Keep Colchester Cool

Boozy Brushes – Paint in Pairs
2025-06-27 19:30 - 21:30 (Europe/London) | Lewis Gardens, CO1 1JH Colchester, United Kingdom
Join Sirena Hart at Firstsite for Boozy Brushes a multi-art, Drag entertainment painting class extravaganza where you can paint in pairs!
Join us in the café/bar area for a lively, fun and creative evening.
Unlike Boozy Brushes, where the subject is a different celebrity every month, now the subject is your favourite person!
So who’s your muse?
Ticket price includes all materials and one drink from the bar. This event is for ages 18+.
For more info & tickets: https://firstsite.uk/event/boozy-brushes-paint-in-pairs/ or call us on 01206 713 700.

Firstsite Fabulous Fridays
2025-06-27 19:00 - 22:00 | Lewis Gardens, CO1 1JH Colchester, United Kingdom
Step into a world of unlimited creativity at our monthly Fabulous Fridays! Immerse yourself in a world of artistic inspiration with different workshops, art, tasty treats and films.
Throughout the evening, we will be hosting an array of creative events and workshops across Firstsite. Expect pop-up performances, arts and crafts, and surprise artist collaborations that leave you inspired and engaged.
Our art workshops will allow attendees to participate in creating something new, from crafting unique pieces, drawing sketches, learning new painting techniques, and exploring the world of art sustainably.
For those looking for a more relaxed experience, Firstsite features thought-provoking works in our exhibitions and a fantastic cinema, screening great films.
Entry to our Fabulous Friday evenings is free, but you may need to purchase tickets to participate in some workshops and activities.
For more info: https://firstsite.uk/event/firstsite-fabulous-fridays/ or call us on 01206 713 700.

Marcel Lucont's Whine List
2025-06-27 19:00 - 22:00 | Church St, CO1 1NF Colchester, United Kingdom
Tickets £15.Doors open 7pm, show starts 7.45pm.
The multi-award-deserving deadpan Frenchman serves up a unique Whine List of the audience’s past gripes, moans and misdemeanours, while also dishing out some of his premier erotic poetry.
The show has played to packed audiences all around the world. Expect louche musings, dry wit and Gallic superiority.
N.B. This show will be recorded for the forthcoming Whine List podcast.Please arrive at least 30 minutes before showtime if you wish to participate.
Winner: Best Comedy Show – Fringe World Awards
As seen on Live At The Comedy Store (Comedy Central), Set List (Sky Atlantic), The John Bishop Show (BBC1) and Live At The Electric (BBC3).
“Fresh, accessible and hilarious” The Guardian“Exceptionally dry… superb” The Times“His elegant, sardonic turns of phrase are an utter joy… superb stuff” Time Out“Witty, intelligent and pitch-perfect” ★★★★ The List“A masterpiece of timing and improvisation… certainly one of the highlights of this Fringe” ★★★★ EdFringe Review“Hilarious… Comedy doesn’t get much better than this” ★★★★★ AdelaideNow, Adelaide Fringe“Who can resist Marcel Lucont?… Pulling clever punchlines out of every interaction with his audience… Sometimes arrogance is bliss” ★★★★ The Scotsman, Edinburgh Fringe

Customise your Clothes with Posca Pens
2025-06-27 19:00 - 21:00 | Lewis Gardens, CO1 1JH Colchester, United Kingdom
Bring your own items of clothing to our sustainable themed art workshop and learn how to decorate and personalise them using vibrant Posca pens in Customise your Clothes with Posca Pens!
In this eco-friendly session, your tutor will guide you through the tips and tricks to transform your old clothes into unique, wearable art.
Whether it’s a plain T-shirt, jacket, jeans or shoes, you’ll learn simple, creative ways to add colour, patterns and designs that show off your own unique style.
And once you’ve picked up the skills, you can carry on customising clothes at home, turning more of your wardrobe into wearable art.
No experience is necessary!
For more info: https://firstsite.uk/event/customise-your-clothes-with-posca-pens/ or call us on 01206 713 700.

