Oof, May has got off to a banging start! We’ve dived deep into the Fringe (our first reviews are in), started checking out the artists’ open houses and are still gigging our way around town with The Great Escape (check out our guide to who to see if you’ve got tickets and are feeling the overwhelm). If you’re after somewhere special to eat this Friday, we’d recommend Dilsk (review coming soon) – it’s the last Friday to make the most of their 20-percent-off offer. And there’s still loads more to get involved in this weekend! Come on in, it’s sunny in here (promise).
1. Get involved in the Artists’ Open Houses treasure hunt
Speaking of those open houses…We reckon they’re a treasure hunt in their own right, but this weekend there’s an *actual* treasure hunt with some pretty covetable Brighton Fringe-themed prizes, such as Gold Friend of Fringe membership and tickets to the brilliant Circus Abyssinia, on offer too. It’s a race against time, though: it all kicks off at 11.30am on Sunday at A Room of Our Own, an open house in Hannington’s Lane. You’ll find a letter of the alphabet on the wall with a clue underneath – solve that and you’ll know which open house to head to for the next letter and hint. The idea is to keep solving clues until you get to the sixth open house where you need to be one of the first five treasure hunters to correctly spell out the word revealed by the six letters and Fringe riches shall be yours! And let’s face it, it’s a win-win, as even if you’re not one of the first there, you’ll still have seen some great art (and had a good old house snoop).
Sunday 14th May; 11.30am; free
Start at A Room of Our Own, Hannington’s Lane, Brighton, BN1 1GS
aoh.org.uk
2. Indulge your senses at a perfume shop pop-up
The beautifully bijou Nancy Meiland perfume shop (Eglantier is our fave if you’re in a gifting-your-favourite-weekend-guider kind of mood) is hosting a spring edit this Saturday. As well as sniffing your way around her captivating nature-inspired fragrances, you’ll be able to browse pre-loved fashion from Secret Store pop-up (they always bring the good stuff), handmade jewellery from Saskia Birtwell and Emma Stanton and gorgeous ceramic studio seconds from Liv & Dom. It’s a one-stop shop of goodies – and we understand fizz will be available, too!
Saturday 13th May; 11am – 4pm; free
2 Nile Street, Brighton BN1 1HW
nancymeiland.com
3. Check out a sea-swimming exhibition
There are some fantastic photographers in and around Brighton and we’re particularly impressed by those who swim and snap. This weekend you’ve got the chance to see some of the jaw-dropping shots from three photographer-swimmers, Lynette Slight, Kevin Meredith and Jon Stubbs. All of the pics, from perfect murmurations to painting-like swimmers in motion, are available for sale and most of the pictures were taken whilst swimming from the Arch, the HQ of Brighton Swimming club, Britain’s longest-running swimming club. (And if you’re interested in joining up, they’re a very friendly bunch and it’s a great spot to swim from – and no, this post wasn’t sponsored.)
Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th May; 10am – 6pm; free
Brighton Swimming Club Arch, Unit 7, Lower Promenade, off Madeira Drive, Brighton, BN2 1ET
4. Celebrate the opening of a new restaurant
We went to the opening party of new Middle Eastern-style restaurant Zarqa on Thursday and we’re pleased to report they’re continuing the celebrations all weekend. Set in the Selina Hotel with its commanding view over the West Pier, they’ve got a host of activities to get involved in. On Saturday, you can get stuck into yoga at 7.30am if you’re an early bird or DIY cocktails and parlour games in the afternoon, moving on to DJ sessions in the evening. And on Sunday, there’s some chilled yoga nidra (at the more socially acceptable time of 10am) with acoustic music sets in the afternoon and evening, perfect for winding down after a busy week.
Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th May; various times; free
Selina Brighton, 135 Kings Road, Brighton, BN1 2HX
Zarqa Brighton
5. Go and see an award-winning Fringe show
Award-winning queer feminist collective The Clap Back Club are known for cleverly skewering injustices through parody song, satire and cabaret. For their latest show, Clap Back For Carers, they’re putting their comedy chops to use to celebrate the frontline workers holding up a struggling NHS “that’s been shat on from great Tory heights”. Scrub up! (And while you’re there, we’d recommend staying on for Der Wunderlich Revue, an all-male production of cabaret chaos (9.45pm Friday and Saturday) that’s on afterwards.)
Friday 12th and Saturday 13th May; 7.45pm; from £11
Clap Back For Carers
6. Watch the Eurovision Song Contest on a big screen
In case you’ve been completely distracted by the hive of activity in Brighton this month that is all things festival-y, it’s the Eurovision Final on Saturday. If you fancy getting into the sparkly spirit of things by watching it with a big crowd, it’s being shown on the giant screen at Jubilee Square (free), or One Garden Brighton (£11.55 – includes a free drink) are also popping up a huge screen for the cheese fest.
Saturday 13th May; from 6pm; from free
Various locations
7. Shake off the stresses of the week with a TRE workshop
To coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week next week, Hove yoga and wellness studio Flow State are launching seven days of special classes and workshops, with a particular focus on supporting people’s mental wellbeing. There will be grounding yoga classes, breathwork sessions, expressive movement, a women’s hike and much more, with the proceeds from the week’s classes going to suicide prevention charity Papyrus. It all kicks off on Sunday with ‘Shake n Tea’, a Trauma Release Exercises (TRE) workshop which helps you to quite literally shake off tension and completely reset your nervous system. We don’t know whether Shake it Off will be playing, but we kind of hope so.
TRE is on Sunday 14th May; 1.30pm; £20
48 Brunswick Street West, Hove BN3 1EL
flowstate-hove.com
Photo credit: Kevin Meredith
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