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Culture beat: 3 July

16:30 03/07/2015
With the city (and country) basking in a heat wave, enjoy alfresco living

Discover Belgian street art along the banks of  Kosmopolite Art Tour until 10 July. The festival consists of 37 Belgian street artists creating collective murals, plus graffiti workshops, guided tours, music, skateboard, breakdancing and screenings. The Brussels leg of the international festival is followed by events at Louvain-la-Neuve (31 July to 7 August) and Aalst (18 to 20 September). The festival promotes cultural exchange between street artists from around the world.

The festival extends into Brussels Beach territory, the annual summer celebration near Place Sainctelette. Until 8 August, the canal-side beach attracts sun worshippers and urban vacationers. Seaside activities for all the family include pedalos for hire, beach games, sport,  nightlife, aperitifs and world food stands. It incorporates the Let It Beach festival, a free musical event at weekends, offering folk/rock/pop/hip-hop/electro on Friday evening, world/jazz on Saturday and workshops and group balls on Sunday. There’s a kids’ programme on Sunday at 16.00. Beachcombers can also go clubbing on the canal in cruise boat activities four times a week. Details and departures from Boat Club.

Following the opening of the new pedestrian zone in the city centre, outdoor activities continue all summer. Recreation areas are being installed across the car-free zone to host a varied programme of events. On Saturday afternoons there’s  street theatre and a free expression wall at Place de la Bourse and Boulevard Anspach, classical music on Fridays at 12.30 with Concertini at La Monnaie and sport and guided tours on Sunday.

Among the summer’s outdoor film screenings, Wolubilis shows free movies every Wednesday evening until 26 August; the programme includes Woody Allen’s Magic in the Moonlight, Gemma Bovery and Birdman.

Finally, if hot and humid is not your cup of tea, head indoors to cool Cinematek for screenings of films featuring Oscar-winning actress Julianne Moore until 31 August. The retrospective reveals the full diversity of the American star’s career. Moore picked up a long-overdue Best Actress award at the Oscars this year for her lead role in Still Alice as a sufferer of early-onset Alzheimer (to be screened on 31 August). This retrospective includes Boogie Nights, The Big Lebowski, The End of the Affair, The Shipping News, The Hours and Maps to the Stars.

Professional networking club Full Circle wraps up its season on 8 July with communications expert Robert Phillips presenting Change, the only agency you need. Says Phillips, whose latest book Trust M, PR is Dead: “It is time to call ‘bullshit' at what had become the bullshit industry.” The former UK chief executive of the world’s largest PR firm questions the establishment and the future of traditional industries and disciplines. Join the dinner debate to find out more. The Brussels club that combines talk, networking and fun over a three-course meal launches its new season on 21 September. The location of the 8 July dinner-debate will be disclosed a few days before the event.

Ostend

The city’s annual sand sculpture extravaganza honour’s the Disney classic Frozen in its 2015 edition. Other favourites from Disneyland Paris feature among the 150 sculptures, including Snow White, Alice and Aladdin. Until 6 September. The seaside town of Le Touquet , near Calais in France hosts a parallel event until 31 August.

 

 

 

Written by Sarah Crew