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Hey Neighbour,
Who attends a pie party without being a pie lover? Guilty, but my real confession: this is the second year I have done this.
I went to the Quince bakery pie party (that's right, I attend events too), and this year was bigger than ever. Luckily your neighbour learns from her mistakes. I arrived extra early and it paid off. Did I still wait in the queue? Yes, but only 1.5hrs this time (it was 4hrs last year!). If you'd met me in that queue, you'd have thought I was the biggest pie lover there. Spent £39 on:
2x Steak bake
2x Salted maple pie, Sazerac whipped cream
1x Apple + cheddar crumble pie
The real star of the show — Salted maple pie, Sazerac whipped cream. I devoured it so quickly I almost finished it on the pavement outside. Anyways if you too aren't a pie person, this is good introduction to it. Steak bake was a runner up (I know its not pie but still). The Apple + cheddar crumble pie, well let’s just say it wasn't my thing.
One more thing, if you went to Sofar Sounds at Calthorpe Garden last bank holiday Sunday, I'd love to know how it went. Hit reply and tell me all about it, it helps me know what kinda events you like.
Now, over to your weekend plans.
—Maryam
PS - if you attend any events listed, feel free to tag on Instagram stories and share how it's all going.
Plan Your Weekend:
📋 Round Up
Bits and bobs worth knowing.
🎬 Stephen King's horror story set in Crouch End is being made into a Prime Video series: King wrote the short story in 1980 set in North London. Now Amazon MGM Studios turning it into a six-part series. First Stephen King adaptation ever made in the UK. The film follows a film star whose husband mysteriously disappears in Crouch End. She tells police something supernatural is behind it. Filming starts next year.
🤠 Dollyfest coming to London next year to celebrate Dolly Parton's life: Dolly Parton died aged 80 on 25 August after a brief battle with cancer. Her estate has announced Dollyfest, a two-day festival celebrating her life and legacy, taking place across two consecutive weekends in Nashville and London next year. The festival was originally planned for January 2026 around her 80th birthday, with Dolly herself set to perform and host. It will now serve as a celebration of her legacy instead.
🎸 There's a Freddie Mercury mural outside Wembley Stadium: Ahead of what would have been Freddie Mercury's 80th birthday this Saturday, a 30ft portrait has been painted across 58 steps between Wembley Stadium and OVO Arena.
Source: Wembley Park
🧖 Pop-up saunas and cold plunge baths planned for Kenwood House grounds: East London firm Sauna And Soul applied to Camden Council to install two timber saunas and three cold plunge baths on a lawn near the Kenwood House car park for 12 months.
🗳️ 51% of you had no idea
Last week I asked if you knew artsdepot did grown-up nights out, not just family shows.
51% of you had no idea.
So this autumn I'm teaming up with them to show you what's on after dark. Starting with this.
For Two Nights Only
Hofesh Shechter's young company are touring Europe this year. Zurich, Geneva, Paris, Manchester, Turin, Rotterdam. In between Belgium and Italy, they're stopping in North Finchley.
Source: Hofesh Shechter Company
What Actually Happens
The lights go down, eight dancers take the stage, a bass line you can feel in your chest and haze so thick you'd think you're watching shapes rather than people. There's no story to follow, in fact there's no words at all. The idea is that you sit in the dark and let the music do its thing. 55 minutes, with no interval.
Shechter writes the music himself, and people tend to describe his shows more like gigs than dance. The Daily Express put it best: there's no sitting in thoughtful contemplation at a Shechter show.
His last young company sold out 25 nights in Paris. And if it's good enough for Paris…
The details
Wed 9 & Thu 10 September @ 7.30pm
** Full transparency: this is a paid partnership with artsdepot. I said yes because half of you told me you had no idea any of this was going on, so it felt like something you'd actually want to know about.
