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It's the weekend once more and there's a wealth of fun to be had in London town. There are music festivals, food festivals, and tons of parties to celebrate the Queen's ninetieth birthday. Plus there's the return of the East London Comics and Arts Festival and a Harry Potter graphic props shop to keep you entertained. Perfect!
Things to do
The Great Architectural Bake-Off, Fitzroy Square, Sat, free. This free afternoon is your chance to see high-profile architecture firms such as Zaha Hadid and Foster + Partners build stuff right before your eyes. Out of cake.
Trooping the Colour: The Queen's Birthday Parade, Horse Guards Parade, Sat, free. The annual celebration for the Queen's official birthday will mark her arrival at the big nine-0.
Mind The Brain, Jeffery Hall, Sat, £5. It's UCL's Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience's 20th birthday this year! To celebrate, they're running a day of short talks about how brains react to social conditioning, cannabis, happiness, psychiatrists, anxiety, memories and the rest.
Bolt London Summer Party, London Fields, Sat, free. The lovely motorcycle shop/cafe/hairdresser has turned a dilapidated yard into a tropical garden and they're throwing a party to celebrate. There'll be craft beer, Volcano Coffee Works nitro-frozen espresso martinis, music from Imogen Love and a barbecue.
World Naked Bike Ride, various locations, Sat, free. A protest against oil dependency and the way the cult of the car dominates contemporary life, World Naked Bike Ride Day is also an unfettered celebration of individuality of the human body.
Seven Dials Style Saturday, various, Sat, free. Seven Dials becomes a traffic-free destination this Saturday with free music, fashion illustration and snacks and drinks.
Meltdown Circus Day, Southbank Centre, Sun, free. Watch astonishing feats or learn a new skill at Meltdown with performers including The Majorettes, Upswing and professional slack rope walker and juggler Stefano Di Renzo.
History of the Picnic, Sutton House, Sun, free with entry to Sutton House. Food historian Kathryn Packer explains the origins of the picnic, with a special section on the unmissable ingredient for this British summer pastime: the pork pie.
Stepney City Farm Big Lunch, Stepney City Farm, Sun, free. Bring along a picnic to feast on, then take part in tours of the farm, swing dance sessions and find out about local history with the lead archaeologist from the Crossrail Dig.
Free Range, Old Truman Brewery, all weekend, free. Fancy discovering the next Alexander McQueen or Tracey Emin? Then head to this six-week showcase of the most exciting art and design graduates from around the UK.
Cockpit Arts Open Studios Deptford, all weekend, free. These open studios offer the chance to see the work of nearly 200 artists over the two venues and meet independent makers in person.
East London Comics and Arts Festival, various London locations, all weekend, £10 weekend pass, £5 day pass. Now in its fifth year, ELCAF is the place to discover the best comic book and graphic art by top international publishers and makers.
The Graphic Art of the Harry Potter Films, House of MinaLima, all weekend, free. No tickets to The Cursed Child? No problem. See sketches by graphic designers MinaLima who've helped produce graphic props for JK Rowling's upcoming feature film 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'.
…or check out more events happening in London this weekend.
Eating and drinking
Her Majesty's Birthday Brunch, Spa Fields, Sat, £35. Bourne & Hollingsworth host this special birthday brunch in celebrations of her Majesty's 90th birthday. The alfresco bash takes place a stone's throw from the restaurant and features an all-British menu using seasonal products and refreshing cocktails.
Fork to Fork Food Festival, Ark Franklin Primary Academy, Sat, £8, free under-12s. Fork to Fork returns to London with over 35 food stalls serving small plates and signature dishes from top establishments. This year's restaurants include: Hoppers, Quo Vadis, Lyle’s, The Ledbury, Kitty Fisher’s, Granger & Co, Polpo, The River Café, The Modern Pantry, Wahaca and Caravan.
Gin Master Class, Good Ship Benefit, Sat, £6.25. Celebrate World Gin Day with a masterclass focussed the juniper berry drink. Clotilde Lataille will explain the history of popular gins and teach you how to make creative cocktails. Tickets include a goodie bag and complimentary welcome drink.
Junipalooza, Tobacco Dock, Sat-Sun, £39. Meet the makers of over 40 gins and sample each of their wares. Learn the secrets behind perfect G&Ts and stock up on the essential ingredients for your Negroni needs this summer.
Priory Arms Festival, South Lambeth, all weekend, free. Join London brewers Anspach & Hobday for a tap takeover at this lovely Stockwell pub. Ten casks, ten kegs - from pale ale to stout via a sour dry hop - plus hot dogs and a 90-inch screen for the start of Euro 2016.
…or check out the latest restaurant reviews.
Comedy
Bush Hall presents..., Shepherd's Bush, TONIGHT, £19.25. Yet another cracking line-up: Joe Lycett, James Acaster, Kerry Godliman and MC Ed Gamble.
