5 Things to Do in Nottingham This Weekend

This Chinese New Year takes us into another Year of the Dog, and celebrations have already been popping off throughout Notts since the start of January. This weekend, Market Square will become home to a temple fair, where you lot can try yer hands and arts and crafts like calligraphy and paper cutting, sample some authentic chinese new year foods and get dahn and dirty at the Chinese dragon dance. There’ll also be a special photographic exhibition telling the story of Hemudu - an ancient town in Ningbo - and it’s culture, heritage and development. Get involved.
Saturday 10 February, 10.30am-5.30pm, free, Old Market Square, event link

After the roaring success of the second Nottingham Zine Fair back in November, it’s no surprise that lots of us have caught zine fever. If you’re feeling inspired and don’t know where to begin, get yoursen booked into this pronto. This two-part workshop sees you getting wordy with poet Andrew Graves, where he’ll help you develop your poems and ideas, before you get down and dirty with Dizzy Ink in the second session, to create an anthology of everyone’s poems using their specialist printing process, Risograph.
Saturday 10 February, 12pm (Second workshop Saturday 17 February), £15, West Bridgford Library, event link

We’ve all been there; sat at your desk on a dreary Monday morning, staring into space and wondering why the heck your here. On days like these, it’s hard not to be jealous of the lucky boggers who get to laze arahnd on a tropical island, write a few hundred words about the place and get to call it a job. If travel writing is summat that appeals to you, this short course will teach yer the basics. It will look at techniques and approaches for both short reviews and book-length pieces, as well as practical writing exercises and advice on getting your writing published. You’ll be in the hands of creative writing lecturer and travel writer, Kerry Featherstone, so mek sure to take plenty of notes and you’ll be out on the open road in no time.
Saturday 10 February (first of a four week course), 2pm-4pm, £30-£45, Nottingham Writers Studio, event link

It’s been eight months since the UK watched in horror as Grenfell Tower, home to around six hundred people, burst into flames and took nearly a hundred lives. Nottingham Renters Alliance and Notts Activist Wellness have announced a duo of fundraisers at The Maze, with the first coming this Sunday.  For a suggested donation of a fiver, you’ll get to hear the musical delights of Jack’s Got A Plan, Ashmore, Capital Calling and more, and you can also get your hands on some vegan treats. All money raised from the event will go towards providing basic necessities and hopefully therapy and self-care support to those affected by the devastating tragedy.
Sunday 11 February, 6pm, free, The Maze, event link

It’s no secret that the food and farming industry is in the midst of a crisis. It’s estimated that in just over a decade we’ve lost more than 33 thousand farms in our countryside and our diets aren’t helping things either. It seems the fundamental link between people, food and our land has been broken and if we don’t do summat about it soon, farming as we know it could cease to exist. In Our Hands is a story of a growing movement of farmers and food workers who are creating the new kind of farm - vibrant land with living soils, thriving food markets and a fairer food system for all. This documentary film is a great watch for any activists out there looking to build a better world.
Sunday 11 February, 10.30am, free, Small Food Bakery, event link

For the full motherload of goings-on this week, check out our What's On section