North Greenwich Archives

January 24, 2025January 24, 2025

Greenwich Peninsula set for day of Lunar New Year celebrations

Events to mark Year Of The Snake include dragon and lion dances, craft workshops and plenty of street food from noon-4pm on February 1

Lunar New Year celebrations will come to Greenwich Peninsula on February 1, 2025

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Greenwich Peninsula is set for a day of events to mark the arrival of the Year Of The Snake on February 1, 2025.

Celebrations for Lunar New Year will run from noon-4pm with a host of free and paid-for activities scheduled.

Those attending can expect workshops, cultural performances, a paper lantern installation and dishes from Asian street food vendors in addition to offerings from Canteen Food Hall And Bar.

“We’re excited to see Greenwich Peninsula once again transform into a hub of celebration for Lunar New Year,” said Greewnich Peninsula director, Laura Flanagan.

“Our riverside neighbourhood is the perfect destination to experience art and creativity, and this year’s programme has something for everyone.

“With themes of connection, prosperity and renewal, we’re delighted to collaborate with so many talented performers, artists and experts to bring these experiences to life.”

Highlights on the programme include the return of the traditional dragon that will once again weave its way through the area as well as lion dance performances – new for 2025.

Through acrobatics, puppetry and rhythmic drumming, these spectacles aim to chase away bad fortune and welcome good luck for the year ahead.

A range of workshops and activities will be on offer

celebrating on the Peninsula

“Greenwich Peninsula boasts an unrivalled offer for anyone looking for a London less ordinary,” said Visit Greenwich chief executive, Barrie Kelly.

“Its Lunar New Year festival is just one of the brilliant cultural offerings enjoyable year-round, bringing community together through creativity.

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with them and can’t wait to get involved with all the amazing events on offer.”

The area’s Lunar New Year programme is part-funded by the government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund and supported by the Greenwich Council and the Mayor Of London and in partnership with Visit Greenwich.

Activities will include workshops from Yi Crafts, offering visitors the opportunity to try bamboo weaving, Chinese knot-making, woodblock printing and paper cutting.

There will also be an opportunity to learn or master Mahjong, guided by experts from Dear Asia language school.

Its free sessions at Bureau in Design District will also cover the game’s history and explore various strategies available to players.

Greenwich Peninsula is easily accessed from across east and south-east London thanks to North Greenwich Tube station, the London Cable Car and the Uber Boat By Thames Clippers river bus service.

The area boasts a wealth of attractions including the diverse architecture and creative businesses of Design District, the restaurants, shops and venues in The O2 and plentiful parks.

Visitors will find plenty of places for refreshment and entertainment including the independent street food traders at Canteen, Firepit Art Gallery And Studios and Oxygen Active Play and Hollywood Bowl at The O2 for kids.

There’s even the opportunity to try indoor skydiving with iFly’s 170mph vertical wind tunnel, for those seeking a thrill on their trip to the area.

Visitors will be able to try woodblock printing at Greenwich Peninsula

activities for Lunar New Year at Greenwich Peninsula

As Lunar New Year approaches, here’s a run down of Greenwich Peninsula’s activities and attractions on February 1, 2025, so you can plan your visit and avoid missing out…

>> when? Noon

Brut Tea Tasting – £5

Join Brut Tea founders Joyce and Raphael for an intimate tea-tasting session showcasing four blends from the company. Book online for this session at Design District’s Salon

>> when? Noon, 12.30pm, 1pm, 1.30pm

Chinese Knot-Making – £6

Yi Crafts will welcome visitor’s to Design District’s D4 building for a series of 30-minute interactive workshops exploring this intricate art form. Participants will create decorative ornaments. Pre-book online.

Dear Asia will be hosting two sessions of Mahjong

>> when? 12.30pm, 2.45pm

Play Mahjong – FREE (book)

Dear Asia will lead two 90-minute sessions where participants will play and learn about this ancient game. Ideal for beginners. Book a spot in advance for a game at Design District’s Bureau restaurant.

>> when? 1.30pm, 2pm, 2.30pm, 3pm

Paper Cutting – FREE (book)

Take half an hour to immerse yourself in the delicate and festive art of paper cutting with Yi Crafts workshops. Participants will create decorative pieces during the sessions. Book ahead.

>> when? 1.30pm, 2.15pm, 3pm

Lion Dance – FREE

Perhaps the heart of the celebrations will be a pair of dances performed one after the other in Peninsula Square. First up, a dynamic lion dance will chase away bad fortune with vibrant costumes and powerful drumbeats.

>> when? 1.45pm, 2.15pm, 3.15pm

Dragon Dance – FREE

After the three lion dances, a traditional dragon dance will follow with the creature winding its way through the crowds under the careful guidance of the performers. The dragon is said to bring luck, prosperity and renewal for the year ahead.