EcoArt Collage and Craft
2025-06-27 19:00 - 21:00 | Lewis Gardens, CO1 1JH Colchester, United Kingdom
Join us for an exciting hands-on workshop where creativity meets sustainability at our EcoArt Collage and Craft workshop!
In this unique group experience, we’ll explore the art of collage-making using eco-friendly, repurposed materials. Whether you’re a seasoned artist or a beginner, this workshop is designed to inspire creativity.
Your tutor will guide you through the process of selecting and transforming sustainable materials—such as recycled paper, fabric scraps, natural textures, and more—into a beautiful visual masterpiece.
By the end of the session, you’ll have your own textile collage to take away.
For more info: https://firstsite.uk/event/ecoart-collage-and-craft/ or call us on 01206 713 700.

Who's got bars
2025-06-27 17:00 - 20:00 | 74 High Street, CO1 1UE Colchester, United Kingdom, 74 High Street, CO1 1UE Colchester, United Kingdom
Join us in our cafe for a Rap Battle event in front of a judging panel.
PrizesFree studio session£100 CashGassed clothing drip
This event is a great opportunity to flex your creative muscle in a safe environment. There is a healthy MC,Rap, Spoken Word and Poetry scene locally. This is a fantastic opportunity for artists to network, meet more of their kind and test their skills.Spectators get to discover new music, new acts, and soak up the vibes and atmosphere.
Hosted by Sir Gassed

Clayson Sings Chanson
2025-06-26 19:30 - 22:30 | Church St, CO1 1NF Colchester, United Kingdom
Tickets £13 / £12 concessions.Doors open 7.30pm, starts 8pm.This gig is for a seated audience.
Alan Clayson, chanteur and raconteur, explores the most mature and cultivated form of popular song – in which there is as much emphasis on words and their literary resonance as melody and chord structure – throughout a thoroughly diverting soirée centred on passion, humour, deep emotion and sometimes casually shocking frankness, embracing love, liberty, tenderness, parting, death, abandonment, stupidity and further qualities of the human condition.
CLAYSON SINGS CHANSON has been on the road since 2011, initially to tie-in with the publication of Alan Clayson’s Jacques Brel biography, La Vie Bohéme though the presentation’s origins lie too in 1999’s acclaimed Ne Me Quitte Pas: A Celebration Of Jacques Brel, an all-star album on which Clayson’s contributions were highlights.
With accompaniment and a supporting programme from songwriter and vocalist Andy Lavery, the show is prefaced by an explanatory talk that is as entertaining as it is educational. As well as works, famous and obscure by chansonniers, Gallic and British, Clayson ventures into curious but connected realms in a show which will appeal to both chanson devotees, those interested generally in Gallic culture and anyone who wants to be merely entertained by music that has burned its brand on English-speaking wordsmiths as disparate as Anthony Newley, Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols – yes really! – and the foremost mouthpiece of Brel’s output Scott Walker.
https://alanclayson.com/

The Lexden Crown presents An Old Skool Pen and Paper Quiz with Big Jim
2025-06-26 19:00 - 22:30 | The Lexden Crown, Bistro Pub – Colchester, The Lexden Crown, Bistro Pub - Colchester
The Lexden Crown presents an Old Skool Pen and Paper QuizIts Time to take it back to the Old Skool, with a Pen and Paper style Quiz.
Big Jims Old Skool Pub Quiz, fun for all, with 5 themed rounds of quiz fun, including both Audio and Picture rounds and the return of the World famous Stealer round, to steal the win on the last question, as well.
£2 per person, max 6 people per team.
So grab a pen, round up your friends or family and welcome back that old skool feeling of quizzing on a Thursday Night with Big Jim
Great food and drinks offers avaiable, and it’s pizza night with there great wood fired pizzas, as well as a great bistro pub with a warm atomsphere and lovely people, and an average quizmaster.
Come and test your teams knowledge against Colchesters finest Quiz Teams, enjoy some food, beer and a great atmosphere,whilst getting Quizzical with one of Colchester;s finest Quiz Hosts
See you there My Quizzy Quiz Loving Preps

ScrewLoose Improv comedy night
2025-06-26 19:00 - 22:00 | CO3 3TN, CO3 3TN
Come see our show…SCREWLOOSEJUNE 26th THREE WISE MONKEYS.Tickets here:https://buytickets.at/screwlooseimprovGo on…