⭐️Top Events
Art Car Boot Fair | 📍Lewis Cubitt Square, King’s Cross, N1C | 5 September | (£)
More than 100 artists take over Lewis Cubitt Square for the afternoon, selling prints, paintings, photographs and one off pieces directly to the people browsing. This year includes Mr Bingo, Bob and Roberta Smith, Margo in Margate and Vic Reeves, while photographer Rankin will be taking portraits on the day. There are also performances, music and plenty of odd creative things happening as you wander.
Palmers Green Festival | 📍Broomfield Park, N13 | 6 September | Free
Palmers Green Festival has been part of the local calendar since 2008 and this year returns to Broomfield Park for a full afternoon. Live music at the bandstand, a vintage village, artisan food and crafts, the Starfish Art Exhibition, a dance zone, model boats on the boating lake, donkey rides and Biddall's Fun Fair, which has been visiting the park for over 100 years. Fun dog show in the Broomfield Bowl. Run entirely by local volunteers and organisations. 12pm to 5pm.
Angel Canal Festival | 📍City Road Basin, N1 | 6 September | Free
Forty years ago a back garden party was held to save City Road Basin from development. The festival that grew from it is still going, now one of Islington's most loved free community days. Live music, puppetry, art workshops, water sports, street food and traditional canal boats along the towpath. Out of all the festivals this week, this is one is my favourite.
Birds of the Heath in the Autumn | 📍Hampstead Heath, NW3 | 6 September | Free/(£)
You do not need to know your warblers from your woodpeckers for this one. Bird expert Pete Mantle is leading a two hour early morning walk across Hampstead Heath, helping you spot and identify whatever is moving through the trees, ponds and open spaces as autumn begins. The Heath can throw up some real surprises too. A Dartford Warbler was spotted there this year for the first time since WWII, while Alpine Swifts and Bitterns have appeared in the past. Nothing rare is guaranteed, which is part of the fun. Meet at Burgh House at 9am. Bring binoculars and sturdy shoes. No advance booking needed.
My Dinner With: Jess Cole & Friends | 📍Rose Lipman Building, N1 | 5 September | Pay what you feel
This is the kind of dinner where you arrive on your own and end up sharing a table with people you have never met. My Dinner With is a travelling not for profit supper club, and this time Aunties Street Food is doing the cooking, with food inspired by the feeling of being fed in your mum’s or auntie’s kitchen. Everyone sits down together, eats the same meal and lets the evening unfold from there. Bring your own drinks, pay what you feel and come hungry. Doors open at 6pm, with supper served at 6.30pm.
Queen’s Park Book Festival | 📍Queen’s Park, NW6 | 5 & 6 September | (£)
After nine years, Queen’s Park Book Festival is bowing out with one final weekend in the park. Across two days, authors, journalists, chefs and thinkers take to the stages for conversations about books, food, politics and culture, with this year’s line up including Jacqueline Wilson, Philip Pullman, Sathnam Sanghera, Sebastian Barry, Theo Randall and Honey & Co. The Community Tent stays free and gives space to local writers, young poets and emerging voices, so you can mix the bigger names with something completely new.
Denmark Street Sessions | 📍Denmark Street, WC2H | 5 September | Free
For one day, Denmark Street turns its music shops, studios, bars and tiny venues into one long free festival. The street has been tied to London’s music scene for decades, and this is a chance to actually step inside the places that still make it tick, with more than 20 live performances, listening sessions, talks and pop ups happening from afternoon into the night.
London’s Transport in Miniature | 📍The Model Railway Club, N1 | 6 September | (£)
For one day, London’s transport network gets shrunk down to model size. You can watch tiny Tube trains, trams and railways running through detailed miniature stations and streets, including Copenhagen Fields, a reimagining of the area just north of King’s Cross with Caledonian Road, old Piccadilly line stations and street running trams built into the layout. There are also several fictional and semi fictional London inspired railways to explore, all made by enthusiasts who spend years getting the small details right. 11am to 4pm.
Highgate Wood Heritage Community Day | 📍Highgate Wood, N10 | 6 September | Free
Annual community day in Highgate Wood from 11am to 4pm, with live music, craft and conservation stalls, a dog show and visits from local beekeepers. There will be plenty happening around the Information Hut near the café, with a chance to meet some of the people involved in looking after the wood too. No need to book, just turn up for a free Sunday in the woods.