There will be lots to see and do to welcome the Year Of The Snake

>> when? 2pm, 3pm

Bamboo Coaster Weaving – £10

These two workshops by Yi Crafts will see participants discover the techniques behind this traditional practice. Participants will use sustainably sourced bamboo strips to make their own coaster. The hour-long workshops, at Design District building D4, should be booked in advance.

>> when? 2pm, 2.30pm, 3pm, 3.30pm

Woodblock Printing – FREE (book)

Also run by Yi Crafts at D4, these half-hour sessions are intended for those seeking “a creative and meaningful” Lunar New Year experience with those taking part learning traditional techniques to create their own printed works.

key details: Lunar New Year at Greenwich Peninsula

Lunar New Year celebrations at Greenwich Peninsula are set to take place on February 1, 2025, from noon-4pm.

While much of the festival is free to attend, some activities require pre-booking, while others are paid.

Find out more about the activities here

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December 4, 2024December 4, 2024

iFLY At The O2 indoor skydiving is like stepping into another world

How the indoor skydiving attraction on Greenwich Peninsula allows you to fly in 170mph winds

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There exists at The O2 an opportunity to literally step into another world.

Inside iFLY, four massive jet engines – two at the top and two at the bottom – pump air through a vertical cylinder to create winds of around 170mph.

The walls of the chamber might be transparent, but the conditions within are completely different to anything else at ground level.

It’s a place where physics no longer makes sense to one’s body, where extraordinary things are possible. It’s a complete rush for the senses, the mind and the muscles.

Apt then that the concept of indoor skydiving is a paradox.

Obviously it’s not possible to fall out of a plane while in a building.

But iFLY’s facilities offer the next best thing – an opportunity to experience some of the sensations of free fall without the need for an aircraft.

More than that, its flights don’t require parachutes, significant prep or, crucially, the massive time sink and expense of jumping out of actual planes.

There’s also a comparatively tiny risk of death.

Heading down to the Greenwich Peninsula to give it a go, I’m nervous.

It’s not often I’m invited to step out of my comfort zone in quite such a literal sense.

Having signed a waiver and headed up stairs the first thing I see is the wind tunnel itself – a glass tube inside which an instructor is watching a participant apparently defy gravity.

There’s that paradox.

The vertical wind tunnel allows those entering to float on the updraft and perform acrobatics

Even through the soundproofing, the roar of the air is constant.

After a quick safety briefing, during which our instructor reveals he’s a veteran of some 250 actual sky dives, we don helmets, goggles and baggy flight suits – loose to create more drag and make the flying easier.

In contrast our instructor is in a sleek, skin-tight number for maximum control and minimum drag.

It’s his job to stand, impervious to the wind, and guide the paying guests into the air.

Once we’re through the air lock into an antechamber, the noise makes talking impossible. Communication is via hand signals and I’m beckoned forth for my flight.

The directions are clear – flop forward into the wind, legs out and try to relax with outstretched arms.

That’s easier said than done with the relentless buffeting of the wind and the noise.

But there’s a strange feeling of lift and I’m basically hovering when, quite clearly, I should be falling to the floor.

It’s like no other sensation.

Wharf Life’s Jess Maddison takes to the air in iFLY At The O2

The instructor grasps me round the waist to start with and positions me in the rushing air, adjusting my position before gradually releasing me completely.

I’m flying, even if I’m unstable and have no control or ideas about how to manoeuvre.

After what seems like minutes, but is probably seconds of sensory overload, he pushes me back out of the tube and my feet hit the floor.

The adrenaline is surging. I’m euphoric. I understand why people want to go back again and again to taste that strangeness.

At the end, the instructor offers a showcase.

Bobbing up and down in the tube, he effortlessly executes flips and headstands, shooting up and down apparently at will.

It’s breathtaking and a tantalising display of the proficiency that can be achieved in this otherworldly realm.

Wharf Life Verdict: 4/5

key details: iFLY At The O2

iFLY’s current Black Friday 2024 deals mean an entry-level Kick-Start experience costs £32.99 per person.

The normal cost is £109.99. This includes two flights (lasting the equivalent of three real skydives), equipment hire and a flight certificate.

Numerous other packages are available including virtual reality at The O2 facility.

The most popular is currently £43.19 per person and includes photos and videos of four flights. This is normally £149.99.

Find out more about the experience here

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June 12, 2021September 8, 2021

Greenwich: Flow Farmers Market brings fresh sustainable product to the Peninsula

Developer Knight Dragon teams up with Bompas And Parr and Urban Food Fest for regular event

Sweet treats on offer from Oh My Sugar at the market – image Matt Grayson

A clutch of food traders are plying their wares on the banks of the Thames as Greenwich Peninsula hosts Flow Farmers Market every other Sunday. With the next one set to take place on June 13 – and with dates running throughout the summer until September 19 – we caught up with the organiser and stallholders to discover what residents and visitors can find on the strip of land between the end of The Tide and the river.