Life Drawing - Thursday, 26th June 2025
2025-06-26 19:00 - 21:00 | Straight Road Community Centre, Straight Road Community Centre
We are a local life drawing group in Colchester. We meet up for untutored drawings with professional models from all backgrounds.
All abilities are welcome. Just drop in, draw and pay £10 cash for the session.
Drawing boards, easels, papers, charcoal and pencils are provided for free or bring your materials.
Accessible venue.
Location: Straight Road Community Centre329 Straight Road, Colchester, CO3 9EF

Raku Club - Hand Building Session
2025-06-26 18:30 - 21:30 | Trinity Works,24 Trinity Street,Colchester,CO1 1JN,GB
**Please Read Full Description Before Submitting Your Order**
This is an optional part one of a two-day Raku Club – delivered in partnership with Cuckoo Farm Studios.
Makers with more experience can just attend the 2nd session and bring own biscuit-fired work to glaze and fire in the raku process.
Session 1: Raku Club – Hand Building Session (optional) Venue: Colchester Makerspace Learn how to hand build clay objects to be bisque-fired ready and suitable for raku firing.
Session 2: Raku Club – Communal Firing Session (booked separately > https://tinyurl.com/mrxesmjc) Venue: Cuckoo Farm StudiosWe supply all the raku glazes, materials and fire — you just need to bring your ceramics!
The process has limits in terms of object size and suits objects that are not too big. A H200mm standard vase form is approximately the largest that can be managed safely.
Raku is a rapid low-firing process that is inspired by the traditional Japanese raku firing. Contemporary Western-style raku involves removing pottery from the kiln while at bright red heat around 1000 centigrade and placing it into containers with combustible materials such as sawdust. Once the materials ignite, the containers are closed. This produces an intense reduction atmosphere which affects the colours in glazes and clay bodies. This thermal shock produces cracking/crazing, producing unexpected outcomes.
If you have any questions regarding the course, please email: hello@makercampus.co.uk
MAKERSPACE MEMBER DISCOUNTS Members receive up to 50% off classes. Membership includes 24/7 access to the space and equipment, starting from £11 a month. Visit www.makercampus.co.uk/membership
ABOUT COLCHESTER MAKERSPACE Ever harboured dreams of making your own pots? Fantasised about playing with ink? Perhaps you just fancy learning a new skill? Or you want to rekindle a love you had for a past hobby or practice? Colchester Makerspace is at Trinity Works (behind Patch, a plant-led restaurant). We provide access to ceramics and printmaking equipment, such as pottery wheels, kilns, risograph and silkscreen presses. We also have an exciting programme of classes and events to get you started. Visit www.makercampus.co.uk/classes
REFUNDS Please take time to read our refunds policy > www.makercampus.co.uk/refunds-policy

SPACE: Peer-to-Peer (in person 26th June)
2025-06-26 12:00 - 14:00 | 37 queen street, CO1 2PQ Colchester, United Kingdom, 37 queen street, CO1 2PQ Colchester, United Kingdom
The SPACE Peer-to-Peer sessions are a space for sharing work in progress, peer support and feedback and networking.
The sessions are open to all creatives and are free to attend.

Author Event: Keiran Goddard: I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning
2025-06-26 11:00 - 14:00 | Church St, CO1 1NF Colchester, United Kingdom
Tickets £16, includes a paperback copy of the book.Doors open 11am, starts 11.30am.
Red Lion Books daytime book club in association with Appetite Book Club and Essex Book Festival.
Keiran Goddard is a novelist, poet and social commentator. His latest novel ‘I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning” has been published to widespread acclaim and has been nominated for the Gordon Burn Prize.
Audience questions are encouraged, we therefore recommend you read the book prior to event.
LONGLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE 2025
Patrick, Shiv, Rian, Oli and Conor grew up together. They played together, skipped school together, and dreamt of everything they’d do with their lives. Now they are thirty, and only Rian has made it out of the estate and moved away to another city, but his money doesn’t stop him clinging to a vision of the past that is quickly slipping away. Oli is fading by the day, drinking and snorting his way through the endless boredom, while Conor has a baby on the way and a business plan he hopes will change everything. Patrick and Shiv are as in love as ever, but even they are rocked when an old secret opens up new wounds …