FT Weekend Festival | 📍Kenwood House Gardens, NW3 | 5 September | (£)
Think book festival, food festival and big ideas day out, all in the grounds of Kenwood House. You choose your own line up, moving between tents to hear people like Yotam Ottolenghi on food, Mary Beard on history and Richard E. Grant telling stories, then switch to a talk on AI, health, money, books or travel. In between, grab something to eat, join a tasting, browse the book stalls or sit out on the grass. You do not need to read the Financial Times or know anything about finance to enjoy it.
Islington Grow Show 2026 | 📍Caledonian Park, N7 | 6 September | Free
This is a Sunday gathering for people who grow things, and people who simply like seeing what their neighbours have managed to grow. Gardeners from across Islington will bring in their tomatoes, herbs, vegetables and other harvests to show and share, while everyone else can wander the stalls, take home free compost, pot up a plant, join a mushroom or microgreens workshop and pick up ideas for growing food in even the smallest space. There is a Filipino buffet style community lunch from 12.30pm too, followed by the Grow Show winners at 1.30pm. 11am to 4pm. No booking needed.
Mews Festival 2026 | 📍Avenue Mews, N10 | 5 September | Free
Avenue Mews is a small pocket of shops, creative spaces and a brewery in Muswell Hill, and this Saturday the people based there are opening up the whole lane for a neighbourhood festival. From 6pm, there will be bands playing from a stage above Cha Cha Cha Vintage, vinyl DJs inside the shops, street food, cocktails and local beer, psychedelic light projections, surreal puppets and a literary salon. You can also browse the vintage shops and pop up stalls as you move between everything. Stalls start from 2pm, with the main festival running 6pm to 10pm.
Classic and Vintage Car Show | 📍Capel Manor Gardens, Enfield, EN1 | 6 September | (£)
More than 500 classic and vintage cars are rolling into Capel Manor Gardens for the day, with some dating all the way back to the 1920s. You can wander among the cars, chat to owners and browse the auto jumble, basically stalls selling old car parts, memorabilia and motoring bits. Your visit also includes Capel Manor’s 30 acres of gardens and mini zoo, with live entertainment, food stalls, a bar and cream tea on the lawn outside the manor house.
North London Curated: Home Edition | 📍Floral Hall, Crouch End, N8 | 6 September | Free
North London Curated is doing its first market devoted entirely to things for the home. Floral Hall will be filled with vintage and preloved homeware, art, interiors, accessories and pieces from independent makers, so you can browse old glassware, decorative bits, one offs and things you probably were not looking for until you saw them. It runs from 10am to 5pm and entry is free.
Re-Enchantment Book Swap | 📍K.C. Continental Stores, N1 | 5 September | Free
Bring along a book you have finished, leave it for someone else, and take home another one from the pile. Re-Enchantment, a London literary collective that brings readers and writers together, is taking over the basement at K.C. Continental Stores for a relaxed afternoon of swapping books, drinking coffee or wine and chatting about what everyone has been reading. You can come alone, stay for a while or simply drop in with a few books and see what finds its way back home with you. 12pm to 5pm.
Click below to see full weekend list.👇
🎾 Wimbledon 2027 Public Ballot Now Open | Deadline: 14 September
Fancy watching some tennis next summer? The ballot for next year's Championships is now open. It's kinda like the lottery but for tennis.
You can apply for two tickets to Centre Court or Courts 1, 2 and 3 for the 28 June to 11 July 2027 tournament. You don't get to pick your court, day or seats. Wimbledon randomly allocates them if your name comes up.
Source: Wimbledon
If you're successful, you'll be emailed an offer for a specific court and day. Applications are for two tickets, usually a pair, although Wimbledon says you could be offered two seats apart if no pairs are available. (Spoiler: you also don't get to choose which matches.)
