The Harbour Grotto is now SOLD OUT for 2025

Harbour Arm Pop-ups

Join us on The Harbour Arm

In 2026, we’re shaking things up, returning to our roots and creating a major new opportunity for small scale, pop-up, independent street-food visionaries who want to grow their audience and trade at one of the most unique venues in Kent. Over the past couple of years, we’ve made major investments creating new, unique, large-scale establishments.

But for Summer 2026, we want to create a space for the type of businesses that made Folkestone Harbour unique at the very beginning of our journey 10 years ago.

From April – September 2026, the heart of The Harbour Arm will be made up entirely of pop-up, street-food style vendors and bars. Same continuous events and live music programme, same exceptional views. Imagine a food festival, every weekend, in the middle of the English Channel.

Apply now!
apply here
“Street Food. Live Music. Sea views”

Frequently Asked Questions

  • We are looking for the best of the Kent F&B scene that are mobile and want to pop-up at one of the most iconic food and drink destinations in Kent.
  • No, not really, we are open to all applications, within reason, our goal is curating a vibrant street food space with the best/unique/trendy/tasty F&B businesses Kent has to offer. Our team will review applications and make their decisions based on the merits of the application and meetings/tastings with potential traders.
  • No, afraid not, they are loud and smelly! However, you can plug in with a 16-amp or a 32-amp commando plug. We recharge electric at the usage at the rate we are charged by our supplier.
  • Yes – you can plug in with a 16-amp or a 32-amp commando plug. We recharge electric at the usage at the rate we are charged by our supplier.
  • Yes, you can with hook up to our supply or fill up from the tap. We do not charge traders for their water usage.
  • Yes, we have a dedicated secure Wi-Fi network for our traders and there is no cost to use it. Login details will be provided if successful.
  • No, we do not charge traders for their water usage.
  • The summer pop-up season on The Harbour Arm will run 3rd April – 13th September, trading weekends and bank holidays only, with the exception of the summer holidays (24th July – 31st August) Traders can choose to trade 7-days, but must trade Friday, Saturday & Sunday minimum.
    You can trade as little or as much as you like, but you must sign up for a minimum of a full weekend at a time. Single day trading is not available.
  • That depends on you and your availability! The trading window is Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 3rd April to 13th September and 7-day trading during the school summer holidays (24th July – 31st August)
  • No, when a unit is not in operation it must be removed from the Harbour Arm. Units can stay in place overnight between trading days, but not over extended periods.
  • There will be enough power hook ups for up to 8 pop-up traders. We are aiming to have a minimum of 4 curated pop-ups per weekend.
  • Your success is our success; we charge all F&B businesses a commission-based rental of 18% plus VAT on all revenue generated trading at Folkestone Harbour. We also recharge electric usage at the rate we are charged by our supplier; we don’t add a mark-up! We do not charge traders for their water usage.
  • Yes, we request a £250 security deposit from pop-up traders. This is refundable after a satisfactory exit inspection following your trading period and full payment of rental.
  • No, for pop-up traders we allow any EPOS/Till system, you just need to provide an X-read whenever requested by the Harbour team and provide totals weekly for invoicing.
  • PLEASE DO! We are passionate about giving opportunities to start-ups, just make sure your application is strong, informative and clearly demonstrates what you do best. EHO registration must be provided in advance with certificates if you have them, before you arrive. We expect all our traders to operate, clean, safe businesses, in accordance with regulations.
  • We aim to respond to all applications within 14-days of the application.
  • If there is a weather warning issued ahead of a weekend or Heavy rain or high winds forecast, traders will be informed before the weekend. Traders should arrive ready to trade unless contacted by Folkestone Harbour before your expected trading period.
  • If you give us 14-days' notice that you are unable to attend your booked date, your deposit will be refunded in full.
    If you do not inform us you are unable to attend your booked dates this will have an impact on future participation.