Horn Factory at Fleece Jazz
2025-06-25 20:30 - 23:30 | Fleece Jazz, Fleece Jazz
We’re delighted to be making a return to Fleece Jazz. Join us for an evening of fast moving, hard hitting, toe tapping contemporary jazz from a spectacular 18 piece big band!
🎟️ Tickets only £15 + booking fee (U21s & Students £7.50)🕢 Doors open 8:00pm, music starts at 8:30pm
Horn Factory
Horn Factory perform an impressive and extensive range of contemporary big band jazz by composers such as Buddy Rich, Bob Mintzer, Quincy Jones, Oliver Nelson, Maynard Ferguson, James Morrison, Bobby Shew, Sammy Nestico and Gordon Goodwin, plus arrangements of music normally associated with smaller groups, including Thelonious Monk, Joe Henderson, Chuck Mangione, Chick Corea and Horace Silver.
Most of the charts have been composed in the last 15 years, bringing the big band genre right up to date with music that absolutely crackles with energy.
“There is nothing quite like the sound of a Big Band up close. Not to be missed!”
Fleece Jazz
Arguably the best modern jazz venue, not just in East Anglia but anywhere outside London, Jazz at the Fleece is a known and respected name in the jazz world, presenting not only the very best British artists but also many touring Americans and Europeans. We are very proud and happy to have won The All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group (the Jazz Oscars) “Venue of the Year” award for 2009. We sincerely hope to continue doing what we love to do for many years to come.
Jazz at the Fleece was started in February 1993 when it took over a gig that had been booked to appear at a pub that suddenly stopped promoting jazz after a change of landlord.
The club’s original venue was situated in the function room of The Fleece, a beautiful timbered pub in an historic medieval village deep into rural Suffolk. We stayed there for fifteen brilliant years until sadly we had to leave. Our next home, for just fifteen months this time, was The Kersey Mill, a few miles up the road where we had a very nice space but again unfortunately we found we had to vacate. In 2009 we re-located to what we sincerely hope will be our home for many years to come.
The Stoke by Nayland Club is in a beautiful setting. We have been made very welcome and have been provided with a space so perfect that it could have been built just for us.
Jazz at the Fleece is independent, non profit making and run voluntarily by committee.

Princes Acting Centre: Beautiful Thing
2025-06-25 20:00 - 23:00 | Church St, CO1 1NF Colchester, United Kingdom
Age Guidance: 14+ due to its content including sexual references and themes of young adolescent sexuality.
Tickets £15 / £13 concessions.Doors open 7.30pm, show starts 8pm.
A touching, urban love story, full of warmth and humour.
Teenage boys Ste and Jamie are neighbours. Both are being bullied, Jamie at school and Ste at home by his violent father and brother. One night, when things get too much, Ste seeks refuge in Jamie’s flat and, sharing a bed, the boys strike up a new relationship. Together they come to terms with their sexuality and explore their feelings alongside their Mama Cass loving, rebellious friend Leah and with the much-needed emotional support of Jamie’s lioness mother, Sandra.
This revival of Jonathan Harvey’s iconic, coming-out and coming-of-age story, Beautiful Thing is about community, friendship, rites of passage and what it is to be sixteen and in love.
A Princes Acting Centre production. Written by Jonathan Harvey. Directed by Melissa Wenn.

Wednesday Night Open Mic @ The Victoria Inn
2025-06-25 19:30 - 22:45 | The Victoria Pub, The Victoria Pub
It’s Open Mic Night!Bring yourself… or send your friends in place of you…. or come with your friends and get involved.Bring your instruments or borrow mine (Guitar, Piano, Cajon & Mics provided).*We run a sign up board & work through the names in order & attendance prioritising those who arrive before 9.*The sign up board goes up around 7:30 & the mic goes live around 8:00. *We wrap up for 10:45.*Performers usually get 2-3 songs (up to 15 minutes in total) but this depends the number of participants on the night.