Wimbledon hasn't published 2027 ticket prices yet, so how much you'll pay will depend on the court, day and seats you're allocated. Successful applicants will start getting emails from October 2026 onwards, with their ticket offer and instructions on how to pay.
The ballot's been running since 1924 as Wimbledon's way of giving everyone a fair shot at tickets, with successful applications picked at random. ⏰ Deadline: 11:59pm Monday 14 September, so you've got less than two weeks to get your name in the hat.
👀 Spotted
Caught our eye, might catch yours
🏛️ Barnet Council is holding a Question Time on Monday 26th October, 7pm to 8.30pm, where residents can put questions to the Leader and Cabinet about the budget. The council's facing a £200m gap over three years and says balancing it will mean some painful decisions, so this is your chance to hear the plan and have your say.
🎭 Etcetera Theatre in Camden is offering £100 stage slots this September and October for anyone wanting to test out new work in front of a real audience. New writing, comedy, solo shows, devised stuff or early stage material, all welcome. You get a 42 seat black box, box office support and basic tech, and it's a good shout if you had a Fringe show that deserves another night. Selected dates only, first come first served. Email [email protected].
🎬 It's National Cinema Weekend, with over 530 cinemas doing tickets at around £4, and two of North London's best independents are in. The Phoenix in East Finchley has £4 tickets across the weekend, and ArtHouse in Crouch End is matching it and running an extra day, right through to Monday the 7th. Worth grabbing while it's this cheap.
🐴 Kentish Town City Farm is hiring a Horse Programme Coordinator to help run their animal care and activities, including a new equine programme. It's a permanent role, 28 hours a week across Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, at £28,210 pro rata. Worth knowing the process includes a riding assessment, so you'll need to be comfortable in the saddle. Closes 27th September.
🌱 St Peter's Church in Belsize Park is starting a gardening club to help keep its garden looking lovely, and they want green fingered locals to join. They meet the first Saturday of the month, 10am to 1pm, sharing tips from pruning to planting. No experience needed, just bring your wellies and any tools you've got. Kicks off Saturday 5th October, coffee provided.
📍 There's a campaign calling on Islington Council to stop the closure of Paradise Park Nursery. The nursery is run by Islington Play Association, which says financial difficulties mean it can no longer operate, and the council has proposed keeping IPA's four adventure playgrounds open while letting the nursery close. Campaigners, made up of workers, parents and locals, say around 30 jobs are at risk and want the council to pause the closure and review the options. ( thanks for sharing, Colombine)
Got something your neighbours should know about?
Opening or launching something? Noticed a change in your neighbourhood? Got a local story, observation or point of view worth sharing? Reply to this email. A photo, link or a few lines is plenty.
🎟️ Heads up
Upcoming events you should consider booking in advance or planning ahead for. In and out of North London. Events marked with (£) require a ticket in advance.
JAZZ RE:FEST | 📍KOKO, Camden, NW1 | 13 September | Free
KOKO is hosting a free day of live jazz, with different bands and DJs playing across the afternoon rather than one single headline show. The festival is run by Jazz re:freshed and puts a lot of focus on musicians who are still building their audience, alongside more established names. Previous editions featured artists like Nubya Garcia, Yussef Dayes and Sons of Kemet before they became much better known. It starts at 2pm, ages 8+ are welcome with an adult, and entry is free. Registration helps organisers plan numbers but does not guarantee entry.
BBC TV 90 at Ally Pally | 📍Alexandra Palace, N22 | September to November | (£)
Television as we know it has one of its earliest homes at Alexandra Palace, where the BBC launched the world’s first regular public high definition television service 90 years ago. This autumn, Ally Pally is going back to those beginnings with talks, screenings and exhibitions about the people who figured out what television could actually be. Coming up are Young Man with Ideas on 20 September, looking at pioneering producer Dallas Bower and screening a rare 1937 film made to demonstrate television sets to the public, followed by Pioneering Women in Early Television on 27 September, uncovering the women working behind the camera and on screen as the BBC’s television service was being invented.
THANKS FOR READING!
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