Shining a light on the next 7 days of London Life

October has been a busy month for London with events, art galleries, exhibitions, concerts and community initiatives popping up across the city, in every neighbourhood.

Whether you’re in the mood for some awesome music, need to entertain the kids this half term, or simply want to immerse yourself in art and culture, we’ve got you covered for the next 7 days of life in London.

ART AND CULTURE

Queen Elizabeth stadium is showing The World Reimagined; a new UK-wide charitable art education project, which invites the public to explore the UK’s relationship with the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans, its impact on UK society; and how we can take action to make racial justice a reality. Sophie Mowat and Hamed Maiye, both have their globes on display and have brought with them an enormous range of experiences and creative styles.

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You can take a trip to The Way They See Us Exhibition by Sokari Higgwe, at London Lighthouse Gallery & Studio, located at London City Island, in the same building as the English National Ballet. The exhibition runs until the 31st and showcases the work of Jacqueline Suowari in a bid to make the voice of influence black artists have much louder and change the way black art is perceived.

For those of you who are curious about London’s hidden history, the London Transport Museum is offering tours deep down in a labyrinth of dark and dusty passageways which were once used by the travelling public. This is a chance to view a gallery of preserved vintage advertising poster fragments that have been concealed for over 50 years, and the iconic Leslie Green station (as seen on Yesterday Channel’s ‘Secrets of the London Underground’) and its surroundings before they are swept away forever.

If you're looking for something to reignite your love for London, then we suggest making a trip down to the iconic reconverted Boo’s Closet Art Gallery in Notting Hill. Two friends, Frederique and Helen, whose story of a collaboration began through their love of 70’s fashion, explore the ways in which we travel through life. Their show ‘Soul Journey’ is free for anyone to come and see and not to be missed! Open 10am-6pm everyday (except Monday’s).

In Marble Arch, you can now visit ‘Frameless’, a brand new culturally rich, immersive, multi-dimensional art experience, housed in a 30,000 square foot venue.

For literature lovers, this weekend you can still check out the Literature Festival at Southbank. Now in its 15th edition, it’s the longest-running literature festival in the city, setting prestigious authors alongside rising literary stars and cultural observers. This weekend you can still grab tickets to see An Evening With Graham Norton, or Adam B Live: Adam Wins the Internet as well as a whole host of other inspiring talks, comedies, poetry readings and workshops.

This weekend the epic Backyard Cinema Halloween season starts. They’ve got a jam-packed schedule, full of family faves, classic thrillers, spooky comedies and iconic horrors. The themed outdoor cinema has also launched a brand new Big Top Cabaret Bar - where you can enjoy boozy hot chocolate, pizza, seasonal cocktails and a host of cabaret events (including Rocky Horror/Big Drag Cabaretevening and Scream/90s Disco throwback next weekend). New to their listings is the spine-tingling, classic-in-the-making SMILE. It’s screening for one night only, so grab your spot before it sells out.

Join the Family Globe Theatre Guided Tour this week. The tour introduces younger visitors to Shakespeare’s London and to the theatrical world he created. You can take the little ones for an educational learning experience about Elizabethan theatre and stage practices. From blood and gore to poetry and prose, this Family Globe Theatre Guided Tour promises to delight and disgust. Every tour is led by an expert tour guide and is suitable for all ages.

Visit Greenwich and celebrate Diwali at the National Maritime Museum on Saturday 23rd, to experience the sights, sounds, tastes and smells of the Festival of Light. There will be a range of free live music, workshops, art displays and more. This year's festival is hosted by BBC Asian Network presenter and comedian Parle Patel and curated by South Asian arts collective COMMONGROUND. All events on the day are free.

In celebration of Black History Month, Walworth Methodist Church on Camberwell Road will be screening the Walworth Golden Oldies Documentary about the changing landscape of the borough. The screening will take place on Thursday 27th October.

FOOD & DRINK IN LONDON

This weekend head to Battersea Power House to check out the shiny new shops and restaurants that have opened inside the redeveloped iconic power station. It’s the 2nd weekend of the launch week and you will find a variety of pop-up food trucks, a free interactive heritage trail called the bright sparks trail, roaming live entertainment, a choir, busking performers and a people’s piano inside Turbine Hall B which is free for visitors to play as well as lots of new restaurants and shopping galore.

If you can't make it to a pumpkin-picking farm this week, but still want to get in the seasonal mood, take a trip to Covent Garden’s Halloween Pumpkin Market, hosted in Apple Market. There will be pumpkins, squashes and gourds in abundance, as well as a stunning autumnal floral display designed and created by the Covent Garden Horticultural team.

The Wandsworth Beer Festival is back! Set in the unique location of the Royal Victoria Patriotic Building and with 100 beers and ciders from the four corners of Britain, this is a festival you won’t want to miss. There will be live music at Le Gothique on Friday and Saturday night, along with affordable street food and indoor and outdoor seating.

It’s a big week for beer in London! Boxpark Wembley is hosting OKTOBERFEST 2022.

Expect live music provided by The Amazing Bavarian Stompers & Shaun Williamson AKA Barry From Eastenders hosting Barrioke live, alongside BOXPARK Resident DJs and Hosts. Plus games running throughout the day, steins & jugs available on the bars, some traditional food available as well as your BOXPARK regulars and plenty of Bavarian vibes.

Learn how to eat better, high quality, nutritious and seasonal products, that respect the environment with Mercato Metropolitano, in Elephant & Castle at this weekend’s event, WE Sustain. Throughout the weekend, there will be a series of workshops, cookery classes, community lunches, seminars and panel discussions with experts in the industry. With their mission focused on sustainability, Mercato Metropolitano hosts carefully selected food suppliers and trading partners that connect visitors and communities to healthy living.