Ed Byrne – Outside, Looking In, Leicester Square Theatre, Fri-Sat, £19. Life's little annoyances unpacked by superb Irish comic.
Whose Line Is It Anyway?… Live, London Palladium, all weekend, £20-£47.50. After a triumphant live debut in 2015, the legendary TV improv show returns to the capital.
…or check out all the critics’ choice comedy shows.
Live music
Found Festival, Brockwell Park, Sat, £15-£50. The one-day dance festival returns to south London with top DJs and a hip crowd.
Adam Ant, O2 Academy Brixton, Sat-Sun, £35 & £37.50. The former whooping and clattering King of the Wild Frontier continues his successful return to the stage, playing Adam And The Ants' breakthrough album 'Kings of the Wild Frontier' in full.
Field Day, Victoria Park, Sat-Sun, £49.50-£132. The ace leftfield music festival returns to Victoria Park, with PJ Harvey and James Blake headlining.
…or take a look at all the live music events in London this weekend.
Nightlife
Andy Blake for the Evening, Dance Tunnel, TONIGHT. South London's veteran of vinyl Andy Blake brings a marathon house and techno set to Dalston's Dance Tunnel before this subterranean Hackney venue shuts down in August.
Greg Wilson, The Nest, TONIGHT, adv £8.50 & £11.50. Electro-funk champion Greg Wilson's career stretches from the early '80s through a residency at Manchester's Haçienda and a crateload of red hot disco re-edits.
Tropicalista Thames Boat Party, Tower Pier, Sat, £22, adv £18. Tired of hearing the same old beats on your boating parties? Step right on to the Dutch Master and wrap your ears round some fine tropical sounds including Latin and Brazilian beats, samba, merengue, global ghetto bass and baile funk.
Found Festival Afterparty, Electric Brixton, Sat, £7.50-£12.50. This after-event for daytime danceathon Found Festival features plenty of reasons to keep partying when the main event finishes.
…or see all the parties planned this weekend.
Film
Fetish Film Club presents: The Duke of Burgundy, Genesis Cinema, TONIGHT, £8. Genesis Cinema's Bar paragon hosts a special screening of The Duke of Burgundy, followed by burlesque from Helene de Joie, cocktails and dancing.
‘Mean Girls’ Bitch-along, Prince Charles Cinema, Sat, £13.50. Put on your fetchest outfit and sashay along to the Prince Charles’s gleefully interactive screening of a teen-flick classic.
Time Out Loves... ‘This is Spinal Tap’, The Bussey Building, Sun, £16.50. Rob Reiner’s genre-setting mockumentary – or, if you will, rockumentary – about England’s largest-livin’, heaviest-riffin’, filthiest-lyric-singin’, biggest-hair-havin’, fluffiest-jumper-ownin’ heavy rock combo topped Time Out’s recent list of the 100 Best Comedy Movies.
Or at the cinema...
When Marnie Was There ★★★★☆ It’s the end of an era. After three decades legendary Japanese animator Studio Ghibli has ceased production, which means that ‘When Marnie Was There’ is its last film for the foreseeable future.
Where to Invade Next ★★★★☆ Michael Moore sets off on a world tour – not with war in mind, but with the hopes of learning what America could do better.
…or see all of the latest releases.
Theatre
The Deep Blue Sea, Lyttelton Theatre, Fri-Sat, £15-£65. Helen McCrory stars in a stunning revival of Rattigan's bleak masterpiece.
Minefield, Royal Court Theatre, Fri-Sat, £10-£25. A moving, innovative look at the Falkland Islands conflict seen through the eyes of soldiers on both sides.
The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare's Globe, Fri-Sat, £5-£45. Rising star director Caroline Byrne directs an Irish-set 'Shrew'.
Stella, Hoxton Hall, Fri-Sat, £18, £14 concs. Neil Bartlett's new play is inspired by the scandalous true story of Victorian cross-dresser Ernest Boulton.
…or see our theatre critics’ choices.
This week's best new art
Mary Heilmann, Whitechapel Gallery, all weekend, free. Arriving like a heady blast of ozone comes this retrospective of the US artist who, for the past five decades, has dazzled with witty, exuberant, sensuous paintings.
Wolfgang Tillmans, Maureen Paley, all weekend, free. For his eighth show at east London stalwart Maureen Paley, the German-born photographer has created a series of images of the boundaries between nations.
Under the Same Sun: Art From Latin America Today, South London Gallery, all weekend, free. This show, which has toured in New York and Mexico City, brings together over 20 artists working in Latin America, and across painting, sculpture, photography, video, performance and installation.
…or see all London art reviews.
And finally
Win... a private box for English National Opera's production of Madam Butterfly or a Zurich city break for two with Zurich Tourism
Grab... up to 60% off craft beer delivered to your door
Book… these gigs while you still can
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