If you're stuck for something to do or somewhere to go, there's no shortage of choices across the borough of Barnet. June and July are packed with events, fairs and festivals to keep your days, evenings and weekends busy. So much so it makes me wonder if there's more happening in Barnet than anywhere else in London.
If music is in your heart and you don't fancy wading around in the Glastonbury mud then the Ninth Mill Hill Music Festival is on hand with a wide choice of gigs and concerts at venues around Mill Hill from 25th June to 2nd July.
For jazz lovers try the Ian Brameld Dixieland Jazz Band who recreate the golden age of jazz at The Three Hammers Pub, The Ridgeway, Mill Hill on Sunday 26th June from 12 to 3pm. Alternatively on the same evening, the 40+ piece brass ensemble of the Hendon Band of The Salvation Army perform at John Keble Church, Deans Lane, Edgware from 6:45pm.
For full details of the whole festival see the Mill Hill Music Festival website. You can get tickets at Mill Hill Wines which you’ll find on Mill Hill Broadway, by phone from Mill Hill Music Complex on 020 8906 9991 or online at the Festival website.
Head to Hampstead Garden Suburb and you find Proms at St Jude’s, a nine-day midsummer music and culture festival running from 18 to 26 June. St Jude-on-the-Hill Church is at St-Jude-on-the-Hill, Central Square NW11 7AH.
On Saturday 25th June choose from a free lunchtime concert with the The Tyburn String Quartet at The Free Church, Central Square, NW11 or a Choral Evening with Pianos and Percussion at St Judes featuring Members of the Choir of Merton College Oxford, St Jude’s Festival Chorus and English National Opera Children’s Chorus. Tickets are on sale from Proms at St Judes, online or by phone on 020 8458 8798.
Meanwhile in the north of the Borough are the East Barnet Festival and the High Barnet Festival with a wide selection of events and activities for all tastes.
At the High Barnet Summer Festival on 26th June, enjoy Picnic and Performance on Hadley Green (left side north from The High St) where Wiz Productions perform Victorian Music Hall songs and light entertainment from 2pm. On the same night at Monken Holt pub there’s an Open Mic session, all musicians are welcome while at the Lord Nelson pub, Alan Laws and Friends play traditional ballads and contemporary melodies. Full details from the Barnet Residents Association.
The East Barnet Festival runs from 1 to 3 July at Theatre in the Park, Oak Hill Park, East Barnet. This year there are two Music Stages, both showcasing local talent as well as a Dance Space, a Recital Stage and Travelling Entertainment on the Main Festival Ground. There’s rock, jazz, lounge, contemporary, classical music and much more. See the East Barnet Festival website for details.
You can see these and many other events around the borough on our Events page. If you are organising an event we’d love to list it and you can add it yourself here.
