We had the good fortune of tasting their wines before having the opportunity to buy some special vintages to take away.

After we had finished our tastings, we got back on the bus and then headed back to Chilston Park where we were provided with our rooms.

After a quick freshen up we met in the conservatory for their special Gin & tonic where we were given an art demonstration by local artist Guy Portelli. We were then invited to try our hand with some varying results. After our art session we adjourned to one of Chilstons luxury dining rooms where we then enjoyed another fine dining experience with the meal expertly cooked by the Chilston Park Head Chef who joined us after diner to share with us some of his experience. We then enjoyed some after dinner drinks to discuss some of the high points of our day, before retiring for the night.

The next morning was a beautiful day where the hotel was a hive of activity where there were florist’s, wedding planners, photographers and other people were dressing each room to make it beautiful for the couple’s special day.

If you are looking for a Corporate Day, special dining experience, a Wine tasting tour, beautiful accommodation or even a wedding venue, then What’s on in Kent can help put you in touch with the perfect partner for your special day.

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