In partnership with

This week we’ve partnered with Uber Boat by Thames Clipper, who are sponsoring a series of editorial features about East London’s amazing waterways and the people who work, live on and love them.

Look out for the brand new print edition of The Wick this week, available at 200+ local distribution points across the neighbourhood and East London.

Inside, our Guest Editor for this quarter is Sean Collins, third-generation waterman and founder of the Thames Clippers service, which has become established as the river’s major waterbus service - where many others had failed.

Sean is passionate about East London’s waterways, having grown up rowing and captaining boats here.

Read Sean’s full Guest Editor’s letter here

As part of the series, our cover feature is also a deep dive into the cultural importance on the River Lea. Far from being a forgotten backwater, this stretch of water has seen everything from the rise of the Bryant & May match factory’s trailblazing striking women to the public art now on display along the length of art trail The Line.

Read Dr. Ben Platt’s feature on the River Lea here

The CIG meets for the final session of 2025 this Friday - everyone welcome

🎄The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park’s Winter Adventure continues every night this week, with your chance to cycle with Santa in his sleigh on Fri 12th Dec up at the VeloPark, and a day of games, DJs and a brass band ahead of the West Ham home match on Sun 14th Dec.

🎄Tree specialist Hackney Wickmas is open seven days a week at Hackney Bridge, offering only premium-graded Nordmann firs, handmade wreathes, lights, decorations (and free chocolates for everyone). Remember you can go through the netter for a £5 charity donation too!

🎄Also at Hackney Bridge this Sat 13th & Sun 14th Dec is the next Christmas Makers’ Market, running over weekends until Xmas. You’ll find present ideas, stocking fillers and lots

🎄The Fishmas Shop is now open daily until Xmas, by a collective of residents who make everything from unique teas to locally forged jewellery. Find it all at The Trampery Fish Island Village (Studio 31), including unusual items and secret recipes you won’t find anywhere else.

🎄Perhaps you spotted us selling books at Barge East’s popular Wick Wonderland riverside market last Sat? With us or not, it’s on every pre-Xmas weekend, with Sat 13th & Sun 14th Dec seeing more trees, treats, gifts, food, drink and loads more from sustainable local makers. Look out for the Victoria Park Singers special ‘carols by the canal’ performance on Wed 17th Dec, too.

💃🏻 Bring the sunshine back as Hackney Carnival Groups present Our Carnival Our Story at Chats Palace this Fri 12th & Sat 13th Dec, a day and nighttime event with showcase performances by Mas bands, workshops, and exhibitions, giving the public a rare chance to see behind the scenes of the 17 groups that make up Hackney’s Carnival arts. You’ll need to book a place for the steelpan and samba parties in the evenings, but it’s free to attend all weekend.

🪑 Essex Rd’s Twilight Contemporary Gallery is launching Twilight Interiors - an interior design studio working with the gallery to bring the language of contemporary art into the home. It all kicks off on Thurs 18th Dec with Chair I, in which sixteen artists reinterpret the iconic Bentwood chair.

🩰 The big Xmas show at Sadler’s Wells East opens tonight and runs to 4th Jan. Ebony Scrooge is a hip hop take on the Dickens’ classic, as formidable fashion empire boss Ebony, everyone’s nightmare boss, cancels Christmas for her landmark fashion show. Physical theatre and comedy make it perfect for a family outing.

🪿 Stratford East’s Xmas panto, Mama Goose, is picking up rave reviews for its festive season run already, with its own deliciously East London spin on the classic golden-egg fairytale. Runs until Jan 3rd.

🍺 Head to the Beer Merchants Tap from Thurs 11th - Sun 14th Dec to have a drink while helping raise funds for Hackney Night Shelter, at the return of the 4-day Christmas Charity Party. The charity raffle will run daily from opening until closing, with a huge range of prizes from merch to top beers, while ugly Christmas jumpers are very actively encouraged.

🔊 PlentyPPL return to Colour Factory this Sat 13th Dec for a festive edition of the party featuring Brooklyn-born, London-based MC, producer, bandleader and selector Goya Gumbani plus broken beat maestro CasuallyClued.

🥳 Barrel into 2026 at the Crate x LLL New Years Eve party, as Crate Brewery is turned into a two-storey nightclub for one special night. The lineup brings together a crew of selectors pushing everything from UKG and breaks to bass, house and beyond as Bubski, Fliss Mayo, Live Laugh Layla, Manara, Rea and Tryb are at the controls.

🤩 The Star pubs are gearing up for a suitably big NYE on Wed 31st Dec, with The Lord Napier’s big NYE bash featuring the irrepressible Normski and delightfully deep house DJ Sassy Wylie taking you into 2026. Meanwhile, over at The Leyton Star DecadeDance will see big tunes from across the ages filling the dancefloor until 3am.

🕛 As NYE lands on a Wednesday this year, Hackney Wick nightlife hangout All My Friends have decided to keep their classic midweek deal rolling (until 8pm on the night), meaning £5 pizzas, £5 margarita cocktails and £5 pints for a bit of pre-party carb loading before they go all in with a full night of favourite DJs including Boboxa and Good Block.

❄️ There’s a hands-on wreath workshop taking place at INIS on Wed 17th Dec with a glass of wine on arrival and all the foliage for you to create your own festive wreath like a pro.

👠 Newham-based fashion and creative arts education charity, Caramel Rock, is now accepting applications for their Official London Fashion Week Showcase, taking place in February 2026. It’s an exclusive opportunity for emerging locally-based designers, students, and graduates ready to make their mark on the global fashion stage.

📸 Join Hackney Society at the iconic Holborn Studios, the historic film and photography facilities located beside the Regent's Canal and recently saved from demolition in an epic legal battle, for a free talk on Wed 18th Dec. You’ll get to have a look at their re-use of industrial buildings and learn more about how the space was saved, plus other campaigns in the borough, alongside a seasonal drink, too.

💚 Hackney Green Business Grant Fund has just been re-launched, after a successful funding round last year. Grants of up to £10,000 are available to Hackney-based businesses for projects that improve the sustainability and environmental performance of their operations and the buildings they operate from. Apply by 18th Jan.

🖥️ If you are a local business or a UCL academic, the Creative Experiences funding call is offering grants of up to £5k to support collaborations with Loughborough University London academics, run by their Centre for Research and Innovation in Creative Experiences (CRaIC). The funding is designed to help the partners work together on developing innovative approaches to creative experience and the use of AI in the Creative Experience Economy. Apply by 7th Jan.

👋🏻 The University of Staffordshire has launched a new fully-funded Microplacement Scheme, offering local organisations an opportunity to bring students onto their staff for 120-hours of funded activity across a wide range of potential projects - pretty much anything that supports them in building and applying their skills. Limited to 31 placements so apply now.