Community engagement is promised in every regeneration project, but how often do locals truly shape their spaces? Do professionals know best, or should power be shared? Join us at The Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great for the Accelerate Debate, where bold thinkers explore the ethics, risks and rewards of co-design.

, 1123

Join young Creatives from All Change’s B Creative arts activism programme for young women, to create original affirmation bracelets and black-out poetry. Express and share messages of hope and positivity for ourselves and our community.

Get hands-on and creative at the SoulPrint Crafts Corner! Drop in anytime to try out different activities. From making your own paper shoes using recycled materials and fabrics, to exploring fun and imaginative drawing and painting. It’s a welcoming space for all ages to experiment, make something unique, and enjoy the joy of crafting together. Bring your own t-shirt or tote bag and upcycle!

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.

Bring a splash of colour to your day with our face painting corner! From roaring tigers to sparkling butterflies, our artists will transform little faces (and grown-up ones too!) with fun, creative designs. Drop in, pick your favourite look, and leave with a smile.

Step into a soulful, uplifting evening that blends live music, conversation, and community. For Those Who Need Hugs is more than a performance, it’s an intimate experience where artistry meets connection. Expect powerful vocals, raw emotion, and moments that will stay with you long after the night ends.

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.

Was Kilroy or Banksy ever in Great St. Bart's? Probably not, but other graffiti artists and creators sure were! Join us for a discussion of graffiti through time, learn about its different uses, how it's evolved, and how people have used it to express themselves over the centuries.

Join sign writer and artist Adam Makowiecki to design your very own graffiti tag or miniature mural using arts and craft materials.

Hello, Cloth Fair: a fashion tour of Smithfield Led by a City of London Green Badge guide and former fashion journalist, this 45-minute walking tour lifts the lid on Smithfield’s stylish history.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Join award-winning poet and writer Laurie Bolger for a heartfelt workshop all about celebrating kindness. Through creative prompts and gentle guidance, Laurie will help you craft your own uplifting “messages of kindness” to share. The session will close with a special reading of one of Laurie’s poems, reminding us of the power of words to connect, comfort, and inspire.

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

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 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.

Learning from the past to change the future: placard making with the Marx Memorial Library Inspired by our extensive collection of historic protest posters and banners, we will ask participants to create their own using collage and crafting on what matters to them today.

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!

Performed by Eva Gerretsen, representing the Boats Bring Bonds collective, this meditative spoken word piece explores the cultural and ecological significance of the oyster to London, reflecting on ideas of “watery commons” and multispecies care.

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

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.

Join us for Bartholomew Fayre: Power to the People, a FREE bold and brilliant grassroots community festival, celebrating creativity, history, activism and togetherness. Across two-jam packed days, we’ll be taking over Smithfield with an exciting mix of hands-on art, thought-provoking talks, walking tours and live performances inspired by the anarchic joyousness of the original Bartholomew Fair.