“We really wanted to expand the artisan food element that is part of our urban design market Sample to create a regular farmers’ market,” said Kaia Charles, cultural projects manager for Greenwich Peninsula at property developer Knight Dragon.

“So we worked with creative food firm Bompass And Parr to develop an idea about what that could be for the Peninsula – to bring a range of fresh produce, organic meats and cheeses here. Flow is inspired by the river itself, its location and, as it grows we really want to feature local producers.

“We want it very much to be for the residents here so it’s about what they want and need – that’s what will drive what we have here.

The idea is the selection of traders we have at the moment goes really well together with organic bread, cheeses, olives and meats.

“It’s gone down really well with residents so far and the stalls are also near two of our retail tenants – Choy House and Ardoa – so people can visit them too. We want to enliven the river and celebrate the resilience of our community after the pandemic.”

Flow Farmers Market, programmed by Urban Food Fest, takes place every other Sunday from 10am-3pm. Here we talk to some of the traders taking part:

OH MY SUGAR

cookies – brownies – sweets

Oh My Sugar owner Aysar Kalkanel said: “I started the business in 2020. I’d been travelling and I wanted to come home and open a brunch bar, but I arrived back just as we went into the first lockdown, so I had to think of an alternative.

“I’d never baked before, but it blew up completely. Originally it was going to be more about sweets, but everyone kept ordering the brownies and cookies. We started doing just online and then a couple of people suggested markets and it’s been the best thing I’ve done.

“We mainly sell cookies, brownies and blondies which is a version of a brownie made with white chocolate – they’re very sweet, but people love them. We basically offer a variety of chocolate-smothered goodness.”

Samaneh serves customers at Flow Farmers Market – image Matt Grayson

OLIVETO BAR

olives – garlic – sundried tomatoes

Oliveto’s Samaneh Khazaei said: “The business has been established for almost 12 years now. We marinade everything ourselves and source our olives from Italy, Greece and Spain.

“All of our products are homemade and sold freshly at markets, whether it’s the olives or the hummus.

“Our flavours include olives flavoured with mixed fresh herbs and chilli. We are also selling Persian garlic and artichokes. We don’t use vinegar or salt in our marinades, just extra virgin olive oil. We also do vegetarian stuffed vine leaves.

“Personally I love our olives stuffed with almonds and anchovies – they’re really tasty. I also have to mention our hummus, which is delicious.”

PICK’S ORGANIC FARM

vegetables – meat – bacon rolls

Pick’s Organic Farm’s Hannah Patterson said: “The farm is based near Leicester in Barkby Thorpe and we come down every Saturday and Sunday to trade at farmers’ markets in London.

“We do a range of hot food – cooking sausages and bacon at our stall – as well as selling meat, fresh eggs from our chickens and fruit and vegetables too, although not at every market.

“All the meat we sell is produced from our own animals. We have a variety of sausages including Welsh Dragon, flavoured with chilli, a good selection of beef, lamb and chicken as well as burgers – a bit of everything you could want, really. We sell burgers, hot dogs, bacon rolls and egg rolls or any combination customers want.”

THE BIG WHEEL

cheese – crackers – condiments

The Big Wheel’s Hazel Cross said: “We specialise in artisan British cheeses, which come from up and down the UK. For example we stock Lancashire Bomber, Colston Basset Stilton and Keens and Montgomery’s cheddars plus Lincolnshire Poachers and Cornish Yarg.

“We also have an international classics section because there are certain things that no cheese board should be without. Our customers come and they want a Parmesan or a Langres, which comes from the Champagne region of France and has a lovely orange colour. My personal favourite is the Ribblesdale Goatesan, a hard cheese from Yorkshire.

“The Big Wheel exists only at markets in London and that allows us to keep our prices competitive.”

RODGIS

sourdough – sausage rolls – pastries

Rodgis’ Kudciea Khan said: “We offer a range of sourdough bread with loaves for £4 or, if someone wants two, it’s £6.

“There’s rosemary, olive bread, rye and multiseed on offer. The products are all freshly made at a central kitchen and and we have savoury food and pastries as well, including chocolate cheesecake and pasteis de nata.

“We’ve been really busy at Flow, with people queuing despite the rain and we hope to add even more products to our stall here.

“Rodgis is a family business which operates at various farmers’ markets around London and via its website.”

The business also produces a range of charcuterie, pastas and olives available to purchase online, shipped from its base near Peckham

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