A Midsummer N̶i̶g̶h̶t̶'s̶ ̶D̶r̶e̶a̶m̶ NIGHTMARE | Munnings Art Museum
2025-06-25 19:30 - 21:45 | The Munnings Art Museum, The Munnings Art Museum
Enter into a dream of magic, mischief, and a touch of darkness as we take you on a gothic journey through Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream NIGHTMARE!
This outdoor tour will transport you to a world where goblins and supernatural creatures roam the enchanted woods, and nothing is quite as it seems.
Dive into the eerie, mysterious side of Shakespeare’s classic play, where the themes of forbidden love, wild entanglements, and the blurring of reality and dreams take on a gothic, haunting edge.
We explore the darker corners of the story, with music, thrilling movement, and an ensemble performance that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat.
Get ready for an unforgettable evening under the stars, where the supernatural comes to life and anything can happen.
Previous reviews:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐”A brilliantly performed and original take on the Frankenstein tale, with some genuinely emotional and horrifying moments – Set The Tape⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Immersive Picture of Dorian Gray by Midnight Circle Productions is an electrifying, thrilling and heart-wrenching take on the classic play” – London Theatre Reviews⭐⭐⭐⭐”Hugely inventive and entertaining” – Reviews Hub
⭐⭐⭐⭐The intensity of most scenes is such that you are drawn into the drama, like it or not” – Broadway World
Please note, this show is suitable for ages 14+
Running time: Approximately 2 hours with an interval. The show is open air so please bring your own seating, blankets and in case of rain, waterproofs.
Refreshments: There will be a bar selling drinks and refreshments
Dress Code: Goblincore
E mail: midnightcircletheatre@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/events/642345382082119/?event_time_id=642345388748785

Make your own Handbag
2025-06-25 18:30 - 20:30 | Romano Lounge, Romano Lounge
Make your own handbag
£37.50pp including a drink and cake
Join us at The Romano Lounge where you will make your own handbag.No prior experience or skills are needed.
What you will learnHow choose, arrange and fit imagesWhat tools to useHow to put a bag together
What is includedAll materials including a choice of books. If there is something specific please get in touch or you are welcome to bring your ownA hot or soft beverage and cake
Spaces are limited, so be sure to reserve your spot now!
Email info@thecreativeworkshopcompany.co.uk to book via PayPal or bank transfer (no fees) or via eventbrite (fees apply)
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1349688607959?aff=oddtdtcreator

Playtime!
2025-06-25 13:00 - 14:00 | Art Exchange, Art Exchange
**REVISED DATE** Now on 25 June!
Did you enjoy playtime at school? If so, join us for an hour of play.
We’re finding inspiration in artists William Blake (1757-1827) and Francis Aly’s (b.1959) love of children and playing games, and using it as an excuse to have some fun.
Take time out from your busy day to play ‘Grandma’s Footsteps’ – or ‘Red light, Green Light’ as it’s known in the USA, ‘Frozen’ in Mexico, and ‘Statues’ in Greece. We’ll also be playing Hopscotch, Marbles, Skipping and all kinds of ball sports!
Admission free – all welcome.
This event is part of our public programme for ‘Tyger Tyger!’ exhibiting at the Albert Sloman Library until 1 September 2025.
To find out more, visit our website: https://www.artexchange.org.uk/exhibition/tyger-tyger/

Painting Party in Colchester: Romano Lounge
2025-06-24 19:00 - 21:00 | Romano Lounge, Romano Lounge
The Paint Club is at Romano Lounge in Colchester every month.Each month we paint a new picture. Check our website to see which painting is being done each month.
We list events on our website 3 months ahead, so although more dates may be shown on here, they may not be available to purchase.
This is the perfect painting workshop for all, even if you have never picked up a brush before.– No experience required– All painting materials provided (apron, brushes, paint and a canvas that you can take home)– A finished masterpiece in 2 hours.
Drinks can be purchased separately.
https://www.facebook.com/events/619113303782264/?event_time_id=619113323782262

