Barking Riverside is the place to be this season thanks to a packed programme of summer events
East London’s new and growing neighbourhood Barking Riverside is making the most of its prime riverfront location by running the Summer Sessions along its two-kilometre stretch of the Thames. It’s one of the most undiscovered parts of the river and the programme of events, which runs right through to September, really shows it off to both residents and newbies to the area.
Local fave the Boathouse Cafe and Bar is running a food and drink residency across the Summer Sessions and Meetini Cocktails, a regular trader at Broadway Market, has come further east to run a pop-up riverfront cocktail bar, so you can stroll along the water with a couple of drinks in hand. If you want to get your heart rate up a little more, there are riverside HIIT and yoga classes every weekend.
The first weekend in September will be particularly family-focused, with a family rave from Big Fish Little Fish on Saturday 2nd September. A pop-up from NUGS, the city’s first chicken nugget shop, will also run across the Saturday and Sunday – perfect for some later summer fun before it’s back to school.
The big event of the Summer Sessions is the return of community festival Emerge East, which is pitching up on 5th – 6th August and 16th September following a successful edition at the end of last year. Held in partnership with Hemingway Design, Emerge East will feature everything from dog shows to outdoor saunas to DJ sets, with residents who’ve been helped in becoming food entrepreneurs taking charge of the food. Emerge East is FREE to enter but some of the other events, like the fitness classes and family rave, require booking, so you can get your tickets for those below.
Until Sun 17th September 2023
Project Road, Barking, IG11 0YP
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