Summer is our favourite day of the year.
It feels like we spend all our time wishing the sun would come out, declaring how great it’d be to live abroad but as soon as the sun arrives we spend our days indoors using the words ‘clammy’ and ‘sweltering’. We’re here to make sure that doesn’t happen. The summer is a wonderful time of year – 99’ers, kickabouts at the park and alcohol in the sun. Bliss. Liverpool isn’t short of things to do and this summer promises to be brilliant. We will be updating this article throughout the summer to let you know the best things to do, see and experience so keep checking back to make this summer the best one yet.
Take A Bite of Baltic Market – Liverpool’s First Street Food Market
Have you heard the news? We’ve just got our own warehouse at Cains Brewery and we’re bringing out the city’s first permanent street food market on 30th June. If you like our festivals, you’ll love Baltic Market. We’ll be open Thursday-Sunday with some of the best local food and drink in the city and it’s free entry. Like our Facebook page here
Spend Your Day Drinking Cocktails At Cocktails In The City
The nation’s leading cocktail event is thrilled to be launching in Liverpool this Summer. Eighteen of the city’s best cocktail bars pop up at The Baltic Warehouse for an unforgettable evening. Participate in tasting tables, blend your own spirits, rub shoulders with Liverpool’s best bartenders and challenge your palate as you sip on signature serves exclusively created for you. The event is on Friday 30th June, tickets are £12 and includes one cocktail and a cocktail booklet, grab them here.
Get Arty And Support Local
Over 130 stalls will be propped up at the stunning Anglican Cathedral for The Summer Arts Market on the 17th of June and there’ll be art, crafts, prints, designs and more importantly cake on offer. A wonderful chance to support handmade and heartfelt. Entry is just a couple of quid and it is on the whole weekend from 10am-5pm. Details are here.
Drink “Johnny’s Badass Pina Colada” From Santa Chupitos
Do we really need to twist your arm? We didn’t think so. Life is all about balance. The good and the bad, the highs and the lows, the pina and the colada. Refresh yourself in the most delicious way and tick this off your bucket list in the most fantastic of fashion.
Go See THE RETURN OF THE Disney SHIP
Disney Magic is a cruise ship owned and operated by the Disney Cruise Line, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. She has 11 public decks, can accommodate 2,700 passengers in 875 staterooms, and has a crew of approximately 950. Last year she was greeted by lots of people from Liverpool and left with a bang. Literally. The cruise ship is back on Friday 14th July.
Go On A Gin Journey
No need to call Specsavers or alter your screen, there is such a thing as a gin journey and you need to go on one. Run by ‘Shake, Rattle and Stir’, the guys and girls behind it have formed a crack team of gin commandos and created a set of astounding gin events to educate and inspire and bring the finest gin fun to you. Go on a journey of your city through the wonders of gin and try exclusive cocktails at Liverpool’s best bars. Ride from each bar to in a unique gin carriage and well, need we say anymore? Get your tickets here.
Dance The Night Away At A Grant Theft Auto 80’s Special
On 17th June The Merchant, on Slater Street, are hosting a 80’s themed night where they’ll be playing the best songs from Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Wear a Hawaiian shirt so loud and bright that Tommy Vercetti would be proud. Expect songs from Blondie, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Phil Collins, The Cure and more. Find out more here.
Head To A Vintage Festival On The Dock
Designers, Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway MBE, return with their world-famous vintagefFestival – a celebration of 20th Century vintage cool. Visitors looking for some seriously stylish eye candy can browse the vintage marketplace, with the best traders hand-selected by keen-eyed curators, Dotty’s Vintage. It’s on 9th and 10th July and completely free. More here.
Climb Vestey Tower
The Liverpool Cathedral is one of the world’s great buildings. Beautiful from the inside and out, you can also climb to the top and see the whole of Liverpool from Vestey Tower. It is 101 metres up so expect some incredible views, a lot of wind and a dash of vertigo. The tower is open to the public most days and costs just a couple quid to go up to the top, click here to find out more.
Get Up Stand Up and help our independent music venues survive
We love all things independent and that includes our music venues too. With the Kazimier and Mello Mello being claimed by gentrification, 24 Kitchen Street has become the latest venue to be put at risk and need your support. The Baltic musical cornerstone have teamed up with upcoming music promoters CMD presents to bring together a plethora of awesome acts from across the region to help raise awareness about the threat and to help them with their struggle to stay open. With all proceeds going to Kitchen Street, this is something that your support could make a huge difference to our creative areas. All for just £5. Tickets here.
