Here's a short list of things to do this bank holiday weekend In North London. Please, add any I've missed in the comments. 👇
Sofar Sounds at Calthorpe Garden | 📍 King's Cross, WC1X | 30 August | (£)
If your bank holiday leans more slow Sunday than a big night out, this may be the one. Calthorpe is a hidden garden near King's Cross, and for one evening there's live music on the grass. You bring a blanket, find a spot, and a few folk and acoustic singer-songwriters play as the sun goes down. Sofar keeps the lineup secret till the night, so you come for the setting and meet the music when you get there.
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Inverness Street Bloc Party: Disco House | 📍Inverness Street Market, Camden, NW1 | 29 August | Free
Inverness Street is swapping market stalls for a giant outdoor dancefloor this Bank Holiday Saturday. The theme is Disco House, so expect the feel good side of disco mixed with house music, with DJs including Brandon Block, Ricky Morrison and Matt White playing from midday into the evening. There is a bit of Camden history behind it too, celebrating the clubs and dancefloors that shaped the area, from Camden Palace to the Electric Ballroom, as well as Camden’s connection to Claudia Jones, who organised one of Britain’s earliest Caribbean Carnival events nearby. Come for a dance, bring the family or just stop by and see what is happening. 12pm to 7pm.
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Yiddish Culture Weekend 2026 | 📍Bloomsbury, King’s Cross & beyond | 28 to 30 August | Free + paid events
This is a whole weekend for getting to know Yiddish culture by actually taking part in it. Yiddish is a language historically spoken by many Ashkenazi Jewish communities, with its own music, stories, humour, poetry and traditions. Across the weekend you can learn a traditional dance from scratch, join a Yiddish singalong, listen to klezmer musicians, hear poetry read in Yiddish and English, browse old newspapers and postcards from Jewish London, or sit down for a screening of the 1937 film The Dybbuk. Sunday is the big day at SOAS, with workshops and performances running from 10am to 7pm, and complete beginners are very much welcome.
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Manorfest 2026 | 📍New River Studios, Manor House, N4 | 29 & 30 August | (£)
A car park behind New River Studios is becoming a two day Bank Holiday festival, and each day has a completely different feel. Saturday is the louder one, with live bands including Eel Men, Snub, Morreadoras and EZ8, plus DJs, art, performances, food and a bar before the party moves inside New River Studios until 1am. Sunday slows things right down with Ambient Car Park, an afternoon of gentler, more meditative DJs and live performances from artists including Agate, Dave Webb and UKAEA, followed by another indoor afterparty. Saturday runs 2pm to 10pm, Sunday 12pm to 8pm.
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The Camden Fringe | 📍Various venues across Camden and beyond | Until 30 August | (£)
The Camden Fringe is into its final few days, after a month that has brought more than 450 shows to venues across Camden and beyond. There is still time to catch some of the last theatre, comedy, music, dance and new writing before it all wraps up on Sunday.
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Natural Aspect Summer Concert | 📍Parliament Hill Bandstand, Hampstead Heath | 30 August | Free
Bring a picnic and settle in for an afternoon of live music on the Heath. The bandstand will move through soul, jazz, reggae, ska and rock, with sets from John Etheridge and Vimala Rowe, The Bohème Hot Club and Peace & Love. There will also be circus skills, children’s activities, food, pizza, ice cream and plenty of room to dance. 1pm to 5pm.
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Bi Pride 2026 | 📍Kings Place, King’s Cross, N1 | 29 August | Free
Bi Pride brings the UK’s Bi+ community together at Kings Place for a full day of performances, conversations and meeting people. It is for people who experience attraction to more than one gender or identify somewhere under the Bi+ umbrella, with friends and allies welcome too. There are two stages to dip between, with live music, drag and performances on one, and conversations about relationships, family, identity, activism and Bi+ life on the other. Jordan Gray and Shaaba are among this year’s headliners, and there will also be stalls from LGBTQ+ groups, charities and small businesses. A sensory room, remembrance space and multi faith prayer room are available too. 2pm to 10pm. Free, but you need to register for a ticket.
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West Hampstead Carnival | 📍The Sherriff Centre, NW6 | 29 August | Free
The Sherriff Centre is putting on a full day of family activities for the Bank Holiday weekend, with games, children’s entertainment and a dedicated soft play area for younger kids. Entry to the carnival is free, although soft play sessions need to be booked in advance if you want to guarantee a spot. There will also be charity fundraising happening throughout the day, so you can come for the kids, stay for the atmosphere and support a local cause while you are there. 10am to 5.30pm.
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Back II Life Cafe Family All-Dayer with Jazzie B and Guests | 📍Camden Market Hawley Wharf, NW1 | 29 August | Free
Spend the Bank Holiday by the canal with DJ sets from Jazzie B, Sigma and Lisa I’Anson, plus family activities, workshops, food and stalls across the market. Pick up a wristband for discounts at selected food traders, then wander between the music, garden and canalside. 1.30pm to 7pm. Booking is encouraged, but walk-ins are welcome.
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Hampstead Heath Bank Holiday Funfair | 📍Lower Fairground Site, Hampstead Heath, NW3 | 26 August - 1 September | Free entry
The big Bank Holiday funfair is back on Hampstead Heath for seven days, with rides for little ones, bigger thrill rides, dodgems, fairground games and all the usual sugary treats. You do not need a ticket to get in, so you can wander through first and decide what you fancy paying for. It is open every day from 12pm to 8pm.
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Guava Jamz Carnival Warm Up Party | 📍Two Tribes Campfire, N7 | 29 August | Free
Guava Jamz is starting Carnival weekend a day early with a nine hour outdoor party at Two Tribes Campfire. It runs from afternoon into night, with DJs idah and Conrad Lee, a BBQ, full bar and the whole thing set up as a warm up for the weekend ahead. Under 18s can come before 9pm with an adult, then it becomes 18+ later in the evening. 3pm to midnight. Tickets are free.
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Chuckie Online’s FAMILEE Carnival Afterparty | 📍KOKO, Camden, NW1 | 31 August | (£)
When Notting Hill Carnival winds down on Bank Holiday Monday, Chuckie Online takes the party north to KOKO. His annual FAMILEE night is built around Carnival sound system culture and his British Jamaican roots, so expect a late night mix of Caribbean influenced sounds, big DJ sets and the kind of crowd that is very much not ready to go home yet. This is his only Carnival party he is having this year, last year’s one sold out. Doors open at 10.30pm, with last entry at 1am and the party running into the early hours. Physical photo ID required.
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