A family sandcastle competition will be the highlight of a seaside town's Mermaid Festival this weekend.

Celebrating all things mythical and magical about the sea, Folkestone’s two-day festival returns for a second year this weekend.

Attractions on Saturday, July 19, include a trade village, live music from 11am to 9pm at The Stade and the fancy dress parade of mermaids and sea babies, which will be led by the Djembe Drummers and starts at noon from the Royal George pub in Beach Street.

The highlight of Sunday, July 20, will be the Sandcastle Competition on Folkestone’s Sunny Sands beach between 11am and 1pm.

There will be cash prizes and categories for novices as well as more experienced sandcastle builders. Visit www.folkestonefestival.org

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Elsewhere in Folkestone, a familiar face is taking the lead in a play about a historic fishing disaster in which 189 lives were lost.

TV actress Barbara Marten plays an anxious mother in a drama which forms part of an arts project called Follow the Herring, which has travelled from its starting point in Musselburgh, Scotland, and down the east coast to both Margate and Folkestone.

Barbara played popular character Eve Montgomery in Casualty for 10 years and Laura Meadows in The Bill, as well as enjoying roles in Whitechapel, Waking the Dead, The Street, Goldplated and The Mill.

A long history of playing tough northern women has stood Barbara – herself from Stockton-on-Tees – in good stead for the part in Get Up and Tie Your Fingers, which visits Theatre Royal Margate on Friday, July 18, at 7.30pm and Saturday, July 19, at 2pm and the Folkestone Quarterhouse on Friday, July 25, at 7pm and Saturday, July 26, at 2pm and 7pm.

The historical play is set in the fishing town of Eyemouth in Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders. During the 19th century, women from fishing communities along the east coast of Scotland and England, ‘herring lassies’ as they were known, would follow the herring fishing fleets down the coast to meet the catch at each port of call.

Written by Ann Coburn, Get Up and Tie Your Fingers takes its name from the herring lassies’ tradition of binding their hands to protect them against knife cuts and is set against a tragedy in 1881, when 189 Eyemouth fishermen died in a severe storm and 20 boats were lost.

Barbara plays Jean, a strict and buttoned-up character who copes with past pain by obsessively cleaning and clinging to her daughter like a lifebelt. But daughter Molly wishes to follow the herrings, known as ‘silver darlings’, on their journey down the coast. As they negotiate their hopes and dreams and deal with devastating losses, a remarkable tale of endurance, courage and community emerges.

In researching the role, Barbara discovered a lot about the fishing industry throughout the 19th century and the part that women played in keeping the vital trade going.

“I knew about the herring women, but this project has changed my whole perception about what women did. I love being in things that bring ordinary people’s stories to light, I think that’s absolutely fascinating,” said Barbara.

“I think the more we tune into our local history, the stronger we feel as a community and I feel these communities are getting lost as the industries are going.”

Get Up and Tie Your Fingers is at Theatre Royal Margate on Friday, July 18, at 7.30pm and Saturday, July 19, at 2pm. Tickets cost £12. Call 01843292795.
The play moves to Folkestone Quarterhouse on Friday, July 25, at 7pm and Saturday, July 26, at 2pm and 7pm. Tickets cost £10 for adults and £8 for children. Call 01303 760750.

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An artistic exhibition of woollen, knitted sea creatures produced in association with the Follow The Herring project is also on display in the two towns of Margate and Folkestone this week.
Artists, crafters and knitters from across Kent have been invited to help create the unique exhibition, inspired by the heyday of the herring industry and have made woollen items of sea life, from octopuses to herrings.

The centrepiece will be a full-scale knitted replica of a herring boat, featuring a 21-foot mast and the other features carefully reproduced in wool. The boat will be exhibited alongside the locally inspired knitted artwork by, among other artists, Emily Tull and Jenny Duff.

Called ‘Coat for a Boat’, the exhibition is now at Turner Contemporary in Margate until Sunday, July 20. The display then moves on to Folkestone Quarterhouse on Monday, July 21. Visit www.customshouse.co.uk/followtheherring