VISIT THE LIVERPOOL ARAB ARTS FESTIVAL
Each year, the festival brings a thrilling celebration of Arab culture to venues across the city and showcases the richness of Arab culture through a packed programme of visual art, music, dance, film, theatre, literature and special events. It takes place from the 16th-24th July. Expect live music, storytelling and tasty local cuisine. Info here.
Go To An Extra Special Firework Show
As part of the Sgt Pepper at 50 celebrations, this event is inspired by Lucy, the girl with kaleidoscopic eyes, from John Lennon’s famous song. It will mark the inspiration for a wonderful evening of true magic where tangerine trees and marmalade skies will fall in comparison. The event is set to take over Camp Hill, Woolton Woods, from 8pm on Thursday 1 June in a world premiere event which will transform the area into a magical space of performance, story-telling, music, light and pyrotechnics. More here.
SAIL ON DOWN TO THE INTERNATIONAL MERSEY RIVER FESTIVAL
The International Mersey River Festival will once again sail into Liverpool complete with ships, stages and things for all ages – and it’s set to host the very first Northern Boat Show. For music lovers, there’s plenty on offer as Music on the Waterfront forms part of the celebrations – 2014 saw a fantastic DJ set from Craig Charles, as well as performances from The Christians, Jaki Graham, Esco Williams and the Band of HM Royal Marines to name but a few. It’s on 24-25th June, more info here.
SHAKE YOUR TAIL FEATHER AT BRAZILICA
Brazilica is the UK’s only Brazilian festival and Samba Carnival taking place annually in the heart of the Liverpool city centre. Expect vibrant colours, dresses as loud as the drums and some awful dancing that should never be repeated by ourselves. The festival will be taking place from 14th to the 16th of July. More info here.
WALK ALONG CROSBY BEACH
The Iron Men sculptures on Crosby Beach by Anthony Gormley are known as ‘Another Place’ and are a huge tourist attraction. It consists of 100 cast iron sculptures looking out towards the sea in silent expectation. They recently celebrated their 10 year anniversary and we implore you to head down and check them out. Luckily enough they’re already in their birthday suits.
Get Ready To Dance At A Reggae Festival
Liverpool’s award-winning celebration of reggae music and Jamaican heritage, Positive Vibration, returns in June for a jam-packed weekend of cultural appreciation and positivity. Headlining this year’s festival will be legendary 2-Tone band, The Selecter and King of the Sound System, Jah Shaka but there will be much more than music on offer. Art exhibitions, lots of things to do for the kids, panel discussions and more. Tickets here.
Eat Breakfast And Help The Homeless
Host a Big Boss Brekkie for your friends, customers, colleagues, and share a yummy breakfast to raise some cash to help end homelessness in Liverpool. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but even more so if you’ve just slept rough. Help The Whitechapel Centre help others, who already serve 8,500 rough sleepers breakfast every year serve even more. More info here.
TAKE THE KIDS TO THE PIRATE FESTIVAL
‘Shiver me timbers’, the free family friendly Pirate Festival on the docks will be returning this year. There’ll be sword fighting, musketry and cannon fire, shanties and storytelling, free face painting and activity workshops, plus a spectacular ship-to-ship pirate battle across Albert Dock. Discover how people lived in the days when pirates terrorised the high seas and come aboard the pirate brigantine Zebu and learn the amazing true stories behind some of the real life pirates from legend. It’s on 16th-17th September, more here.
HAVE A PICNIC IN THE PARK
This is as close to The Great Gatsby as you’re going to get. Get a nice basket, a nice cloth (here’s when Mum’s come in handy, they’ve got entire drawers dedicated to this kinda stuff) and fill it with a few of your partners favourite things and watch them weep with happiness. The weather might not be perfect for it but let’s be honest, we all live in the UK, when is it ever picnic-perfect? Head to Sefton, Calderstones, Princess or Stanley Park. If you can’t be bothered making the picnic yourself, East Avenue Bakehouse have launched a picnic pick-up service. More here.
