Fairground: East London’s newest cultural and culinary destination

A NEW FAIRGROUND COMES TO TOWN

For 10 weekends only, East London’s newest cultural and culinary destination pop-ups in Haggerston..

From the founder of Street Feast comes a brand new pop-up destination for Londoners. Not content with revolutionising street food, Dominic Cools-Lartigue has created Fairground, a unique festival experience showcasing the best of the capital – from up-and-coming and established music acts, to street food, restaurateurs, thinkers and entrepreneurs. Fairground will roll into east London for 10 weekends from April 12th, to feed both hungry stomachs and minds.

Taking over three floors of a disused office block in Haggerston, each level will deliver a distinctive and extraordinary experience, from the ground floor live event space, to the top floor restaurant via the mid-floor Grandaad lounge, a creative hang out space. With no two weekends the same, each Fairground ride will incorporate a different theme.

‘Fairground Live’ on Level One holds the main bar and event space. Saturdays will host famed record labels and brand takeovers, seeing the likes ofWAH! Nails, Run Dem Crew, Field Day and Love Bullets delivering the freshest talent on the music scene to get the weekend started. Sundays will stage both up-and-coming and established music artists, making Fairground the place to hear live music in east London.

For those looking to engage with like-minded creatives, Level Two hosts the Grandaad Lounge, a relaxed space encouraging discovery and inspiration. The Grandaad lounge welcomes those looking for a local hang out, and also those eager to challenge their creative thinking and knowledge. This is where the weekend supplements will come to life, with inspirational guest speakers, workshops, master-classes, talks and interviews, a true destination for creative minds.

On the top floor with spectacular views across East London is the Fairground Diner. There will be a changing roster of left-field restaurants and chefs taking over the kitchen for residencies ranging from just a weekend to a whole month. The two levels below will see Dominic bringing in his favourite traders from Street Feast including Yum Bun, who will be debuting their new fish bun and Baba G who will serve up a range of ‘Brindian’ dishes. For the bar menu at Fairground, Dominic has worked with the respected Strange Hill team to put together a creative menu in keeping with the values of the project.

Fairground is distilling the modern festival experience, presenting leading creative thinkers alongside cutting edge music artists, with food from a host of the finest street food traders, chefs and restaurants. All in the heart of East London for 10 weekends only, this is one pop-up not to be missed.


LAUNCH WEEKEND LINE-UP

Weekend Food Offer - ‘The Fairground Diner’ will open with an exclusive Busaba Eathai takeover from Chef Jude, featuring a sumptuous selection of curries, grills, salads and desserts in line with SongKran (Thai New Year). All recipes will be showcased for the first time, having been inspired by a recent month long trip to his homeland Thailand. On Level Two Andy Oliver (from The Begging Bowl) will be hosting his new venture Som Saa: a selection of great Thai dishes, using a combination of quality British and Asian produce, to be enjoyed whilst kicking back and taking in the night’s atmosphere. Level One will have Yum Jungle serving up their awesome Thai Fried Chicken.

Saturday – 12th April
Level One - ‘Fairground Live’: Love Bullets innovative jewellery and lifestyle brand present a LBHQ takeover, with a pre-Glastonbury celebration reminiscent of their parties in the Shangri-La field. The very special line-up includes sets from Black Butter Records, Nomad Records and Kubicle x Hot Natured.

Level Two - Grandaad Lounge: The opening weekend focuses on inspiring people and change makers of London. The first adult Saturday workshop will introduce 'sustainability for our creative lives', followed by a master-class on How to Start a Movement from activists the English Disco Lovers.

The evening session will see music legend Kwame Kwaten on the couch hosting a range of special guests including social media phenomenon, Alex Logan, founder of English Disco Lovers and Paul West, artist and co-founder of the respected design studio Form, on how to harness your creative spirit.

Sunday – 13th April
Sunday marks the official start of SongKran, the Thai New Year. There will be a Thai food takeover across the venue, while the Fairground Live room will offer an array of activities for all ages.

Level One: Sunday will see a mix of immersive Thai-themed activities take over the event space. The day will offer 25-minute Thai cookery classes, Pandan cupcake decorating, a kids craft area, Chang Beer foosball tables, an exotic Thai fruit tasting stand, fruit carving, and a Thai massage hut.

Level Two: Grandaad Lounge: Sunday kicks off with a relaxed master-class from the forces behind the Move Your Money campaign, on how to make positive actions with your money. The afternoon will have a crafts focus, with lessons on how to create the perfect Bloody Mary.
The evening will host a silent cinema in the lounge showing the best in film and documentary.