With the mercury rising once again today, what better way to ease into the evening than joining us for a lively open-access Cultural Interest Group meeting at the end of the working day (see the agenda below), followed by drinks with a load of locals on waterfront?

Our partners at No.90 have arranged a great bar tab so you’ll be well looked after - just find one of The Wick team for the all-important tokens 😉

Following the success of the first event in its new monthly Wednesday afternoon slot held at HTA Design last month, the CIG & social drinks is your chance to connect with others in the real world, make new connections and promote what you do. We hope to see you there, from 4pm onwards.

Meanwhile, we’re putting the finishing touches to the next print edition of The Wick magazine right now, so if you have a message you want to get in front of thousands of locals this summer - which guarantees loads more impact than just another fleeting 0.5 seconds in an aimless social scroll - the last few ad slots are going now: email [email protected] quick before they’re all gone…

🎨Slow down for an afternoon of Botanical Watercolour & Handmade Cards Workshop with Made by Many at The Trampery on Sun 2nd Aug. Using flowers as inspiration, you'll create your own handmade cards or postcards before folding an elegant origami envelope to take them home in.

🎉V&A East Storehouse celebrates their first anniversary with an afternoon of Open Studios on Thurs 30 Jul. From 3–8pm, head over for a free, drop-in programme of making, conversations, screenings, object viewings and creative encounters across the Foyle Creative Centre studios. The afternoon will feature contributions from: ACV Magazine, Are You Mad, BADU, Diasporas Now, FibreLab and Two Pages, alongside activities led by V&A East Creative Studios Practitioners. RSVP here.

🍹The chance to grab a free drink in the evening sunshine every Wednesday continues tonight Wed 29th Jul, as the Lord Napier Star brings back a summer season of 100 on the roof. From 6pm, you can grab yourself a free Cazcabel Tequila Cocktail – Hot Honey Shots, Hot Honey Margaritas & Hot Honey Palomas.

🏺A Bow Open Workshop this evening, Wed 29th Jul, gives you the chance to create your own vessels using porcelain paper clay with artist Victoria Burgher. The workshop at Bow Arts will teach how to imprint, mould and construct handmade vessels and tealight holders, experimenting with textures from fabrics and natural materials.

✍️Colour Factory host their weekly Life Drawing tonight, Wed 29th July, from 7-9pm. The drop-in session is £10, all materials are provided as well as food drink available to buy.

🎭Over in Dalston, new play Dreamscape debuted at the Arcola yesterday. Inspired by the true story of the shooting of Tyisha Miller, this fusion of beatboxing, rap and hip hop dance reimagines her final moments. Showing until Sat 8th Aug.

🫧Brick Sixty has opened a new studio on Roman Road, providing a home for the design, making and packing of its collection of soaps and London-inspired products. They also plan to host pop-up events and welcome other makers into the space for workshops and creative collaborations. The studio is now officially open to the public Thurs to Sat.

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

🪩Huns and Roses Summer Party is at Hackney Bridge on Fri 31st Jul from 3 - 10pm. RAW SILK and Cornichon are on the lineup alongside the hosts, playing a mix of house and R&B to kick off the weekend in the sun. Tickets are free, but they're encouraging everyone to donate what they can to support Refuge Charity.

☀️LVLS is hosting a Free Day Party on Sat 1st Aug. Apes Cutting Shapes and Aether Sound are locking arms to crank out the tunes, with Taye, Empo, Tsimm, and local residents dropping a heavy mix of house, garage, and disco all afternoon and into the night.

🎷Soul on the Canalside is back at Grow on Sat 1st Aug, with Mucho Soul taking over the canalside terrace until 10pm before moving into the basement - bringing along Basil Black II Basics, Miss Soxee, and Damian Charles to spin everything from soul and jazz to broken beat, disco, and deep house.

👻All My Friends is launching their second edition of Fantasma on Fri 31st Jul, with Alex Parsons, Crumpler, Jorge, and Tic & Tac stepping up to deliver an eclectic mix of dreamy house, raw UKG, and groove-heavy techno. The eve is about highlighting underground local talent, and all profits from the night will go directly to a London creative arts charity.

🐢Turtles in Colour are bringing their signature high energy to Colour Factory on Fri 31st Jul. Hosted by Tsunami Tânia, the night features a lineup with Donnie Sunshine, Nanoos, Yung Ricain, and Dualeh Oke - they’ll be throwing down a fast and heavy mix of footwork, Baltimore club and jersey club music that’s promised as guaranteed to get you groovin’.

🗣️Made by Many pop-up shop, currently at The Trampery, host the Common Ground weekly community gathering every Thurs 6-8pm. It’s a relaxed space to come together, explore a different topic each week, share ideas, listen to others, or simply enjoy being part of the conversation. No panels. No networking pressure. No expectation to speak. Just good conversations, new perspectives and a chance to connect with your local community. BYOB if you wish.

🍷The team at new neighbourhood café & wine bar BĀDŌ (pronounced bay-doh), just across the park on Victory Parade, are running a crowdfunding campaign to help with start up costs. Chip in here.

📰 Independent music publication The Young Dudes is officially rebranding to TYD, and to celebrate the evolution, Issue 3 will be distributed for free across local record shops, cafés, and other venues in August. To keep their independent music journalism accessible to all, they’ve launched a £3,200 crowdfunder to help print copies and support the scene. Chip in to that one 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.

🖍️Run by Fish Island Support Hub CIC as part of the Tower Hamlets HAF Programme, the Fish Island Summer Club offers eligible kids free, active, and creative holiday sessions at Social Yoga Studio. The program combines yoga, movement play, mindfulness, games, and creative activities with local outdoor adventures like canal walks, gardening, and sports around Hackney Wick and Olympic Park. Free healthy lunches, snacks, and drinks are provided daily; for inquiries or bookings, contact [email protected] or 07769157988.

🚀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.

🏆 Submissions are open for the biennial East London Art Prize, celebrating the incredible diversity of art made here in East London. Headed by Bow Arts and supported by local partners including East Bank and V&A East, the prize is open to artists living or working in eligible boroughs, including Hackney and Tower Hamlets. Twelve shortlisted artists will be featured in a group show with access to mentoring grants, while the overall winner will receive a £15,000 cash prize and a solo exhibition at the Nunnery Gallery in Bow. Apply by Aug 16th.

💁🏼‍♂️ 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 are hiring a Head of Development to drive fundraising and partnerships for their community and outdoor art programs. The full-time, permanent role is based at Here East with a hybrid office/wfh structure. Applications by 5pm on Thurs 30th Jul.

📌The Line is also 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.

📝Arbeit Studios is hiring a Sales & Administrative Asst to join them part time. The role supports the day-to-day operations of the creative workspaces - handling tenant onboarding, admin, finance tasks, and event space support. Pay is London Living Wage and hours are 8-16 per week (flexible, hybrid options available). Apply by 31st Jul by sending your CV and cover letter to [email protected].

🔪 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 100 copies.

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