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For anyone who\u2019s ever pined for the sea in summer while stuck in the city, we say, \u2018What\u2019s wrong with you?\u2019 There\u2019s SO much to do in London without pitching a tent or getting sand between your toes. With festivals a-plenty in every part of town, we\u2019re rather excited to be staying at home while others kill time at the airport or spend hot, sticky hours in traffic on the way to the coast. Follow our festival guide and you\u2019ll see exactly what we mean\u2026
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\n6-12 July,Hampstead Summer Festival,Heath Street, Hampstead
\nDubbed the best street party in London, we think it\u2019s one of the strongest community festivals around, with 100 stalls, a fun fair, street circus, donkey and unicorn rides. For your inner intellectual, there\u2019s a chess tournament, fine art competition plus medieval and Renaissance music in Fenton\u2019s orchard.<\/p>\n
10-13 July, Streatham Festival, Streatham 18-19 July,Lovebox, Victoria Park, East London 19-20 July, Lambeth Country Show, Brockwell Park, Brixton 23-27 July, Ealing Jazz Festival, Walpole Park, Ealing 24 July, Gin Tasting Festival, The Foundling Museum, Brunswick Square 27 July, Summer Festival at Museum of Childhood, Bethnal Green 6-31 August, Free theatre at The Scoop, London Riverside 12-16 August, The Great British Beer Festival 2014, Olympia Exhibition Centre, Kensington 24-25 August, Notting Hill Carnival, Notting Hill 31 August, London Mela<\/strong>, Gunnersbury Park, Acton 1-30 September, Totally Thames, London Wide For anyone who\u2019s ever pined for the sea in summer while stuck in the city, we say, \u2018What\u2019s wrong with you?\u2019 There\u2019s SO much to do in London without pitching a tent or getting sand between your toes. With festivals a-plenty in every part of town, we\u2019re rather excited to be staying at home while … <\/p>\n
\nNow in its 13th<\/sup> year, this year\u2019s theme is \u2018imagination\u2019. Enjoy local musical artists at ten free gigs on 12 July, and follow the art trail along the High Road to discover why this area is developing a growing reputation as a creative hub.<\/p>\n
\nJust a few tickets left, but if you love to dance, Lovebox is the ultimate family-friendly summer festival set in Victoria Park, nestled between Bethnal Green and Hackney. Condensed into two days this year, with the addition of art installations and circus-style performers, this one\u2019s a party in the making.<\/p>\n
\nHacking jackets aren\u2019t necessary, but if you crave a taste of country life in the capital, this could be your festival. Local musicians and artists meet sheep dog displays, horse jousting and farm animals. Tally-ho!<\/p>\n
\nIf jazz is your thang, Ealing\u2019s your hangout. Five days of music from Latin tunes, jazz and funk fusion, contemporary jazz to bebop and hard bop. Jazz maestro Dick Esmond is in charge of proceedings so you know you\u2019re in expert hands for a musical extravaganza.<\/p>\n
\nIf you like a G&T, come and enjoy an evening festival with a difference. From 6.30pm \u2013\u00a0or gin\u2019o\u2019clock as we tend to regard it \u2013 there\u2019ll be a talk on the history of the tipple with up to six taster shots of artisan gins. It\u2019s nights like these that make us glad to live and play in the city.<\/p>\n
\nGuaranteed to make the kids\u2019 summer sparkle, this year\u2019s festival has rickshaw rides, family activities, fantastic food and the museum\u2019s gardens to explore. Free entry and, of course, the museum\u2019s fabulous exhibits of toys from yesteryear to guarantee wide-eyed wonder.<\/p>\n
\nBrush up on your classics with this month-long run of performances, part of the More London Free Festival. Alongside music, film screenings and exercise classes, there\u2019s the chance to enjoy Oedipus and Antigone, one family\u2019s tragic tale of power, hubris and destruction. It might be ancient, but it\u2019s powerful stuff.<\/p>\n
\nNow we\u2019re not suggesting Olympia quite captures the true \u2018festival\u2019 spirit (no muddy wellies required), but with 900 craft beers, ciders and perries from 300 British breweries to sample, we reckon you\u2019ll be feeling pretty chilled by the time you leave. The organisers promise \u2018fun, food, live music and frolics in a gargantuan carnival atmosphere\u2019 \u2013 we\u2019re in!
\n23-24 August, South West Four Weekender, Clapham Common
\nBigger festivals may steal the headlines, but 11 years in the making, we reckon South West Four is one of the best ways to spend a summer\u2019s Bank Holiday weekend. You may have missed Dolly at Glastonbury earlier this summer, but be quick on this one as it\u2019s the only place to see Robert Dietz, Paul Kalkbrenner, Paco Osuna and John Digweed this year.<\/p>\n
\nOf course no street festival list would be complete without the granddaddy of events, the Notting Hill Carnival. Since 1964, West London has held this Caribbean-inspired festival which boasts around 50,000 performers and an audience of 2.5 million. Sunday is Children\u2019s Day when prizes are awarded for the colourful costumes, but Bank Holiday Monday is when the main parade takes place. Arrive early if you want a premium spot to watch.<\/p>\n
\nSouth Asia\u2019s turn to take to the stage, the London Mela offers an amazing display of music, dance, arts, food, crafts and a huge funfair. Free and family-friendly, we reckon this one is a rising star.<\/p>\n
\nRound out the festival season with a whole month of activities down on the river. Make a pot from Thames clay, marvel at choir performances, watch boats of all shapes and sizes go by, enjoy a midnight guided walk, plus free film screenings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"