Ely Scene

Hello you 👋

From retro dance floors and a star-studded night at Newmarket to after-dark wildlife at Welney, the bank holiday week is buzzing. Get hands-on with pottery painting or a family sketching evening, then graze the Bank Holiday Monday Market. Round things off with free riverside music, a soaring organ recital and the Isle of Ely Art Society’s summer show. Here’s your guide to what’s on from 21 – 27 August.

🎟️ Events This Week

• 🪩 Boogie Nights: Ultimate 80s, 90s & 00s Party – The Maltings
  Big tunes, bigger nostalgia. Dress up, round up your mates and dance beside the river on Saturday 23 August, 8pm – 12:30am. Expect Smash Hits pop, club classics, R&B and 00s floor-fillers, plus themed inflatables and glow sticks. Advance £8.50 / Group (4) £30 / On the door £11. Book ahead and line up a taxi home.

• 🛍️ Bank Holiday Monday Market – Ely Market Place

  Street food, artisan bakes, vintage finds and family bits galore fill the Market Place on Monday 25 August, 9am – 4pm. It’s a special bank holiday edition with a buzzy, relaxed feel - ideal for grazing, browsing and bumping into friends. Bring totes and come hungry. Free Entry.

• 🎤 Sugababes & Natasha Bedingfield – Newmarket Racecourses

  Summer Saturday Live returns to the July Course on Saturday 23 August with an afternoon of racing, then early evening concerts: Natasha Bedingfield from about 5:30pm, before Sugababes headline at about 6:40pm. Expect ‘Freak Like Me’, ‘Round Round’ and more, plus ‘Unwritten’ and ‘These Words’. Family-friendly. Tickets required, book ahead.

• 🦇 Welney After Hours – WWT Welney Wetland Centre
  Explore the Ouse Washes after dusk with a warden on Saturday 23 August, 8:30pm – 10:30pm. Watch barn owls hunt over the wet grasslands, listen for bats using detectors, and discover just how colourful moths can be at light and scent stations. £15 per adult / £7 per child, booking essential.

• 🎨 Pottery Painting for All – Haddenham Arts Centre

  Decorate a ready-made ceramic and create a keepsake at this family-friendly workshop on Friday 22 August, with sessions 10am – 12:30pm or 1pm – 3:30pm. Activity charge £3.50 per painter (materials & kiln firing included) + model cost from £6 – £12. Pieces are fired and ready to collect about a week later.

• ✏️ Sketching Evening for Families – Wicken Fen

  Get inspiration from the Fen landscape and features. Sketch the windpump or Fen Cottage on Thursday 21 August, 5:30pm –7pm. Bring a sketchbook and pencils (some available on site); a friendly tutor shares tips for all abilities. Suitable for ages 8+. £3 per person (adults and children), plus standard admission for non-members. Booking recommended.

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👋 Local Picks

• 🖼️ Isle of Ely Art Society - Ely Methodist Church

  Local artists showcase paintings and crafts at the Society’s friendly annual show, running Tuesday 26th August – Saturday 30th August from 11am. Drop in to browse original work and cards, chat to makers, and support Ely’s creative scene. Free entry.

• 🎹 Organ Recital: Jeremy Lloyd – Ely Cathedral
  Let grand pipes and soaring acoustics close your weekend in style on Sunday 24 August, 5:15pm. Jeremy Lloyd shares a luminous programme under the Octagon, perfect for a reflective end to a busy summer Sunday. Arrive a little early to soak up the space.

• 🎶 Riverside Concerts in Jubilee Gardens - Jubilee Gardens

  The popular summer concert series continues with a performance by the Somersham Town Band on Sunday 24 August at 2:30pm. Enjoy live music in the beautiful riverside setting of Jubilee Gardens – perfect for a relaxing afternoon with family and friends. Free entry.

😊 Good News in 60 Seconds

• 🏥 Free Health Checks Serve Community
  Over 70 people attended free health checks at Ely Masonic Hall over two days, with Cambridgeshire Freemasons organising the community focused event. Several attendees discovered health issues they weren't aware of, including one woman with dangerously high blood pressure. The event also supported carers, with volunteers caring for a dementia patient while his wife received her vital health screening.

• ⭐ Students Artwork is Out of This World

  Students from Ely Community College (Years 9–10) have completed a bold space-themed mural on the gateway underpass at Ely Leisure Village. Guided by street artist Kilo, this phase-two project with City of Ely, East Cambs and Cambs County councils adds colour to a busy route and gives young creatives skills, pride and a public platform.

• 🌍 Global Scholar Inspires Local Rotary
  Rotary Global Scholar Sumaya Miller inspired Ely Rotary Club with her passionate talk on education and international development. Having raised $25,000 for ShelterBox and studied at Cambridge with Rotary support, she now works in London helping under-resourced communities worldwide. Ely Rotary welcomes new scholar Leonard Wang this autumn for his MBA studies.

Wishing you a fantastic week filled with all these local delights 🌞