Grand Opening
2025-06-24 18:00 - 21:00 | 7 Museum St, CO1 1TN Colchester, United Kingdom, 7 Museum St, CO1 1TN Colchester, United Kingdom
🎉 Grand Opening – Cod of the Castle 🏰📍 Museum Street, Colchester 📅 Tuesday 24th June from 12 noon🎶 Live music from Nigel Ashcroft | 6pm–9pm
We’re thrilled to open our doors and invite you to Cod of the Castle, your new home for beautifully cooked seafood, proper fish and chips, and hearty dishes served with a side of castle charm.
To celebrate our grand opening, we’ll be joined by the fabulous Nigel Ashcroft performing live from 6pm to 9pm! 🎶
Whether you’re here for a long lunch, a glass of wine in the sun, or a dinner fit for royalty, come celebrate our opening day with us.
Walk-ins welcome — bring your friends, bring your appetite, and let’s make it a launch to remember! 🐟🍷

In-conversation with Theo Panagopoulos
2025-06-24 17:30 - 18:30 | Art Exchange, Art Exchange
Join us for a conversation between renowned filmmaker Theo Panagopoulos and Art Exchange Curator, Jess Twyman, focusing on Theo’s short documentary ‘The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing’ (2024), showcased in the exhibition ‘Into the Woods’.
The session will expand on the ideas behind his film, Theo’s use and reclamation of archival material, and local and international responses to the film.
Refreshments and snacks will be served.
Theo will be joining us via Zoom.
Admission free – all welcome!
Theo Panagopoulos is a Greek-Lebanese-Palestinian filmmaker and PhD researcher based in Scotland. His work explores themes of collective memory, displacement and fragmented identities. The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing had its World Premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2024, and since then won Best Short Film at IDFA and the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and was nominated for a BAFTA award in 2025, amongst others.

Mini Museum Explorers
2025-06-24 10:00 - 11:00 | Hollytrees Museum, Hollytrees Museum
Sessions are at 10 – 11 am and 11:15 am – 12:15 pm.
Designed for children aged 2 1/2 to 4, along with their parents, grandparents, and carers, these monthly sessions offer an immersive journey of exploration and discovery. The June session will focus on the theme of Bones and Skeletons.
These sessions offer a unique opportunity for children and their caregivers to bond and learn while exploring the Garden Room and its displays. Through storytelling, interactive play, craft activities, and science exploration, they aim to stimulate development, encourage communication, and nurture curiosity.
Parents/carers must stay with their children throughout the session. Mini Museum Explorer sessions are designed for pre-school children and their carers – they are unsuitable for larger nursery groups.
Spaces cost £3 per child. Booking is required. To reserve your place, call 01206 282939.
https://www.facebook.com/events/7975511989213275/?event_time_id=7975512002546607

Jack Skipper: Skint
2025-06-22 19:00 - 22:00 | Church St, CO1 1NF Colchester, United Kingdom
Tickets £17.50.Doors open 7pm, show starts 7.30pm.
Carpet-fitter turned comedian Jack Skipper delivers his debut, Edinburgh Comedy Award nominated, stand-up hour with a show about how he went from a tradesman with no qualifications to a full-time comedian (with no qualifications) – offering insights into the endeavours of a working-class father struggling to navigate his way through life.
Seen on The Stand Up Sketch Show. Tour support for Michael McIntyre and Russell Kane. Over 16 million likes on TikTok.
Nominated for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2024.Winner of Best Debut Show at Leicester Comedy Festival 2024.Nominated for Next Up’s Biggest Award In Comedy 2024.So You Think You’re Funny 2022 runner-up.
***** The Phoenix Remix
“…so relatable and delivered with such charm that the audience are never not onside…A very entertaining hour of comedy.”” ****.5 (One4Review)
“Definitely a name to watch” **** (Beyond The Joke )
“There are gags jam-packed into this first hour” **** (Entertainment Now)
**** (Fest)
**** (Daily Mail)
10 of the funniest jokes from the Edinburgh fringe 2024 (Guardian)
‘Delivery that commands the room and a no-nonsense outlook that gels into strong punchlines’ (Chortle).

