Middlesbrough wants to be UK City of Culture 2029. While the bid does the serious stuff, people across the town are already busy making things happen. Sometimes with paint. Sometimes with Fireball.
Tucked into Roseberry Court at the Roman Road end of Burlam Road, The Burlam Bear is a small independent bistro in Linthorpe.
Inside, fairy lights criss-cross the ceiling, the walls are dark blue and an enormous illustrated bear presides over proceedings.
On Wednesday night, the tables beneath him had been taken over by easels, brushes, paint palettes and enough kitchen roll to suggest somebody knew what was coming. Dotted on the tables stood our model, a real sunflower.
The task looked simple enough. Paint it. And our host Kev McGee was there to teach five strangers how. By the end of the evening, seven canvases were lined up underneath the bear. There was something vaguely floral on all of them. We’ll give him that.
Five of us had arrived to paint. Kev produced his own demonstration piece, while Emily (centre) – who had perhaps unfairly brought actual artistic credentials to the table as a tattoo artist and illustrator – managed to produce two. The rest of us just brought enthusiasm.
What began as a reasonably disciplined Sip & Paint gradually became more interpretive as the espresso martinis and strawberry daiquiris flowed and, eventually, somebody introduced Fireball shots into the creative process. Uh oh.
Kev tried valiantly to keep us following his instructions. We largely ignored him.
The result was seven completely different paintings and five strangers who had spent the evening talking about art, music, Middlesbrough and pretty much everything else. Which, it turns out, was what Kev wanted all along.
Painting optional, talking encouraged
The evening was organised by Kev’s Kevents, with £28 covering the materials, guidance and a few cocktails or glasses of wine. There were non-alcoholic options for the designated drivers, who consequently have fewer excuses for their paintings.
“My intention was to host an event that focused mainly on the social aspect of the evening,” Kev said.
“People are leaving the house less these days so when they do I want it to be fun. I want people to leave feeling they have had meaningful interactions as well as a good time.
“It’s about bringing back that community spirit where we see the best in each other and have a positive night.”
Kevents itself came about after Kev decided he’d had enough of doing something considerably less interesting.
“I was working in a boring job that I got nothing out of and decided it was now or never for me to do something I enjoyed.”
His approach to deciding what to put on is quite simple. “The events I put on are events I would want to attend.”
Taking a chance
The Burlam Bear was an obvious place to try it. The independent bistro is itself a relatively recent addition to Linthorpe. Owner Scott Prentice had wanted to open his own place in Middlesbrough after more than 30 years supporting Boro and enjoying the town’s nightlife and music scene. From the outset, the idea was to create somewhere welcoming while supporting home-grown businesses and local musicians.
Kev has known Scott for years and watched him leave a comfortable job in oil and gas to follow his passion for being a chef and create the sort of place he’d want to hang out in himself. Seeing Scott take that chance helped inspire Kev to take one of his own.
“The Burlam Bear is one of my favourite independent venues,” Kev said. “It’s a laid-back kind of vibe and very inclusive and welcoming. “The whole place is just friendly.”
On Wednesday night, that was pretty much the point. A local venue had handed its tables over to a local events organiser, who handed five strangers some paintbrushes and hoped for the best.
Apparently, things do happen here
Middlesbrough is accustomed to stories about what’s gone wrong. Kev doesn’t pretend there aren’t problems.
“Middlesbrough has had a lot of bad press recently – and some of it deserved – but I always look at the positive things about the town,” he said.
“We have loads of independent venues like The Burlam Bear with passionate people doing something they love.”
His assessment of what makes somewhere worth living in is considerably shorter than most regeneration strategies:
“People make a place and Middlesbrough has some class people.”
That’s particularly relevant as Middlesbrough makes its case to become UK City of Culture 2029.
Kev points to independent venues across the town, from live music and nights out to its cafés, bars and food scene.
“We have a really vibrant artistic scene in Middlesbrough with poets, writers, musicians and artists taking inspiration from the area to create beautiful things,” he said. “The independents are what make our town unique.”
There are some rather bigger cultural happenings too. MIMA is hosting the Turner Prize 2026 exhibition, something Kev describes as “an amazing honour for the area” and testament to the work of MIMA and other local venues in bringing it here.
But Wednesday night offered the smaller-scale version. Local people making their own entertainment rather than waiting for somebody else to provide it.
From sunflowers to vampires
Kevents isn’t stopping at painting. For Halloween, Kev is planning an immersive screening of The Lost Boys. The experience begins when guests buy their tickets and sign up to Max’s video store. They’ll receive a membership card which can be exchanged on the night for a VHS containing the menu, while characters from the film greet people as they arrive. There will, naturally, be Bloodweiser.
There’s also a deliberately unserious monthly quiz at The Burlam Bear, another Sip & Paint, a matcha masterclass and a Halloween party in the pipeline. Kev is even considering a Middlesbrough ghost or history walk.
“You never know what’s next,” he said. “If I fancy doing something and think other people will enjoy it then nothing’s off the table.”
Amid all the serious discussion about Middlesbrough’s cultural ambitions, perhaps there’s something in that. Culture doesn’t always need a grand building or a huge budget.
Sometimes it’s a little independent venue in Linthorpe, five people getting to know each other with some blank canvases and a man desperately trying to get everyone to follow his instructions.
We left a few hours later having made some new connections, had a lot of laughs and somehow produced seven paintings between us.
Admittedly, two belonged to an actual artist and one was painted by the person who was supposed to be teaching us. But against considerable odds, the rest looked like sunflowers too.
Find out more
For more questionable creative decisions and considerably more organised fun, follow Kevents on Instagram at @kevents.tees.
Next up is the official launch of The Burlam Bear Quiz Night on Saturday 3 October. Doors open at 5.30pm, with the quiz starting at 7pm and Saturday food specials available from 5.30pm to 8pm. Expect Kevents twists on Family Fortunes, The Price is Right, Catchphrase, Countdown and, inevitably, Who Wants to Be a MillionBEAR? There’ll be laughs, games and prizes throughout the night.
Kevents is also holding a Matcha Masterclass on Wednesday 14 October, with tickets available here. For food, events and everything else happening at the venue, follow The Burlam Bear on Instagram at@theburlambear
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