Now that it’s July, whatever the weather does I’m going to call it summer. If it’s raining, then it’s a summer storm and not just a miserable day. And with summer comes the open-air cinemas. Starting tonight is the Rote Fabrik Film am See season. Every Thursday until the end of August they’ll be showing some great films all with a social or political message. Tonight they show Noise and Resistance, a documentary about Europe’s DIY punk scene. Other films include Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, The Times of Harvey Milk and Man on Wire. To fit with the social messaging all films have free entry.
Every Thursday until 29th August 9.30 pm, Rote Fabrik

From Friday to Sunday Züri Fäscht takes over the city – Zurich’s city festival that happens every three years. The area around the lake will be crowded - so that you don’t get lost, here are my favourite locations for the weekend:
 
The lake
Fireworks illuminate the lake. I always find this half hour filled with colours and music just magical. Friday is dedicated to pop music, Saturday to classical sounds
Friday and Saturday, 11.30 pm, the lake

Lindenhof
Stolze Open Air almost drowned this year in rainy weather. But this weekend, we hope for better weather as they - together with Helsinki – bring several Swiss bands to Lindenhof. There is something for everyone and the Abart dj team wind up the nights.
Friday 5 pm to 5 am, Saturday 10 am to 5 pm, Sunday 10 am to midnight, Lindenhof

Volière
The Neon team (Thursday night programme at Hive) celebrate their fifth birthday on the grass area just next to Rentenanstalt with house, indie dance and electro . If you rather celebrate indoors, Hive is open as well from 11 pm.
Friday & Saturday 5 pm to 5 am, Sunday 10 am to midnight, Rentenanstalt

Musik Quai
I have fond memories of Bar Rossi's concerts and they present a best of the last two years with 22 live concerts at Musik Quai near the opera house at the lake.
Friday 4 pm to 4 am, Saturday 1 pm to 4 am, Sunday 1 pm to midnight, Musik Quai

Kiosk Riesbach
The colourful block at the lake hosts Pfingstweide from Friday to Sunday. It’s their last event before their closing night the week after.
Friday 5 pm to 5 am, Saturday 2 pm to 5 am, Sunday noon to midnight, Kiosk Riesbach

Graue Gasse
Supermarket’s electronic festival has become a must since the last time (three years ago). They present a colourful mix of their play list at Niederdorf.
Friday, Saturday & Sunday 11 pm, Graue Gasse

Yacht Club
Kinski, Mascotte and Plaza join forces to turn Quai 61 into a dancefloor this weekend. On Sunday morning (from 10 am) you can also enjoy a Sunday brunch there.
Friday 5 pm to 5 am, Saturday 2 pm to 5 am, Sunday 2 pm to 10 pm, Quai 61

Next week Zurich will be overrun by military and police from around the world, but don’t go running to your Swiss friends in the hope of initiating the Porcupine defence of our fair city, as they’ll all be here as part of the Zurich Tattoo. Although the Tattoo itself takes place in Oerlikon, a huge opening ceremony and parade will be held on and around Münsterhof in the city. So if you prefer your military to be musical and your police to be parading, then this is what you’ve been waiting for.
Tuesday 6 pm, Münsterhof

Bäckeranlage is a great green oasis in the middle of the Kreis 4 hubbub and over the next few Wednesday evenings it’ll be playing host to some free open-air concerts featuring local Zurich talent. This Wednesday the newly reformed Jesh will be rocking out in the park. Other evenings will include the folk-metal of Captain Ludd and the gently strummed melodies of Rykka & Timothy Jaromir.
Wednesday 8 pm, Bäckeranlage

You may have heard that 3-D printing will be the next big thing to blow our little minds, and if you’ve ever wondered what it’s all about or where you could even print yourself some 3-D, then FabLab is where you need to head. They’re a friendly Swiss, but English speaking, group of makers who have the technology and know-how in house to get you started. You can join for a nominal fee and use their facilities for free, or they also run courses that give you all the necessary knowledge but more importantly, will allow you to build your own 3-D printer.
FabLab, Zimmerlistasse 6, 8004

Postcards have always been a staple of going away. Whether it’s to let someone know the weather’s hot and you wish they were here, or to tell them the weather’s here and you wish they were hot. The only problem is that a postcard’s picture can be a bit, well, naff and not very personal. The Postagram app fixes that. Take a photo on your phone, and postagram will create a physical postcard, let you add some text and send it, all at the push of a button. The app’s free but postcard postage costs a little.