Our picks for the best things to do in Bangkok this weekend

Art Battle Bangkok returns with live painting, loud cheers, cold drinks and friendly competition. Artists face off in timed rounds, beginning with blank canvases and only a short window to show what they can do. The crowd votes after each round to decide who stays and who takes the title. It’s part art show, part social night, with music playing as the brushes fly. Grab a drink, pick your favourite and watch it unfold – or apply online if you fancy competing yourself. September 12. B100-350 via here; B450 at the door. The Fig Lobby Bangkok. 7pm-10pm

Mid-Autumn Festival is getting a Fire Horse twist at Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok, where this year’s mooncake collection combines festive flavours and collectible packaging with a collaboration with Artstory By Autistic Thai. Supported by the Autistic Thai Foundation, the social enterprise helps autistic people develop their artistic skills and work towards meaningful employment.  At its centre is a limited-edition horseshoe-shaped box featuring an original Fire Horse illustration by artist Anusone ‘Mix’ Tunarin. A portion of proceeds supports Artstory By Autistic Thai’s work with autistic artists and employment opportunities. Choose four mooncakes from five flavours: durian with melon seed & egg yolk, custard, caramel latte & almond, sesame chocolate mochi, and savoury chicken floss & chilli paste. Designed to live on beyond the festival, the keepsake box doubles as a jewellery case, accessory holder or desk piece. September 1-25. B1,888. Pick-up available at Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok until September 25

Belarus’s leading ballet company brings Shakespeare’s tragic love story to Bangkok in Romeo and Juliet, choreographed by Valentin Elizariev, a People’s Artist of the USSR and Belarus. The familiar story follows the young lovers from the masquerade where they meet to the street fights and family feud that seal their fate. A large ensemble, elaborate sets and live orchestra give the production scale while keeping its doomed romance at the centre. September 12-13. B2,000-5,500 via here. Thailand Cultural Centre, Main Auditorium. 7pm (September 12) and 4.30pm (September 13)

Mooring examines how memories, beliefs and personal histories shift as they move between people, languages and generations. F four artists approach storytelling through their own experiences and practices, asking what happens to truth when a story changes with every retelling. The answer may depend as much on who speaks, who listens and what is remembered as on the facts themselves.  Until September 29. Free entry. Bangkok Kunsthalle. 2pm-8pm 

Thai artist, writer and traveller Juli Baker and Summer presents a solo exhibition drawn from her own family story and everyday experiences of care. Through mixed-media paintings and installations, she looks at the often overlooked work that keeps families going, from preparing meals to sitting beside someone when they need company. The starting point is a simple question from her grandmother, who never gets the chance to fly. The exhibition traces their relationship from childhood, when her grandmother cares for her, to later years when the roles reverse and she becomes her grandmother’s caregiver. August 13-September 20. Free entry. RCB Galleria 5, River City Bangkok. 10am-8pm

Curious about Cloud 11’s immersive dome? Unfest’26 is the weekend to see it properly. Created by Unformat Studio and Cloud 11, the art and technology festival brings together virtual production, real-time visuals and interactive work across six sections. Unfilm explores virtual production in film, Uncinema screens 360-degree movies and Unlive pairs music with moving visuals. Unfold runs workshops, Undemo showcases new creative tech and Uncommu gives artists, developers and other creative workers room to meet. September 11-13. Free entry. Register here. Cloud 11. 

Movie night gets a dinner-table upgrade with La Famiglia Legacy: Table and Screen, a collaboration between Century Theatre Sukhumvit and Avani Sukhumvit Bangkok. The evening pairs The Godfather with an Italian meal, letting you watch Michael Corleone navigate the family business as plates arrive. Begin with a welcome drink before settling in for pasta, cannoli and other Italian dishes from Avani’s kitchen team. The film supplies most of the drama; the setting stays relaxed. If you’ve ever wanted to watch a mafia classic while eating what its characters might order, here’s your excuse.August 22-September 13. B1,550-1,650.  Book here. Century Theatre Sukhumvit. 7pm-10pm

Capricci gives wagyu the full Italian treatment this month as Chef Simone Scarparo joins Chef James Pongsakorn for The Wagyu Collection. The limited-time menu runs from hand-cut Australian wagyu tartare with hazelnut sabayon and truffle to 12-hour wagyu ragù and charcoal-grilled wagyu risoni with marrow and crispy shallot. There’s also 200g tagliata with wild rocket, parmesan and aged balsamic. For the table, pre-order the 1-1.2kg bone-in wagyu ribeye, grilled Florentine-style and served with roasted potatoes and kaffir lime sauce. Bring an appetite and someone prepared to share. September 1-30. Capricci, 26/3 Yen Akat, Thung Maha Mek, Sathon.

If your TBR pile is already getting out of hand, Once Upon A Book is a good excuse to add a few more titles. The garden book festival takes over Festie Town at Happitat in Bang Na with talks, art workshops, reading sessions and a book exchange where you can swap a favourite with another reader. Independent bookshops from across Thailand set up alongside a craft market, making this a place to linger with fellow book people rather than buy and bolt. Now-September 13. Free entry. Festie Town, Happitat. 10am-10pm

Bangkok Kunsthalle sets aside alternate Sundays for cinema in a new screening series curated by Rosalia Namsai Engchuan. Running through the second half of the year, Sunday Cinema pairs Thai classics with contemporary international films, celebrated masterpieces and overlooked titles that deserve more attention. The programme travels from post-war Japan and rural Thailand to the Amazon, Mongolia and modern Italy, returning to themes of love, work, migration, memory and community. It is a reminder that films from very different eras and places can still speak directly to life now. Every Sunday, from July 19-December 20. Free entry. Reserved via here. Bangkok Kunsthalle. 5.30pm