Get out and about this weekend along the ELL

With England out of the cup there are sure to be lots of unhappy football fans around the country needing their mind taking off their misery. Here at East London Lines we’ll ease the pain of those living along the East London Line by providing you with some things to do over the upcoming week and weekend.

Photo: Horniman Museum

With England out of the World Cup and Andy Murray out of Wimbledon there are sure to be lots of unhappy sports fans around the country needing something to occupy them this weekend.

We’ll ease the pain of those living along the East London Line by providing you with some things to do over the upcoming weekend.

Tomorrow,  Saturday July 3rd art fans should head to the Tank Gallery at the Ladywell Tavern in Lewisham, for cross-arts event REACT, which includes a range of artwork encompassing poetry, graffiti, and textiles, as well as life performances of dance music and film. The work on show at REACT is something different to your run of the mill art, as it is all created is response to “Refraction”, a piece of solo violin and electronics music. The event begins at 1pm and runs until 6pm.

Shoreditch this weekend plays host to the “Shoot Experience” an interactive photographic event open to anyone with a thirst for creative adventure, described by Louise Cohen of The Times as: “Mentally stimulating.” The Shoot Experience is a day of treasure hunts and storytelling around the city, with participants telling their story and showing the treasure they have found through photographs they have taken. All participants need to take part in this event is a digital camera. All the photos are shown at the end of the day followed by an awards ceremony for the most inspired photos. An exhibition of the best images takes place at a gallery a few weeks later. The Shoreditch Shoot Experience uses Rivington Place as its starting point, with the event beginning at 10am this Saturday, entry costs £10. For more information and to buy tickets visit the website: http://www.shootexperience.com/events/info/208

If neither art nor photography take your fancy for this Saturday, the day also plays host to the Blythe Hill Fields Festival. Running from 11am until 4pm, the festival has something for all the family, with live music from local artists, such as Dads Aloud and the Brockley Ukulele Group. There will also be family games and sports, food, drink and craft stalls, a live Punch and Judy show and a bouncy castle! For more information on the event, and the full music line up visit http://www.blythehillfields.org.uk/

It’s a very busy weekend music wise for Lewisham, as on Sunday 4th the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill hosts “World City – Music Village FestivalThe event boasts world music, foods and crafts, along with children’s activities. The event runs from 1pm until 6pm, with the music on the bandstand kicking off at 1.30 with Sumaya, a contemporary flamenco act.  Between the 4 music acts, DJs will be playing. Alongside the music there will also be dance performances, ranging from classical Indian dance to Peruvian moves. Admission to the event is free, for more information visit http://www.horniman.ac.uk/events/worldcity.php

Music lovers should also head down to Dance Nations Dalston in Gillett Square for a fantastic weekend of live music and dance workshops, complete with a flash mob led by Cholmendeleys & The Featherstonehaughs for the first time at the festival. Expect nothing but the best of live acts; experimental jazz band Polar Bear will be playing songs from their new funky jazz-electronica album Peepers on Sunday at 6pm. New York City’s radical marching band Asphalt Orchestra will be weaving their way through the crowd over the weekend, taking fresh music from edgy rock clubs, dusty jazz joints and concert halls to the streets. Eclectic 9-piece outfit Zong Zing All Stars will also be making an appearance, performing afro-beat jams influenced by soukous music from The Democratic Republic of Congo.

Don’t forget to see Benin City, a five-piece jazz-meets-hip-hop-funk group made up of drums, bass and saxophone fronted by two talented spoken word artists, Joshua Idehen and Musa Okwonga – as noted by BBC Music’s Craig Charles, this is THE one to watch. There are plenty of dance workshops to check out, including a hula hooping extravaganza led by the TangoNautics. Learn to hip hop with style from legends Boy Blue Entertainment and b.supreme, and dance the evening away with Bollywood Vibes. Same-sex ballroom dancers The Sugar Dandies will also be showing off their fancy footwork. The entire weekend is free, so there’s no reason not to go! See http://www.barbican.org.uk/theatre/event-detail.asp?ID=10582 for more.

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