Star Wars Films Quiz (Colchester)
2025-06-22 18:45 - 21:45 | Three Wise Monkeys Colchester
Test your knowledge of the eleven live action Star Wars films, and help raise money for an incredible cause!
– £3 a head (cash only)– Maximum 6 to a team– Food served throughout – Book by selecting the date of the quiz and choosing quiz booking: threewisemonkeyscolchester.com/book-a-table
If you book and then decide not to attend, please CANCEL YOUR BOOKING.
Please arrive at least twenty minutes before the quiz is due to start to place food and drink orders.

Flavours Without Borders Radhika Howarth and Marley Karazimba
2025-06-22 18:00 - 21:00 | The Minories, The Minories
A celebration of the power of food to connect people and cultures.
Embark on a culinary odyssey across the globe with Radikal Kitchen: Flavours without Borders. Radhika Howarth will take participants on an eye-opening journey of history, fusion, and flavour. Explore different cultures and traditions and experiment with exciting ingredients.
This event will take place at The Commons Community Kitchen & Cafe at The Minories and will include the opportunity to taste some of Radhika’s food.

The Violet Hour Maggi Hambling and James Cahill
2025-06-22 16:00 - 19:00 | The Minories, The Minories
Maggi Hambling and James Cahill: The Violet Hour
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear one of Britain’s most significant and controversial artists, Maggi Hambling, in conversation with art historian, James Cahill about his new book.
A story of deception, power play and longing, The Violet Hour exposes the unsettling underbelly of the art world, asking: who is granted admission to a world that only seems to glitter and who is left outside, their faces pressed to the glass? Join us for what is sure to be an honest, sharp and raucous discussion.
This event will include an audience Q&A and after the event there will be an opportunity to get your book signed by James.
In partnership with The Minories.

Derek Jarman: The Authorised Biography Tony Peake in conversation with James Cahill
2025-06-22 14:00 - 17:00 | The Minories, The Minories
We are thrilled to welcome Tony Peake in celebration of this new edition of Derek Jarman: The Authorised Biography covering Jarman’s story from childhood to student life and his work as a designer, painter, and filmmaker. New contributions look at Jarman’s impact and legacy over the past five decades and his position as one of the late twentieth century’s most celebrated cultural figures.
This event is in partnership with The Minories.
This event will include an audience Q&A and after the event there will be an opportunity to get your book signed by Tony.

Roman & Castle Road Midsummer Fair
2025-06-22 12:00 - 15:00 | Online event
Live Music & Poetry withLoxley, Scarletts Road, Antony Johae, Richard & Sue, Rosa, Huey, The Four Blokes Trio.Kids Choir ✻ Kids Dance ✻ Craft Stalls ✻ Art ExhibitionGraffiti Wall ✻ Craft Area ✻ Childrens Face PaintingBaking & Preserves CompetitionsPerfect Rose & Flower competitionsYoga taster sessionGrand Parade
Table Top Market Stalls – set up your own stall along the bank – Do you want to sell something you’ve made? clear out a cupboard…? put a table up and away you go…anything goes! Come on the day or contact midsummer21@gmail.com.

Vinyl Sessions: Definitely Park, Maybe Life - Blur vs Oasis
2025-06-22 12:00 - 15:00 | Church St, CO1 1NF Colchester, United Kingdom
Tickets £4Doors open 12pm, show starts at 12:30pmThis show is for a seated audience.The bar will be open throughout.
To mark 30 years since the notorious Battle of Britpop, in which Oasis’ ‘Roll With It’ competed with Blur’s ‘Country House’ for chart supremacy, we bring you something of a first – a Vinyl Sessions double-header.
This session will see us play Parklife and Definitely Maybe (i.e. the most iconic albums by both acts that people actually like) in their entirety, back to back.
Yes, we know – the whole thing was an avarice-fuelled media confection, and all a bit silly in hindsight. But the vibrant mid-90s youth culture, and the swaggeringly confident, era-defining music that underpinned it all? Those were real – so dust off your favourite Fred Perry shirt or Stone Island parka (delete as appropriate), come on down and bring your memories of a seminal moment in UK pop music history, the likes of which we probably won’t see again in our lifetimes…
The album playback will be followed by a Q&A session.
