As you can see, your essential weekly newsletter (and the website too) have had a bit of a makeover, as we prepare for hot-off-the-press copies of the new, relaunched print edition to land next week (first peek above).

This glow-up represents a new era for The Wick, bringing more art, more photography and IRL events into what we do this summer, and signalling our intent to double down on supporting the creative economy around here, despite the seemingly endless global and local headwinds.

Your first chance to pick up a free copy of the new The Wick will be at a special launch event up on the roof at The Lord Napier next Wednesday, 20th May from 6pm. Do join us for a few drinks, bar promos and lively chat at a soiree which will also mark the welcome return of Wick Wednesday.

Pre-Covid, these monthly Wednesday evenings saw discounts, special events and promos running at 40+ locations across Hackney Wick & Fish Island, to give everyone a boost on an otherwise quieter night of the week.

Now we’re reintroducing that spirit for a new era, with plans to grow things over the months ahead. As announced at Friday morning’s CIG at The Loop, the monthly meetings are moving to Wednesday afternoons, with a social event directly afterwards. The idea is to give more time for those serendipitous moments of connection that have been the hallmark of the CIG network throughout its 16 years.

The first of the Wednesday afternoon-into-evening events will be hosted in the stunning, historic local building of HTA Design, on Wed 24th Jun, and run on the final Wednesday of the month after that, so mark the date in your diary too, and see you soon… 🙂

Each week we shine a spotlight on the people and events that make this corner of East London special. This edition - the Fish Island stand-up night Don’t Tell Dave that’s drawing the crowds with impressively big name comics, and features Insta and podcast stars and real life couple Patrick Spicer and Micky Overman on Thurs 4th Jun.

Are you a local business who’d like to be profiled in The Wick? Join our Business Community now for a package of content creation, benefits and support throughout the year.

🎭 Something is stirring in the subterranean depths of the Wick this week. The dystopian world of A Fugitive Thought lands at The Cave - following the journey of protagonist Eli, also known as TO3, as he navigates the suffocating powers of his reality and grapples with the weight of his own fugitive thoughts. It’s a blend of theatre, dance, live music - and a digital animation motion-captured robot.
You won’t sitting in a pokey chair for this one, either. You’ll be following the characters from room to room, watching the story unfold in real time and getting a chance to physically interact with the space through the music and reactive lighting. Runs Thurs 14th - Sat 16th May

📡This evening, Wed 13th May, Black Music As Black Fashion Culture: Panel Talk is at London College of Fashion, . The threads of what we wear are often stitched together by the beats we drop. The talk lands as part of the summer-long Music is Black Festival at East Bank, unpicking the vibrant, collaborative intersection of style and sound.

🧘As part of Mental Health Awareness Week, Here East are hosting Calm & Connect until Tue 19th May. The campus is slowing things down with a week of free restorative events - wellness walks along the canal with The Line, popular breathwork and sound bath sessions, and even a bit of match funding for Mind over at Baba’s. (Join their fundraiser here.)

🔊 Urban Listening Room: Build-Process Series is at UCL East Thurs 14th & Fri 15th May, bringing some architectural rigour to the Marshgate campus. The session is a quirky, technical look at how how a sound system takes shape through prototyping, making, and collective listening.

🎶 Theatre Royal Stratford East sees the opening night of their much-anticipated production of The Harder They Come on Thurs 16th May. The reggae musical is based on the cult-classic film and tells the story of Ivan, an aspiring singer who arrives in Jamaica, determined to make it as a music superstar.

🧘 At The Bath House this week there’s an Ecstatic Dance session on Sun 17th May - a chance for you to let loose and dance like no one’s watching (because hopefully, they aren’t), with a social after-party. Then grab your charcoal sticks on Tues 19th May and get stuck into some Life Drawing open to all skill levels.

🔊 Dubmerge lands at Grow on Fri 15th May. A proper celebration of the UK’s bass-rich sound system culture, with selectors like Eshie, Moontalk, and Limi on the bill - plenty of rolling basslines and earthy percussion to get the weekend moving.

🕺 Colour Factory hosts emerging Italian DJ okgiorgio on Sat 16th May. Giorgio Pesenti, who has recently opened for Fred Again, brings a quirky style, as he’s known for blending classical guitar with electronic house music.

🏃 This Sunday the canal path is going to be a sea of foil blankets and shaky legs, so whether you actually ran the half or just watched with a beer, head to join Heart2Heart: Hackney Half After Party as it takes over Two More Years Sun 17th May.

🍺 Columbia Road pub The Birdcage is celebrating their Re-Opening Weekend from Fri 15th – Sun 17th May. Friday is the noisy launch with free drinks if you're quick; Saturday is a meet the brewers session with East London Brew. Then on Sunday, there’ll be bacon sandwiches from 9am, a roast in the afternoon and a live band from 4pm.

🎤 Devise & Conquer #4: Scratch Night & Cabaret is taking over The Divine up Stokey way on Tues 19th May, bringing comedy, theatre, drag, poetry and music to this top queer venue. Run by Lockdown Projections, the event is held in the basement and is a good chance to see some testing ground ideas from local emerging talent.

Last year, our competition to win access to all the SXSW London music showcases was wildly popular with you lot - so we thought we’d do it all over again for 2026 😃

Taking place every night from Tues 2nd - Fri 5th Jun, the SXSW London 2026 music festival takes over multiple venues and stages across Shoreditch, to showcase of over 150 emerging artists, future headliners, and international collectives.

Starting from just £25 for a one night wristband, tiered up to conference level passes for those making music their career, there’s something that everyone can enjoy. If you love discovering new music, the £79 music week wristband includes access performances including Earl Sweatshirt, Fraser T Smith and Sega Bodega on the Tuesday, Circa Waves, Infinity Song, Rachel Chinouriri on the Wed, Amaria BB, Odumodublvck, Tiwa Savage on Thurs and Shame on the Friday, plus masses more.

And we’ve got 2 pairs of those music week wristbands up for grabs this week on The Wick.

Click here to enter the competition. Good luck!

We’ll draw 2 x winners for a pair of wristbands at random on Mon 25th May and notify them by email. Over 18s only. Prize is non-transferable, has no cash alternative, and does not include travel or accommodation.

🏃🏼‍♀️‍➡️ Ojasvi Jalal, of pro-social news engagement start-up Cauldron, (who you might have heard speak at the CIG last year), is raising money for Full Fact, the UK's independent fact checking charity with a Hackney Half Marathon run at the weekend. Google sadly pulled over £1M in funding from them at a time when independent fact checking needs more support than ever. Every penny counts, so you can support her and the charity by donating to her fundraiser and you cn follow the progress of the campaign and the run via the Calutron Insta, too.

🌳 The Line is recruiting their 2026 cohort of summer Youth Guides, looking for motivated young people to join the team. It’s a chance to get outdoors, meet new people, connect with your local community and have fun. Closing date for applications is Mon 18th May.

👥 Hackney Council are hiring a Youth Support & Development Worker. If you’ve got a background in community building, this is a chance to work on the frontline of the borough’s social development. Deadline for applications is Thurs 21st May.

🛩️ London City Airport Community Fund has open funding application for projects that build stronger, greener communities or create pathways into employment. Get funding for up to £3000. Deadline 26th June.

⚽ World Cup bookings at The Lord Napier Star are officially open. They’re showing every England game across their projector and five screens so get your table booked now.

📕 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 180+ copies, and they won’t last long…

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