We’re kicking off Bartholomew Fayre with a proper Friday night feast! Our friends at Cloth Restaurant will be serving up something special for the community. The menu will feature a mouth-watering hog roast, generously donated by Smithfield Market, a true nod to the area’s history, and yummy veggie and vegan options alongside a pay bar.

Get ready for Disco Loco – Hackney Showroom’s wild and wonderful family party! Perfect for families with young children, this high-energy session brings everyone together on the dance floor. With a live DJ spinning fun tunes and an MC leading the way, expect plenty of dance floor games, hula hoop fun, and colourful ribbons to wave around.

Come and try Laughter Yoga, a fun and gentle activity that helps you feel good, relax, and connect with others. This playful workshop uses simple breathing and laughter exercises to show how a pretend laugh can quickly turn into real laughter when shared in a group. It’s easy to join in, suitable for all ages, and can lift your mood, reduce stress, and bring people together.

Treat yourself at Bartholomew Fayre with a well-deserved pamper stop! Hannah B Manicures will be bringing a Pop-Up Nail Bar to the heart of the festivities. Visitors can enjoy quick and stylish express manicures, the perfect way to add a little extra sparkle to your day. Take a seat, relax, and let Hannah work her magic. First come first served!

Join us for arts, crafts and play activities led by the London Museum as part of their intergenerational Play Cycles programme.

Join Assemblage Collective for this manifesto zine-making workshop, all about expressing yourself and your ideas for a better world! Learn how to craft a zine (like a mini book, from the word maga-zine), then use a range of materials to draw, collage, stamp, write and create a playful manifesto for the future.

Alec Forshaw, conservationist, historian and author, will lead a circular walk around Smithfield's back streets.

Come and hear some of them with the City of London Guides. We would love to tell you tales of peasants, angry monks, body snatchers, great art and much much more.

In this workshop, you’ll work with Studio TIP to turn real-world surplus materials — the kind that normally gets dumped after mass production — into playful objects and artworks. Offcuts, trims, odd shapes and leftovers. Stuff that didn’t make the cut. Until now.

Get creative at Little Angel's Puppet Craft Table, where little hands (and big ones too!) can make their very own mini puppets to take home. Using simple materials and plenty of imagination, families can cut, colour, stick and decorate together. Drop in anytime, let your creativity flow, and bring your puppet to life. No experience needed, just lots of enthusiasm!

Join artist and activist Ruan Murphy in this family friendly, protest inspired printing workshop! This messy, hands-on and thoughtful activity encourages young people and their adults to think about causes that matter to them, and create their own unique piece of art.

Taking inspiration from archival materials relating to shows and performers at Bartholomew Fayre, discover how to go beyond the historical sources to illuminate hidden queer lived experiences, and create poetry and flash fiction that brings your creative interpretations to life. Led by Nick Field.