When? Sunday 26th September 2021
Where? Aldgate Square
When? FREE
A vibrant celebration of Bengali arts, culture and heritage in Aldgate Square this September.
Bursting with live performances, fantastic food and interactive workshops, Mela in the City is a free and fun outdoor event that offers something for everyone.
You are invited to come and have a go at Bengali dancing, make a rangoli design or get a henna tattoo, and enjoy a day of music, dance and poetry performances by professional artists and community groups.
Performances will include music by folk band The RadhaRaman and Gouri Chowdhury, dance performances by Taal Torongo and Showmi Dance Company, street theatre by Nutkhut, and much more.
Mela means ‘fair’ or ‘festival’, and traditionally brought different communities together. Mela in the City celebrates the community and diversity of the Square Mile. The event is free and open to all to participate.
We’re delighted to be part of the Central London Alliance (CLA), a group working to support a sustainable, economic recovery of London’s business, hospitality, cultural, tourism, and retail sectors and to help both employers and workers to survive through coronavirus and beyond. You may have seen CLA’s #londonloveaffair campaign, promoted right across the capital and further afield, to remind people of the things they love about London.
As part of the CLA, we have access to a number of exciting opportunities that our businesses can benefit from. Check out the list below:
- Promote upcoming events through the #londonloveaffair newsletter and website. Just enter the details of the event here: https://londonloveaffair.typeform.com/to/p3Mbr5hm
- Share offers from your business on the #londonloveaffair website, newsletter and in paid social and Google advertising. Just let us know if you’d like to feature.
- Be featured in the #londonloveaffair video, which will be shared across the capital – and be in with a chance of winning a special prize for your submission! https://www.londonloveaffair.com/video-competition
There are lots of other ways to promote your business via #londonloveaffair. To find out more, get in touch with the CDA team.
Together with BIDs from across London, Aldgate Connect BID is launching The Commuter Club – an exclusive selection of podcasts, playlists and stories, curated especially for Londoners heading into the City and beyond. The Commuter Club will transport you from your train carriage to a rooftop bar in the City; from your seat on the bus to tranquil garden squares; from the Circle Line to the kitchen of a Michelin-star restaurant.
Whether you’re popping into the office for the day, or taking a walk before working from home, there’s plenty to keep you entertained. Meet the fascinating characters that make London tick, enjoy five minutes of mindfulness with Commuter Calm, or just pick up some tips for after work drinks!
Each week, the Commuter Club will be exploring a different corner of London through music, interviews and articles. Tune in to hear about the history of the Bow Bells, get behind-the-scenes access to the Whitechapel Gallery and learn the secrets of The Ned.
Be the first to read and listen to stories from the streets of London, and access exclusive offers, by heading to the website:
What Shall We Build Here is a festival of art, climate and community at Artsadmin’s Toynbee Studios in Aldgate East, in parks across east London and in your local supermarket.
Arts Admin invite you to events that imagine ways of living together that are just and sustainable for people and the planet.
You can engage online or in person, with live events taking place either outdoors or indoors with limited capacities for social distancing. Explore the line-up, including:
- free performances at Toynbee Studios and across Tower Hamlets built from a chorus of breath contributed by local women – part of Selina Thompson’s Immersion on 10th September
- an immersive installation exploring Black women + femmes’ relationship with communities, care and our planet by the dream(ing) field lab on 12th September
- an outdoor drag performance with poetry, storytelling and costume changes with Oozing Gloop on 8th September, free, drop in
For more information on the rest of the events and to book your place, click here.
Businesses across the City do so much for charities and good causes throughout the year but are sometimes not so good at sharing or celebrating what they do.
Organised by The Lord Mayor’s Appeal City Giving Day provides an opportunity to shine a light on all this amazing work. Whether you’re fundraising, volunteering or simply raising awareness for your chosen cause, sign up for this year’s City Giving Day (there’s no cost involved or any obligation to fundraise for or donate to The Lord Mayor’s Appeal) and join the 100s of organisations already registered who will be coming together on Tuesday 21st September to showcase how City businesses really can make a difference.
If you’d like to find out more about City Giving Day and how you could get involved. The Lord Mayor and The Lord Mayor’s Appeal Team will be hosting final City Giving Day virtual breakfast event of 2021 on Wednesday 1st September (8:30-9:30am), please register here (each attendee will need to register separately).
We have loved the first installment of Music in the Square, a series of lunchtime concerts in Aldgate Square! The incredible and talented musicians have brought great music and vibrancy to the area and we have received amazing feedback so far.
Over 2,000 of you have shown interest and enjoyed the lunchtime concerts up to date, and it is due to this popularity we have decided on continuing to bring music to your lunchtimes with a second installment of Music in the Square!
The second Music in the Square series will start on Tuesday 7th September 2021 and will continue on Tuesdays & Thursdays 12:00-2:00pm. Save the date in your diary and check out the schedule updates below.