Ride A Ferry Across The Mersey
A world-class city and a world-famous ferry collide on the Mersey, making for one hell of an evening. Gerry and the Pacemakers made it famous and we urge you to go and see for yourself what they were singing about. The popular two hour evening cruises feature live acoustic music, a licensed bar and spectacular views of Liverpool’s unique world heritage waterfront. Don’t miss the chance to enjoy a night out with a difference with Mersey Ferries. Book tickets here.
EAT TOO MUCH AT LIVERPOOL FOOD & DRINK FESTIVAL
Every foodie has this weekend marked down in their calendar. The best of Liverpool’s effervescent food and drink scene congregate in Sefton Park for a weekend of food, drink and more food and drink. On the 16th and 17th September the park will be turned into “foodie heaven” for the 10th year running and you just can’t miss it. Hopefully this year they’ll have a mattress area you can nap off all that food. More info here.
Drink Coffee In Local Liverpool Pounds
Did you know Liverpool’s got its own local currency? Well it has and it’s doing wonders for the city’s independents. There’s some amazing places signed up and if you love coffee, you’re in for a treat. Grab your fix at places like Unit 51, Bold Street Coffee, Coffee & Fandisha, Neighbourhood Coffee, Muster Custom Coffee House and more. You get a free £5 for downloading and a 15% cash boost every time you put cash on. Summer can be expensive, don’t let your coffee suffer. Download here.
Fall Drunk In Love With This Aperol Spritz Cupcake
Ladies and gentlemen, we hope you’re sitting down as we have some pretty crazy news. We’ve just found out Aperol Spritz cupcakes exist (thanks to local cake makers Whipped Cakes and Bakes) and you can get them at Writer’s Block, Lark Lane’s new cocktail hideout where one drink turns into seven with incredible ease.
CELEBRATE INTERNATIONAL BEATLES WEEK
Now we know we all take the Beatles for granted but this mini-festival is actually quite unique. It was what evolved into Matthew Street festival and what then evolved again into Liverpool International Music Festival. It was Liverpool’s prototype of a homegrown music festival. You can expect auctions, music and expert speakers from all over the world coming to Liverpool from 24th August to 30th August. Beatles mania. More info here.
JAM AT AFRICA OYÉ
Africa Oyé, the UK’s largest free celebration of African music and culture takes place annually in Liverpool on the 17th and 18th of June and this year it’s their 25th year anniversary. Beginning in 1992 as a series of small gigs in the city centre, the event has gone from strength to strength, moving to its present Sefton Park home in 2002 to cope with demand. Inspired by the negative connotations associated with Africa, this event aims to highlight the culture, heritage, music and of course, the food. A must-do on the Liverpool calendar. Bring on the jerk chicken and tunes. More info here.
Spend An Afternoon Getting To Know Granby
The Granby Four Streets story is one that represents the whole city. It’s so moving and we were delighted to hear the much-loved Granby Four Streets Market returned in April for an instalment of monthly shows. Offering a fabulous array of stalls both new and old plus a great street party atmosphere, head on down and thank us later. The market will be held on the main high street of Granby Street in Toxteth featuring stalls selling bric-a-brac and second hand clothes to arts, crafts and henna painting. Expect pop-up cinemas and more. More here.
Head On Down To Folk On The Dock
Folk on the Dock will bring together the city’s rich music and maritime heritage in an exuberant celebration of live acoustic folk, sea shanty and folk rock over the August bank holiday weekend. Folk on the Dock will tell the remarkable story of how the ships and crews coming through Liverpool’s docks shaped the musical landscape of the city forever – further cementing its status as a UNESCO City of Music. More here.
Photo credit: Albertdock.com
Around The World Yacht Race
The biggest round-the-world ocean race is to return to Liverpool with the start and finish of this unique global challenge moving from the capital back to the River Mersey, 10 years since it last came. The 2017-18 edition of the famous Clipper Round the World Yacht Race will set sail from Albert Dock on 20th August, returning approximately 11 months later in Summer 2018. More here.
SING ALONG AT LIMF
Liverpool International Music Festival is like a victory lap of Sefton Park for Liverpool’s electrifying music scene. A quite literal platform to display how gifted we are as a whole with a bit of crowd-surfing thrown in for good measure. With 150 different acts from 20 different countries, Liverpool is going to be the Mecca of music from the 20th-23rd of July and it is not to be missed as LIMF doesn’t just help you discover the new, it inspires the next. The Beatles weren’t the only ones to strum a guitar y’know. More info here.
