North London Food & Culture

Alma Street Fair

Alma Street Fair is back. Plus two more to check out

The big local festies take place over the next fortnight. Or for something more chilled, try a new market in Tufnell Park

Crowds sprawl down Alma and Inkerman. Photo: Douglas Cape
Crowds sprawl down Alma Street and Inkerman Road. Photo: Douglas Cape

This year, in case you didn’t realise, Kentish Town’s most popular free summer events hit on consecutive weekends.

First off is Alma Street Fair, the annual celebration of creativity and diversity, which hijacks this Sunday, July 27 (12-7pm). If you’ve never been, expect an inspiring mix of stalls, bric-a-brac, streetfood, beer tents, arty pop-ups and two live music stages.

Last year proved a challenge for stall-holders, with sometimes howling wind and a sorry lack of unbroken sunshine. So let’s hope forecasts of torrential rain this weekend are unfounded.

But whatever the weather, it’s always rammed, surprise musical guests miraculously appear on stage, and every K-Town fave from Arancini, Ruby Violet and Fields Beneath to Delicious, Flaxon Ptootch and the Camden Town Brewery is on hand with refreshments of varying types and strengths (for something sweeter, may we suggest our very own baking star Flour of London?). So get there mighty early, if you’re wise.


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Ravers, take note: there are after parties at both the Abbey and Grafton, with the latter pub also holding their own ‘Alma Street Weekender’, which kicks off on Friday night, with pop-up gin bar, face-painting and cupcake-decorating amongst other (mixed-age) delights over the 48 hours.

Two more to try

Last year's Queen's Crescent Festival.  Pic: Stephen Emms
Last year’s Queen’s Crescent Festival.
Pic: Stephen Emms

The following Saturday (August 2) sees the more community-focused but still very lively Queen’s Crescent festival, an excuse to check out the regenerated twice-weekly market, as well as vote at the popular annual Camden Has Talent competition. Lots of tasty streetfood stalls are regulars now including South East Asian pho experts Mama Khoo, Tried & Waffled and Outside Indian, our favourite budget wrap specialists – and there’s a new indoor antiques market two doors down from Matt Townsend’s original emporium, soon to house an independent coffee concession.

The courtyard will be a market over the summer months
Soon-to-be-market: Future & Found

Finally, for something a little more laidback, why not pop by the new Saturday summer bashes at interiors store Future and Found in Tufnell Park? Over a handful of weekends, the courtyard space will be transformed into a buzzing marketplace filled with a handpicked collection of designers and makers. This Saturday (July 26) promises a plethora of hand screen-printed products, thrown pots, bowls and mugs and crafted wooden spoons.

Future & Found Market (25A Brecknock Road, N19 5AA) is this Saturday all day till 6pm (follow them on Twitter for details of future events @futureandfound). Alma Street Fair is on Sunday (Alma Street and Inkerman Road, 12-7pm, nearest station Kentish Town West), while Queen’s Crescent Festival is next Saturday (12-6pm).


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