Things To Do In London This Weekend: July 12 -14
Tennis! Tequila! Terrible karaoke! This weekend’s got it all going on
FESTIVAL: Walthamstow Garden Party
If you thought that the best thing to come out of Walthamstow was East 17, you thought wrong. (Apologies, Brian Harvey, if you’re reading.) Because back for another year to celebrate all things ’Stow is this arty garden party, programmed by the Barbican and starring Malian duo Amadou & Mariam, Brazilian songstress Tassia Reis, Colombian salsa band LA-33 and jazz singer-songwriter Zara McFarlane. Plus there’s readings by Barbican Young Poets, pop-up percussion from Drum Works, showcases from Skatepark Jam, a bar from Wild Card Brewery, a designers’ market… And Bri and the boys banging out Stay Another Day in white parkas. We may have lied about that last one.
Lloyd Park, Forest Road, Walthamstow, E17 4PP
DRINK: Cocktails in the City
We like: sampling the wares of London’s finest cocktail bars. We don’t like: having to move from one such purveyor of alcoholic goodness to another. EFFORT. We’re delighted, then, at the following prospect: a three-day extravaganza that brings 25 such bars together in one al-fresco setting, no walking/tubing/Ubers required. That’s right, Cocktails in the City is back. This weekend, the gorgeous Bedford Square Gardens plays host to the likes of B&H Garden Room, Nine Lives, The Alchemist, Harvey Nichols Fifth Floor Bar, Laki Kane, Cahoots and 68 & Boston, who will all be mixing up signature serves. Two words of advice, people: Alka. Seltzer.
12-13 Jun; £20 including cocktail
Cocktails in the City, Bedford Square Gardens, Bloomsbury WC1
ART: Sweet Harmony Rave I Today
Let's come together, right now, oh yeah, at the Saatchi Gallery... And for anyone who gets this reference to the 90s classic by The Beloved, this new exhibition is nigh-on unmissable. An immersive retrospective celebrating the impact of acid house, you're in for visual and sound installations, artworks by some of the movement’s most famous ravers, and input from the likes of Irvine Welsh, Jeremy Deller, Sheryl Garratt and Craig Richards. Of course, there'll also be some ACTUAL raving going on too, with the likes of Seth Troxler and James Lavelle putting in appearances, making for essential look back at the second Summer of Love. who's up for getting a third one underway?
12 Jul-14 Sept; £10
Sweet Harmony Rave I Today, Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York's HQ, King's Rd, Chelsea, SW3 4RY
FUN: Bearpit Karaoke
We love it when a Berlin trend makes it over to our capital. Honesty bars, day-to-night clubs… those people are just full of good ideas. And the latest to hit town? Bearpit Karaoke, Mauerpark’s weekly institution that lets amateur singers (and the tone-deaf and brave) serenade an assembled crowd of strangers for free. And this weekend, organiser Joe Hatchiban is pitching up in Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens with his car-battery-powered speakers and microphone. Whether you’re the sort of person who fancies bringing your unique version of ‘I Will Always Love You’ to the masses, or the sort of person who fancies chuckling at that first sort of person in a park, it’s good times guaranteed.
13 Jul; free
Bearpit Karaoke, Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, 139 Vauxhall Walk, SE11 5HL
MUSIC: Independent Label Market
Downloads are all well and good, but can you collect rare downloads, frame beautiful downloads, or go to a market to chat with other download enthusiasts? That’d be a no, then. But happily you CAN do all these things with vinyl – and this weekend sees the return of the Independent Label Market, where the finest indies come together to sell their coolest 12”s, this time at Coal Drops Yard in King’s Cross. What’s more, this edition is teaming up with the London Brewers' Market to keep you suitably refreshed, AND it’s worth keeping an eye out for starry stallholders – the likes of Diplo, Tim Burgess, Hot Chip, Erol Alkan, Edwyn Collins and Gilles Peterson have all been known to flog their wares here. Downloads schmownloads, eh?
13 June; free
Independent Label Market, Coal Drops Yard, King’s Cross, N1C 4AA
POP-UP: Big Screen on the Green
Well of course we want to watch the Wimbledon finals. But if you think we’re going to camp overnight in a queue for the merest chance to get to Murray Mound, you’ve clearly never read this website before. Nope, we’ve got a WAY better idea: watching it in the grounds of an actual palace, while reclining in a comfy oversized deckchair, sipping on cocktails and champagne, and tucking into gourmet street food and strawberries and cream. It’s all possible thanks to Big Screen on the Green, who will be taking over Fulham Palace gardens to make even Centre Court tickets seem quite a poor option indeed. After all, you can’t get champagne table service there…
Fulham Palace, Bishop’s Avenue, SW6 6EA
EAT: Zizzi's Golden Hour
You can never have enough #Content, right? Which is why Italian restaurant Zizzi's ‘Golden Hour’ installation is a must-visit throughout July. The UK’s first multi-sensory experience, they're applying a real life golden hour Instagram filter to their St Giles restaurant in London. Nope, you can't simply eat your pizza in peace these days - you absolutely need to be swaddled in a flattering hue ready for posting.
Not only will the restaurant be filled with the sounds and smells of summer, you'll also (probably) get mood-boosting dose of vitamin D. The best bit? The first 100 people to experience the golden light will bag a free Aperol Spritz, too. Happy summering!
Zizzi’s sensory Golden Hour experience will take place from 10th – 17th July at Zizzi London St Giles.
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