DRINK BEER AT A CRAFT BEER EXPO
On the 15th-18th June there’s a place where ale appreciators, cider connoisseurs and lager lovers can revel in delight. Is there a better invention than beer? Yeah, the wheel was good but it doesn’t go half as well with pizza. Expect over 250 drinks to sample in one of Liverpool’s best beer gardens. Get your tickets here and use the special code INDYLIV2017 for a whopping 25% off.
Photo credit: Samantha Kirkham
Check Out Ghetto Golf’s New Outdoor Bar & BBQ
Not content with just having one of the best and most alternative experiences in town, the two best friends behind Ghetto Golf have just cut the big red ribbon to another experience in the city. This time it’s an open and outdoor cocktail bar and BBQ – no-one’s complaining about that combination. Food comes from pit masters Apocalypse Cow who are smoking meats all day long. More here.
Head to Sound for a night of Pizza and Unlimited Prosecco
The Italians, they know what they’re doing. Two of the finest worlds collide in tremendous fashion every single Friday on Duke Street at Sound. For just £20 you can get a pizza and unlimited prosecco. There’s a reason why Brits were responsible for drinking a 1/3 of all prosecco in the last year. Head down, grab a slice and fill up on bubbly until everything feels warm and fuzzy. Book in advance here.
Still Thirsty? Head To Chamber 36 For Their Unlimited Brunch Prosecco
Brunch is basically breakfast for people who wake up late. If a lie-in doesn’t sound good enough, head to Chamber 36 on Berry Street for their weekly bottomless brunch. Two courses and two hours of unlimited prosecco at £25pp. Take our money!
Blow Out The Candles For Fiesta Bombarda Fifth Birthday
Fiesta Bombarda celebrates five years of colourful carnivals. Fiesta travels back to the iconic Palm House to celebrate their 5th birthday. They return to our stunning Victorian glass structure for the first time in a year and a half as they immerse in our sprawling foliage with their raucous rhythms. Fiesta Bombarda bring the festival atmosphere to Sefton Park with their carnival cacophony of Fiesta face paint, tropical set design, a huge line up TBA shortly and a very special new live performance project. Tickets have sold out but join the waiting list here.
Go To A Free BBQ At HUS
From the same chaps behind The Baltic Social, HUS was born after spending time in Stockholm and Copenhagen and basically falling in love with the eating and drinking scene over there. The Tempest Building has been their home for some months now and they’ve become a firm favourite amongst the independent scene. Throughout summer they’re hosting a series of free BBQ’s with a side of some of the best panoramic views of the city’s vast architecture. The booze shall flow, the Spritz shall be bubbly and the beer cold. Info here.
Join Us For A Cinema Night
An outdoor cinema with gin? It’s a dream come true. Over the summer, we will be holding a series of outdoor cinema’s around the city. From Liverpool’s premier gin garden where sun worshippers and juniper lovers all come together to an old church in Grand Central Hall. Be first in the know by liking us on Facebook here.
Eat/Drink This
Dubbed “freakshakes”, they’re less of a beverage, more of a challenge. Barley & Beans opened up in Hatton Gardens just at the end of 2014 and their philosophy is to remind you to slow down. With the new milkshakes they’ve just created, we don’t think you will have a say on the matter. There’s a vast range of flavours, all which will make you need a nap after consuming.
Drink Outdoors
As soon as a certain centigrade is hit, Liverpudlians flock in their thousands to the nearest garden with a pump full of beer. Liverpool isn’t short of interesting places to partake in these kind of activities and the sun illuminating the spaces we forget about for the remainder of the year is special. Check out our guide to Liverpool’s best beer gardens here.
WALK AROUND CLAREMONT FARM
Just over the water is Claremont Farm, acres of land that are in equal parts beautiful and essential. Over the past 10 years, they’ve created the alternative shopping and eating destination you see today, a melting pot for local produce, seasonal foods and family activities. They put on free ‘Welly Walks’ where you can walk around the farm, hear the history and maybe nibble on some produce on the way round. Free freshly grown strawberries? Yes please! More here.
Surround Yourself In Wine And Cheese
Join Camp and Furnace on 17th June for an all day cheese and wine party. There’ll be over 50 wines on offer from all over the globe, taste them all or choose a wine journey and make your way round the furnace one wine at a time. There will also be plenty of fizz from their Bubbles bar, cocktails and food from their resident chefs Maray and more. Grab your early bird tickets whilst you can here.
