Our new quarterly print magazine lands this week, so look out for early distribution, being dropped off later today at all your usual free local outlets…

There are tonnes of great stories in there, including a 7-page destination guide to historic market thoroughfare Well Street - a resilient, diverse stretch of the wider Wick ward that's seen mixed fortunes over the decades, but is still holding out as a genuine community hub, stuffed with interesting independent businesses.

To celebrate, we’re throwing a new edition launch party this Fri 21st Aug at the street’s legendary boozer, The Gun, kicking off from 5pm. We’ll be handing out first copies of the magazine, dishing out some drinks tokens, and there’s a special £4 pint promotion after that for anyone mentioning The Wick too. See you for a chat and a catch-up in the sun ☀️

Meanwhile, look out for the latest in our pull-out poster series (the top section of which is the main image in today’s newsletter), this time by well-loved local street artist Teddy Baden, whose colourful dogs are a HW&FI staple and, as he explains, his curated walls at The Lord Napier are about to get a refresh.

There’s also an interview with Alghga’s Plantroom founder Thea Arde as part of our ongoing Nightlife Campaign to support and protect the neighbourhood’s afterhours culture, plus we hear from No.90 venue owner and Sound & Silence Festival co-founder, Bruno Cabral, who talks about dancefloors as spaces of healing and connection.

On that note, next week we have a bumper Wick Wednesday for you (Wed 26th Aug) with plenty more positive news about the area’s nightlife (full details below). For those of you signed onto Moo Canoes Canal Clean-up & Community Paddle, that’s starting from midday, with a free pint after for all volunteers. The monthly CIG meeting will be at neighbouring venue The Milk Float from 4pm, followed by the social drinks outside in the gardens from 5.30pm.

See you all there!

Great to see such strong uptake among the first VIP super-readers invited to join our brand new free Community channels. Subscribers this week got the heads-up on a free album launch party on Fish Island and a first look at the brand new magazine before it had even been printed. We’ll be inviting more readers to join in the coming days, so look out for that invite to see if you are one of the chosen ones!

As reported last week, we’re down to under 50 copies of the limited edition 160-page hardback The Wick Book, so if you’ve been meaning to get a copy, or gift one to a friend, now really is your last chance! Do check if you’ve been expecting a book that’s not shown up by post, as some people have been on the ‘local collection’ list without being aware…

🎭LMA London are showing two Edinburgh Fringe previews in the Park at Here East tonight, Wed 19th Aug, before they head up north. At 5pm is Girls Who Made Us by Inherits Her Flame Theatre Company - where the performers bring to life their mothers’ journeys, and what it means to grow up as a woman shaped by those before you. Then, at 6.30pm, there’s The Woman in the Box by Fragments Theatre Group - a contemporary dystopian thriller about a gallery displaying a live woman in a glass box. Tickets are a bargain and cover both performances!

🇵🇸 Eastway Baths are hosting a Palestine Fundraiser this Sat 22nd Aug, raising money for The Sameer Project, a Palestinian-run initiative working to supply aid to displaced families in Gaza. Check out the art exhibition, creative fair and live performances, as well as trying out some authentic Palestinian food and drink.

🌳Full Joy are holding a Forest Jam in the Wick Woodland this Sun 23rd Aug. Gather around the fire for an sober afternoon of nature, music-making & soulful connection under the trees near Mabley Green. Donations based, the event is somewhere between a jam, a kirtan & an open mic - inviting anyone who wishes to hop on the mic or just go and have a listen if you fancy

🖼️The new Artist in Residence at Two More Years is Simone Lezzi, an Italian photographer based in Fish Island. His exhibition Exposure to Impermanence explores what happens when photography is no longer treated as a fixed archival object, but as a living material capable of transformation. Find out more and join Simone at the opening party tonight, Wed 19th Aug, from 7-11pm.

📓Make your own notebook at Plastics Upcycling Workshop - Custom Notebooks on Sat 22nd Aug. Led by Tomoko from @to_penper at LSE Old Building, learn how to book-bind and leave with a customised A5 and miniature notebook made from recycled paper and single-use plastics.

