FESTIVALS

🥳 There’s a lot on.

Brace yourself - there’s something out there to excite everyone (if you know where to look) in the great urban outdoors this weekend.

Here’s our curated roundup of some highlights in and around Camden…

• 🤹🏽‍♀️ Discover a green oasis in the heart of Euston that you may not have even stumbled upon before, as the Tolmers Square Free Arts Festival takes over on Saturday. It’s run by the nearby Camden People’s Theatre, who are giving you the opportunity to try out clowning, singing, beatboxing, bubble art, games and more. There’s a fire show, too, plus lashings of free food and drinks.

• 🥻 Head to Coram’s Fields on Sunday to bask in the boroughs famously rich diversity as the colourful Camden Mela returns. You’ll see cross-cultural shows on the main stage, and there’s masses of tasty food to try plus family-orientated things to do on the lawns.

• 🍏 If you fancy a trip to E17, you’ll be rewarded by the first first Nourished Communities Festival, run by our friends over at Upper Street’s amazing grocery hub. They’ve brough together 75 of the UK’s independent food producers for a bonanza of workshops, tastings, fermenting, talks and loads of good eats, obvs. They’re expecting 4,000 people at Big Penny Social, so grab tickets for only £3 or on the door.

• 🎪 Up at the top of the Heath, Hampstead Summer Festival reaches its grand finale on Sunday with the free family garden party at Keats House, plus the Big Fair - the first one in 3 years - with tasty food, drinks, craft stalls and entertainment running all along Heath Street. It’s going to be lively.

• 🪁 If that all gets too much, head down through the bucolic pastures towards Parliament Hill Fields, where The Kite Society of Great Britain are putting on a big afternoon display in the sky, set to music.

• 🖼️ If picking up a new painting is more your vibe this weekend, it’s The Other Art Fair today through until Sunday, over in King’s Cross where they aim nothing less than to ‘reframe’ how you experience art.

• 🏳️‍🌈 Oh, and of course the West End is all about the massive Pride march tomorrow, with free stages in the squares and myriad after-parties (see below). Use this map to work out what you want to do along the route.

FOOD & DRINK

Manzi’s returns to Soho

It’s been 15 years since Leicester Square seafood institution Manzi’s shut up shop, but the name has been brought back by the Wolseley Hospitality Group, who finally opened their big new venture last night.

The new site, inside the handsome Bateman Buildings just off Soho Square, is a subaqueous-themed dining palace, complete with a full-sized Marlin up on the wall and mermaids sitting atop the upstairs bar.

Following hot on the heels of the Midland Grand Dining Room over at KX, this is all set to be one of the wider neighbourhood’s plushest, lushest and in-demand new openings of 2023.

• 🥩 In more New Openings news, Camden Market Hawley Wharf is due to be welcoming GrassFed in a few weeks time, an unashamedly meaty offering from Stratford-upon-Avon’s Michelin starred Salt proprietor, chef Paul Foster. You can see the lovely railway arch where it’s going to be located on his TikTok, although we have to say, passing by the site this week, it currently looks far from finished…

• 🍞 Luci is the big new Covent Garden Italian restaurant and bakery incoming from the glam dining-with-a-killer-view specialists Aqua Group. Usually to be found up the Shard or high above Regent’s Street, this new gaff is instead tucked away in the scrubbed-up backstreets of Seven Dials at The Yards.

• 🐬 Hackney's properly infamous late night boozer The Dolphin has happily reopened. It’s previous 4am license may have been revoked (a more conservative 12.30am finish at weekends is stipulated), but expect a regular riotous gathering of London’s best drinkers, as celebrated by Time Out in this 2021 feature.

MUSIC

Our pick of Camden’s diverse heap of tasty gigs

• 🪩 It's the Pride Special at EGG up on York Way straight after Saturday’s march until ‘superlate’ on Sunday morning. Guest DJs making their debuts are Manuka Honey and River Moon, as three of the hottest LGBTQ+ party crews - Arize!, 2CPerrea and Rat Party come together under one multi dancefloored roof.

• 🎺 NYC buskers turned global YouTube viral sensation Too Many Zooz play the Jazz Café on Monday & Tuesday (3 & 4 July) playing thier high energy live dance music.

• 🤘🏽 It’s high energy of a very different genre at The 02 Forum in Kentish Town on Tuesday, as the mighty Eagles of Death Metal bring their wild, feel-good extravaganza to NW5.

Gig highlights in association with the fabulous Halibuts.com

MORE

• ➡️ PUB DEAL OF THE WEEK: Drummond Street’s The Crown and Anchor run a weekly Fizz Friday, where a bottle of proper bubbly (Veuve Clicquot, since you’re asking) can toast your group’s weekend off to a suitably fine start for only £45.

• ➡️ The vast subterranean labyrinth, that until recently was home to the proudly ridiculous South African theme restaurant Shaka Zulu, is currently being turned into Camden’s latest ‘crazy’ new attraction, as Junk Yard Golf Club will be opening there later this summer.

• ➡️ London’s fashion footprint is a wildly unsustainable use of resources, but the circular economy people at ReLondon have just released this report containing some solutions alongside the eye-popping statistics.

POLL RESULTS

📊 What exactly are you lot thinking?

We ask a question each week. Here’s a recent result from the weekend of the World Naked Bike Ride in Regent’s Park, when costumes became mandatory for swimming in another of our green spaces.

Nudity at the Ponds

Do you think the Heath's ban on sunbathing in the buff is...

⛔ Good - people should cover up their bits 
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 10.3%

😒 Bad - we need spaces to let it all hang out
🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ 33.3%

🦆 Ugly - but live and let live, each to their own etc.
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 56.4%

THIS WEEKS VOTE

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