I want to thank all of you who came to Rooftop Day last Saturday. Every rooftop became a world of its own, and the sunshine warmed and smiled on each and every one of them. From the reactions of all the Ronsters I spoke to on the day, it seemed as if everyone was having as much fun as I was.

Give my love to the city, Ron

In a strange twist of venue for a SummerFest, the guys at GOrilla Urban Cycling are opening the store for their own one on Thursday, but it is summer and any excuse to be outside sipping on cold beers and listening to great music is welcome. Tobias Carshey will be supplying the acoustic music, which seems like the perfect mellow soundtrack to your warm evening.  And if your thoughts drift to how to get home on such a beautiful summer’s night – remember: you are partying outside of a bicycle shop!

Thursday 5 pm, GOrilla Urban Cycling

We all know about the big annual openair cinema that takes place on the lake at Zürihorn (which, if you’re interested, begins in a couple of weeks) but did you know about the oldest openair cinema? It’s Film am See, and is now into it’s 30 ^th year. It takes place next to the lake at Rote Fabrik and, although they are showing quite a few films, only a few are in English or with English subtitles. You can see the excellent Banksy documentary Exit Through The Gift Shop tonight or The Yes Men Fix The World, a documentary showing two political comedians hoaxing corporations and world leaders (9^th Jul). Finally, you can see The Owners, a film from Kazakhstan showing a family’s struggle to not lose their ancestral home /(23^rd Jul). All screenings are free.

Thursday until 3^rd September 9.30 pm, Rote Fabrik

Attending the Irchel Seminar at Zurich University may not sound like the most enjoyable way of spending, what’s going to be, a pretty fine and hot summer’s day. But if were to tell you that Irchel Seminar is the name of an openair festival, taking place in the university’s grounds and park, you may be a little more open to persuasion. Starting at 2 pm, they’ll have 3 stages full of a diverse line-up of bands, silent movie screenings, beerpong competition (because, why not?) plus plenty of street-food and drinks vendors to keep you refreshed. At 10 pm, the festival moves down from the Zurich hills and into the Blok and Exil clubs for a second round of partying. There are a limited number of tickets on offer, so I would suggest booking yours now if you want to go to school.

Saturday 2 pm to 10 pm, Irchel UZH, 10 pm until 4 am, Blok & Exil

Ok, this is kind of ridiculous – the sunshine is going to be absolutely gorgeous this Saturday and the city seems to be opening its arms to fully embrace the wonder of it all by having lots and lots of outdoor events – far too many for me to recommend in detail – so here is just a sampling, a sunny smorgasbord if you like, of what’s on offer to you:

Brahmsstrassenfest, from 12 pm – A street party with flea market, puppet show, ping-pong tournament, a couple of local live bands in the evening.

Cabriolet at Club HW, from 5 pm – party in the sunshine on the club’s rooftop during the day and party for free in the club during the night.

Naturklang at Rimini Bar, from 5 pm– Riverside party with live acoustic music plus a selection of Zurich finest djs. Free entry.

Dreiecksfest, from 5 pm – A street party being held in a courtyard. Grilling, pasta and pita will be served as well as live music from a couple of bands in the evening. A dj party to finish the night.

Now get out there and enjoy it all!

Saturday, various locations, all day

The idea of a supergroup – individual members of famous bands coming together to create something new – kind of died out in the 70’s, but it’s now been reinvented for the 21^st Century by the new wave indie-rockers Franz Ferdinand and the Californian synth-poppers Sparks. Rather than members of each band joining up, they’ve just gone and smashed the two bands together to create the new musical beast called FFS. Their sound is a perfect blend of the two bands own quirky strengths and the songs, as you might expect with Sparks in the mix, are barely hanging on by their fingernails to the edge of pop sanity. They’ll be playing at X-tra on Wednesday and I have 1 x 2 tickets to give away. Email me.

Wednesday 7.30 pm, X-tra

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 Bob Spring & The Calling Sirens will be rocking their Southern Americana out in the park. Other evenings will include the soulful funk of Superfly  and the electronica of Biggles.

Every Wednesday until 2^nd September 8 pm, Bäckeranlage

As my mom always used to say: There is nothing better than getting a bird’s view of a city to feel its spirit. Well, her original version had more to do with getting an overview first before deciding what’s right or wrong. Nonetheless, looking over Zurich while standing on top of Uetliberg – the city rarely feels more like home. I try to go there as often as possible, in snow or sunshine. But from now on, I might stay on the terrace instead of climbing the tower. As of 1^st  July, Uetliberg’s owner Giusep Fry installed a turnstile at the bottom and charges 2 francs per entry.

The directors David Ehrenreich and Liam Mitchell accompanied the  Mural-Festival POW!WOW!, which takes place yearly in Hawaii with their camera...