Culture beat: 4 September

The month of September traditionally kicks off with a homage to the country’s favourite beverage, the Belgian Beer Weekend in the Grand Place. The ale festival is already underway and a staggering array of beers remain on tap until Sunday evening. A variety of brewers, from artisan to famed Trappist and corporate brands are all gathered in the Medieval cobbled square to entice you with their specialities. Look out for the Bar National at the Bourse, serving 75cl bottled Belgian beers in a lounge area, plus numerous events and parades over the weekend. Pay for your drinks with crowncorks (€1 for 1 corwncork, minimum purchase, 10 crowncorks), plus a €3 deposit chip for tasting glass. Organised by the knighthood of the brewers’ mashstaff and Belgian brewers.

Another Belgian export is celebrated this weekend in the Comic Strip Festival in Royal Park and Place des Palais. Every year, the family event attracts around 100,000 people; highlights include the parade of giant-sized balloon characters on Sunday and a Tintin Rally with more than 80 vintage cars and motorcycles from the popular albums. Plus exhibitions, workshops, light shows and book signings with authors and artists.

Fans of the Far East and its food in particular, are in for a treat at the annual Essence of Thailand on Sunday. Place Dumon and part of Avenue Baron d’Huart will be filled with food stands, artisanal crafts and massage tents, as well as an entertainment programme of Thai dance and boxing and fruit carving. A tombola provides the chance to win a flight to Bangkok. In Stockel, Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, from 10.00 to 20.00. Organised by the Thai Embassy in Belgium.

Another food celebration is eat! Brussels, drink! Bordeaux in Royal Park, Brussels from 10 to 13 September. Enjoy some gastronomic pleasures from the city’s top eateries, accompanied by fine wines from the French wine region. Mmmmh! is running workshops and children can play in a special recreational area.

Outside Brussels

Listen to some of the world’s finest composers in the magical setting of the 14th-century castle of Beloeil in the province of Hainaut on Saturday. For the past 25 years, the site has hosted Les Musicales de Beloeil, the country’s biggest open-air festival of classical music. The day-long event starts at midday with food, drink, street theatre and games for children, while afternoon concerts takes place on stages scattered around castle grounds. This year’s programme takes on the classical world’s top 50, from Vivaldi to Offenbach. At nightfall visitors are treated to a final musical tour-de-force and a fireworks spectacle.