It may be September and back to school time, but Saturday is certainly looking summertime busy around here this week, with a double-billed special that sees jazz right across the neighbourhood in the Wick, plus an afternoon of free outdoor dance performances in the Park.

The much-loved and praised Jazz on Wick returns for its second edition on Sat 5th Sept - a celebration of jazz, movement and the communities that make it. Read our review from 2025 here. Expect another cross-genre line-up spanning live music, DJs and more, brought to you by the teams behind Colour Factory, Orii Community and Voices Radio.

Highlights will include legendary UK grime artist D Double E performing a unique, cross-genre set backed by live jazz group Zeñel, MOBO Best Jazz Act winner, Ego Ella May, and jazz drummer Jas Kayser playing a tribute to Tony Allen. Sticking around into the night? Check out this separate ticket for the official afterparty.

Meanwhile, just over the way in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Dancing City is bringing a free programme of outdoor dance to energise your afternoon at a different kind of pace, as the Greenwich+Docklands International Festival extends out this way once again for 2026. The dance programme brings together homegrown and international artists, with everything from South Asian and street dance to Gujarati folk traditions and theatrical movement on offer to be discovered. Performances pop up at different locations throughout the afternoon, so you can wander between shows and catch as much as you like.

🎭for coloured girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf comes to The Yard Theatre today Wed 2nd Sept in a new production directed by Diane Page, marking 50 years since it was first performed. Blending poetry, movement, music and storytelling, the piece follows seven women as they navigate love, violence, joy, grief and survival - and what it means to find your way through to the other side.

👢Dust off those cowboy boots and head to No.90 for a beginner-friendly Yeehaw! Line Dance Social this Fri 4th Sept. Whether you’ve never line danced in your life or already know your grapevine from your cowboy shuffle, there’s a spot on the dancefloor for you.

🧵Head to V&A East Storehouse on Sat 5th Sept for a free drop-in with artist Remiiya Badru, who’ll share some of the objects she’s been researching as part of her residency. Part of the V&A’s Look What I Found series, Badru will showcase textiles, dyes and more, tracing connections between material culture, waterways and the often-hidden histories of people and place.

⚔️Hear ye, hear ye! The Wick gets its very own queer, punk Ren Faire this Sat 5th Sept, as Rhizomatic takes over Algha Works for a day of medieval revelry. There’ll be art and accessory stalls, craft workshops, booth games, tintype portraits, airbrush tattoos, tarot and fortune telling, plus medieval lookalike contests and partner dancing later in the day. A one-weekend-only celebration of cosplay, craft, community and a bit of medieval silliness.

🧶What does air pollution look like? For 132 knitters from across East London, it looks like a 13-metre knitted textile. Knitting the Air exhibition, running from 4-20th Sept at Nunnery Gallery, transforms a year of air quality data into a large artwork, translating levels of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter into colour and stitch. Alongside this, the free exhibition brings together photography, collage, film and stories from the community, exploring air quality, place and the people who live there.

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🔊 The next in the short season of V&A East upperground DJ sets sees genre-fluid club kid DJ Lo Low soundtracking the party, with the chance to enjoy the Music is Black exhibition after hours, too.

🪩Fri 4th Sept at Grow brings Sweet Ones, a night of house, broken beat and soulful sounds, with Donsurf, Ben Hauke live, Kane and Komance on the lineup.

🌍Brown Excellence celebrates its 5th birthday at Colour Factory this Fri 4th Sept, bringing a night of 80s Bollywood, 90s Arab disco, soulful Chicago house and global soundsystem selections.

🏳️‍⚧️ Head to Hackney Bridge on Sun 6th Sept for a London Trans+ Pride Fundraiser. The queer Fundraver brings together INFERNO, Queer House Party, Filth and Bumpah across the main dancefloor. Go have a boogie and help support next year’s London Trans+ Pride.

🔊Kick off next week at LVLS with EMOM x LVLS, an open-mic night for electronic music makers and experimental sound. Mon 7th Sept will see a rotating lineup of artists trying out live sets, beats and electronic creations in front of a crowd - a chance to hear some new sounds and support local emerging talent.

Welcome to the latest crop of readers who’ve taken up the invite to join The Wick Community platform. Introduce yourself, post an event, a tasty offer you’ve spotted offer or something else you’d like to share with the community for free, and have a chat with others.

🩷The Morgan Arms in Bow is organising a special community fundraising day, The Big Pink Bake-Off, in aid of Breast Cancer Now - a charity that is very close to the hearts of all the staff. On Sat 5th Sept local bakers can bring along their creations and enter for the chance to win a £50 bar tab. There’ll also be a handmade hamper raffle, sweepstake, live auction, face painting and plenty more activities throughout the afternoon.

🥳 Planning an upcoming party and looking for a stunning local location? Timber Lodge, the striking Park-side venue on Honour Lea Avenue is offering readers of The Wick free venue hire and a very affordable discount minimum bar spend of only £950 (18+ parties only). Reach out to them via [email protected] or brewstreet.uk and simply quote THEWICK50 to get the special discount.

⛳Calling all golfers, Teego Golf has officially opened its doors, bringing its high tech TrackMan simulators to the Wick. Practice your swing, get feedback on your data, or play through over 400 world-class courses. Visit the website to book now for discounted opening sessions.

💁🏼‍♂️ 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.

📈Running a small business and ready to take it to the next level? London College of Fashion’s Help to Grow Management Course is designed for leaders and senior managers of UK SMEs, covering everything from strategy and innovation to marketing, finance, digital transformation and building high-performing teams. The programme combines online learning with face-to-face sessions at LCF’s East Bank campus, plus 1:1 mentoring to help you develop a practical Growth Action Plan for your business. The programme is 90% government-funded, with eligible participants paying £750. The next cohort starts 4th Nov. Find out more and register your interest.

🚀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.

📕 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.

BUSINESSES: profile your own local venture in a video and share your offers and events to over 8,000 locals via this newsletter and 1,000s more on our social channels. Sign up to The Wick Business Community today.

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