Music in the Square Schedule:
- Tue 7th Sep – The Alvar Tree Frogs (Jazz Band)
- Thu 9th Sep – The Equinox Ensemble (Classical Band)
- Tue 14th Sep – Iago Banet (Guitar) POSTPONED DUE TO WEATHER
- Thu 16th Sep – TBC
- Tue 21st Sep – The Dionysus Ensemble (String Duo)
- Thu 23rd Sep – TBC
- Tue 28th Sep – Iago Banet
- Thu 30th Sep – Fiona Sweeney Flute Group
David Game Higher Education is once again opening its doors to show you around their campus and showcase their facilities. Located in Aldgate, at DGHE they offer small class sizes and individual attention, combined with over 45 years of experience. Their students enjoy a supportive and inclusive environment where they can gain the qualifications needed to maximise their higher education and career prospects. The Open Days are a great opportunity to learn more about their four schools (School of Business, Public Services, Health and Art & Design) and be part of interactive and engaging activities to explore each of the courses that they offer.
Upcoming Open Days:
- School of Business, Public Services & Health – 8th September 2021 at 4:00pm
- School of Art & Design – 9th September 2021 at 4:00pm
The Open Days are a great opportunity to get all the information you need to plan for the future.
During the event you’ll be able to:
- Attend subject talks from all Further Education courses.
- Meet the Programme Managers and ask them any questions you may have about your course.
- Connect with the students and ask them questions about studying and life at DGHE.
- Find out key information from the Admissions team, including guidance on the application process.
- Hear from the Student Services team, financing your studies, support, and learning needs.
- Meet the Careers & Employability advisor to talk about the vast career opportunities.
- Chat with the Wellbeing advisor about how they can support you to succeed in your course.
- Join an Art Exhibition prepared by DGHE students.
Please be assured that DGHE will be following government guidelines to ensure the safety of all all visitors, staff and students.
To secure your place, please book in advance. DGHE look forward to welcoming you to find out more about studying with them and experience life on campus.
The #AldgateEats launch went down with a bang! Thank you for everyone who joined us for the launch of this amazing initiative and a big thank you to Satyrio Restaurant for hosting us in their beautiful Secret Garden!
The Aldgate Eats initiative is aimed at supporting local hospitality businesses, as well as encouraging networking and forming connections within the community by bringing everyone together.
At each event, Aldgate Eats will try a new venue from the vast and varied hospitality offerings in the area. The scheme was developed by Merchant Land, in collaboration with the Aldgate Connect BID team.
Zoe Barwick, BID Manager said: “It’s essentially a platform for locally-minded people to come together and talk about the neighbourhood, their plans and hopes for the future of the area. These types of things have been much missed and it’s a great opportunity to support our hospitality sector and encourage people to start spending again. We can’t wait.”
Katherine McCollough, Merchant Land said: “We’re really keen for other businesses to take part and sponsor this initiative and it’ll be nice to remind people how nice we’ve got it here in Aldgate. We might be landowners but it’s not just a property networking thing. It’s about getting people from all sectors to come together and create useful connections and share their experiences of the pandemic and hopes post-COVID. We’re hoping to make it a relaxed event with good food to build a community post-pandemic.”
Remote working has unique challenges that are different from working in an office. Adapting as a young professional can be taxing, so how do you manage it?
The professional coaching platform Ezra, have created a useful guide as to how best cope with remote working and the best ways not to put your mental health at a strain.
The guide covers a lot of great information, including:
- Why remote working has become the new normal due to lockdowns – an estimated 30% of the workforce could be home-based by the end of 2021.
- How remote working can significantly affect physical and mental health.
- Different ways you can alleviate stress when working from home, such as creating a comfortable work environment and taking regular breaks.
- How employers can help to make working from home healthier and less stressful for their employees.
Click here to check out the full guide on their page!
The Petticoat Lane Dining Quarter is a group of 7 independent restaurants and bars providing delicious food from all over the world. This summer they are joining up and providing live music to reflect their origins. Come and join in, have a drink or food with friends and listen to some international tunes!
Brought to you by Mumbai Square, Barcelona Tapas, 1947 Restaurant & Bar, Bife, Sfoglia Bologna, So Restaurant, and The Bell.
WHERE? Petticoat Lane Dining Quarter, Middlesex Street, Aldgate, E1 7AA
WHEN? Every Thursday between 29th July – 2nd September 2021, 6:00-8:30pm
HOW MUCH? Nothing! The events are FREE to those dining or drinking at the restaurants and bars.
EVENTS SCHEDULE:
- 29th July 21 – Japan – Akari Mochizuki and Hibiki Ichikawa ‘Japanese Minyou & Enka singing with Shamisen’
- 5th August 21 – Spain – Adrian Sola Spanish Guitar
- 12th August 21 – Great Britain – Paul Cantara ‘The Legends Show’
- 19th August 21 – India – Bollywood dancing with Kalpesh Patel
- 26th August 21 – Argentina – Cuarteto Cumbia Four Piece Band
- 2nd September 21 – International – Dionysus Ensemble, a string duo
Petticoat Lane Dining Quarter have more plans to see out 2021… keep your eyes peeled for more announcements and productions!
Click here for mobile ordering and order food from multiple restaurants straight to your table!
Table booking at the restaurants is advised to avoid disappointment. Additionally there is some public seating outside the Travelodge Hotel.