Check out local culture reviews, features & interviews every week on thisisthewick.com

🏳️‍🌈Head down to Nico’s Hackney Bridge tomorrow, Thurs 20th Aug, for Queer Edge Live - a night of queer joy and local talent, with everything from spoken word and stand-up to cabaret and live music.

🌍Grow is hosting their latest edition of Grow Live on Fri 21st Aug, handing the stage to Tashkezar, bringing a blend of Egyptian psych-funk, Balkan brass, and Arabic vocals. Bookending the live set, DJ Adam Baker travels in from Brussels to spin a vinyl journey of 70s–90s grooves.

🥁Cairo-born collective International A$$ Shaking Committee (IASC) takes over the Colour Factory yard on Sat 22nd Aug for I Lied, I Love Being Outside. The outdoor day party promises some amapiano, dembow, UK funky, baile funk, and Arabic bangers, with sets from lana baybie, femaledjkhaled, Seksu, host KAS!, and live tabla drumming from JABBAR.

☀️Ossia Summer Day Party is at Vittoria Wharf Studio on Sun 23rd Aug, a free summer gathering for the community, bringing energetic house and electronic music to round out your weekend.

🔊Snooze After Hours returns to The Lock space at Number 90 on Sun 23rd Aug - featuring local UK talents Alek Mater, Essentia, Gridlock, and Sofi - playing some underground house and techno.

🏃‍♂️Social Yoga and Bread & Butter are launching a new weekly social 5K run from Hackney Central. First run is tonight, Wed 19th Aug, meeting at Bread & Butter Arch, just by the station. £5 with full concessions available if needed, use SOYORUN when booking and your run social pass will be completely free, no questions asked. The Run Social Pass includes: social 5K Strava route through Hackney, electrolyte hydration sachet, secure bag drop, guided warm up and post-run stretch, iced matcha, a proper social afterwards. All levels. Book here.

👕Local collective U SHIRT by NN now have an online U SHIRT marketplace. Buy artwork and designs from artists. Send them your T-shirt. They will print it into a USHIRT and send it back to you. After cost, 80% goes to the artist. Win Win Win. Win for the artist, they get paid. Win for you, you get a USHIRT. Win for the world, we don’t make more clothes. Check it out here.

🚀Discover Creative Careers has launched a fresh chapter as an expanded UK-wide initiative designed to make creative careers accessible to all young people (ages 11–24), particularly those from underrepresented communities. Delivered by the Creative Careers Collective, the updated platform connects students, educators, and industry leaders with hands-on work experience opportunities, career resources, and pathways into the UK's creative economy.

💁🏼‍♂️ All grassroots community organisations based in Newham, Hackney, Tower Hamlets or Waltham Forest are invited to partner with Students’ Union UCL to strengthen your organisation through skilled student volunteering. From one-off projects to year-long partnerships including group volunteering, co-created research and volunteering events, the Students' Union's Social Impact Team connect local charities and community organisations with passionate UCL students to support your goals. Fill out the referral form to speak to the team and find out more about the opportunities.

📌The Line is recruiting a new Chair of Trustees. The voluntary role has a three year term with an option to renew. The time commitment is approx. 1-2 days per month, leading 4 board meetings per year. Apply by 7th Sept by emailing your details to [email protected].

🌱Hackney Green Futures - Jobs, Skills & Sustainable Careers will take place on Wed 26th Aug at Teesside University London, Here East. The free event will bring together employers, apprenticeship providers, colleges, universities and training organisations to showcase opportunities in the green economy, including live vacancies, apprenticeships, training, careers advice, demonstrations, workshops and free LinkedIn/CV headshots. The event is aimed at 16 to 30-year-olds, but everyone is welcome.

🔪 Barge East are looking for a tenant for a newly built commercial kitchen within their secure food production hub in the centre of Hackney Wick. The space would suit an independent caterer, food producer, baker, meal prep business or anyone developing food products who is looking for a dedicated production base in East London. For more info, photos or to arrange a viewing, email [email protected].

📕 The Wick Book is a limited edition 160-page hardback historic record, looking at 15 years of culture, community and change in the neighbourhood through the pages of The Wick. We’re now down to the last 40+ copies.

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