Vibe At The Baltic Weekender
A brand-new festival is taking place in Liverpool across Friday June 2nd – Sunday 4th, set across a diverse range of venues and with one of the most forward-thinking lineups curated over the last few years in the city. The Baltic Weekender is a celebration of the continued diversity of the richly vibrant music culture that has driven the Baltic Triangle’s development, now established across the UK as Liverpool’s most important cultural destination. So far they have confirmed Goldie MBE, Axel Boman, Gerd Janson, Move D, Ghetts and so much more. Tickets here.
Go To A Comedy Festival
The Liverpool Comedy Festival, powered by local charity The Comedy Trust, are the brains behind bringing world-class comedy to Liverpool for the past 16 years. Each and every year the team strives to deliver first class entertainment with the biggest and best line-ups, featuring a string of familiar faces alongside new and up-and-coming talent from the world of comedy. Taking place in over 20 venues across the city with over 100 shows, the festival will fill your yearly laughter quota for two weeks in September to October, turning the funniest city in the UK into the funniest city on the planet. More here.
GO ON THE RIDE OF YOUR LIFE AT PIER HEAD VILLAGE
June 30th sees the return of The Pier Head Village. Formerly The Liverpool Village, year two of the three month summer festival sees it return with a much bigger and more action packed range of concepts, thrill rides and family fun than ever before. There will also be a local art fair where you can support local artists. More here.
Have Your Mind Blown At The Return of Liverpool’s Festival Of Psychedelia
Liverpool International Feastival of Psychedelia returns over 22nd + 23rd September 2017 to the warehouses and recesses of Camp and Furnace, Blade Factory and District, in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle. Prepare to be joined aboard this year’s subsonic trip by THE BLACK ANGELS, who, through their impeccable musical output over the past 12 years, have reignited the psychedelic flame a new generation. Also at the festival will be SONGHOY BLUES: hailing from the town of Gao in north-eastern Mali, Songhoy Blues celebrate of their displaced Songhoy people and culture.
photo by Michelle Roberts
FOLLOW YOUR ART AND HEAD TO A MUSEUM WHILST YOU’RE THERE
Within one small city Liverpool boasts excellent art galleries. We’ve got The Tate, Victoria Gallery, The Bluecoat, The Walker Art Gallery, Open Eye Gallery, FACT, just to name a few. All are equally ambitious and beautiful in their own way and provide an insightful respite away from the humdrum of the high street. If you fancy something out of the city, head to Lady Lever Art Gallery in Port Sunlight. Don’t forget to check out the incredible museums on offer, too! The view from the window of Museum of Liverpool was recently voted the most stunning in the UK.
GO ON A TOUR OF THE OLD DOCK
The internationally-important Old Dock has been carefully preserved under the new Liverpool ONE. For the first time in centuries the bed of the Pool – the creek that gave Liverpool its name – can be seen. The Old Dock was discovered during excavations in 2001 after being buried since 1826. Developers Grosvenor preserved the dock and are making it publicly accessible as an important reminder of Liverpool’s historic status. Tickets are free, info here.
Take The Kids To KIDSFEST AT STANLEY PARK
KidsFest is returning to the beautiful Stanley park for a third year and is set to be bigger and better than ever. The children’s festival was first launched in 2015 to honour the short life of James Bulger who was cruelly murdered in 1993 at the age of two. They decided to organise a free children’s festival to give families in Liverpool a fabulous fun day out which marks the end of the school summer holidays and won’t break the bank. More here.
FANCY A YEAR’S WORTH OF DISCOUNTS AND DEALS AT SOME OF LIVERPOOL’S BEST INDEPENDENTS? WE ARE DOING A SPECIAL INDEPENDENT LIVERPOOL MEMBERSHIP CARD DEAL FOR JUST ONE WEEK. FOR JUST £10 FOR ONE (USUALLY £15) OR £15 FOR TWO (USUALLY £20) YOU CAN EAT, DRINK AND SHOP AT SOME OF THE CITY’S BEST INDEPENDENTS AND SAVE SOME MONEY A LONG THE WAY. SAVE MONEY, SHOP LOCAL – WHAT’S NOT TO LIKE? GRAB YOURS HERE.
Big thank you to Visit Liverpool and Marketing Liverpool for letting us use the their picture as our featured image.