LONDON FAMILY ACTIVITIES

Half term has arrived and with Halloween on the horizon, it could get a bit hellish. To keep the kids entertained you could book them into the Aqua Splash challenge at the London Aquatics Centre where they will experience the excitement of races and challenges with an inflatable obstacle course that is laid out in the swimming pool.

On Saturday 29th October Elephant & Castle will be hosting a FREE Halloween Spooktacular event. The square will be completely transformed with scary decorations from cobwebs to carved pumpkins with all your favourite spooky tunes, Halloween themed workshops, sweets, treats, music and more.

Your little book worms might also enjoy the Rug Rhymes and Wild Wild Words events which are held at the The Clore Ballroom, Level 2, Royal Festival Hall as part of the London Literature Festival at Southbank on Saturday 22nd.

It’s the perfect time of year for Pumpkin picking and there’s some great farms with PYO pumpkin patches within easy reach of London. We love this activity as it gets the whole family outdoors in the fresh air, and there’s nothing like getting home and cooking and carving your very own pumpkin. Top farms on our list are; Secretts, Pumpkin Nights, Priory Farm, Hatters Farm, Garsons, Foxes Farm, Crockbridge Farm and Stanhill Farm.

This is one for the families with older children; Go Ape in Battersea, Battersea Park, Black Park (Slough), Chessington, and Alexandra Palace now have sun down sessions which allow you to swing, bounce and zoom from dusk and into the night this autumn. This is definitely one for the thrill-seekers and it’s perfect for the spooky season. You will get to tackle super high platforms in the darkness or feel the speed of a zip wire as the sun goes down. With minimal lighting, these sense heightening experiences do add a new level of excitement into the mix.

From 26-29 October, Westfield Stratford City is teaming up with the community and local talent to host a series of diverse and exciting events, workshops, and activities called Future You. Here you’ll learn how to effectively enrich your mind and body through sports activities, explore prospective career paths with advice on how to find your first job, and develop the right skills and mindset for the creative industry.

As Halloween is next week, we simply have to mention Halloween At Hampton Court Palace, where you can Explore Henry VIII’s notoriously haunted palace, lose yourself in atmospheric projections and creepy sound effects, discover the Gallery of the Damned and even take part in a spine-tingling séance.

LONDON WELLNESS

In a bid to make exercise in the community accessible to all, and in celebration of their 18th anniversary, Parkrun’s founder, Paul Sinton-Hewitt, has dedicated the whole month of October to parkwalk at parkrun. His vision was that parkrun would be open to everyone, no matter who they are or where they came from. Whether people volunteer, walk, jog or run they are welcomed with open arms. You can find your local Parkwalk or Parkrun on their website.

Today is Wear It Pink Day for Breast Cancer Awareness. Wear it pink is one of the UK’s biggest and brightest fundraising events. Every year thousands of people support Breast Cancer Now by dressing in their finest pink clothes or wackiest costumes to fundraise and help the charity fund world-class research and life-changing support.

2022 marks the 21st year of wear it pink, which has raised over £37.5 million since it began in 2001. If you are reading this, it’s not too late to don a pink wig and help spread the word in support of breast cancer awareness.

If you are feeling strong then get involved in the 1,120 steps up London’s biggest charity tower run tomorrow, Saturday 22nd. 22 Bishopsgate are inviting Londoners to scale the heady heights of their staggeringly high building in support of the RNLI. This is an opportunity to take on a monumental challenge, climbing to the top of 22 Bishopsgate, one of the most imposing buildings in central London. Whether you walk, run, or even crawl to the top, the views over the London skyline will be worth it.

Residents and workers in London looking to reduce their stress levels and get closer to nature are being encouraged to visit the London Wetlands Centre this October. The conservation charity is offering half price admission every Wednesday, throughout the month to help raise awareness of the benefits of being in nature for our wellbeing. Tapping into the “Wellbeing Wednesday” concept embraced by many businesses, local employers are also being encouraged to allow staff to take some time out and de-stress at the wetlands. Entry is usually £15.50 but it’s half price on Wednesdays in October, with this Wednesday 26th being the last opportunity to take advantage of the offer.

The Bloomsbury Festival, which this year has a theme of ‘Breathe’, has a packed line up of events for their closing weekend. For the last ten days the streets, parks, museums and galleries around the area have been hosting events, screenings, workshops and talks. On the 22nd and 23rd of October (this weekend) you can participate in embroidery workshops, guided walks, sound meditations and a New Wave Lunchtime Concert from Lucilla Rose Mariotti.

London Events

Tonight Southwark Cathedral is hosting a Candlelight concert to bring the magic of a live, multi-sensory musical experience. This will be an amazing experience, in a location that has never before been used for this purpose. You will discover the music of sci-fi and fantasy soundtracks at Southwark Cathedral under the gentle glow of candlelight.

Bob Dylan has begun his first UK tour in more than five years. The US folk and rock singer, 81, will play nine dates in October 2022 as part of his Rough and Rowdy Ways Worldwide Tour, which began in December in Milwaukee. He will play four nights at the London Palladium - October 19th, 20th, 23rd, 24th.

Get your dancing shoes on and head to Wembley to see Grammy Award winning folk band, Bon Iver. The band from Wisconsin, is one of Justin Vernon’s current and most notable music projects to date. The band members, Mike Noyce, Sean Carey and Matt MacCaughan, postponed their original tour due to the coronavirus situation, but are now in London and last time we checked there were still tickets available for their Wednesday concert at Wembley this week! (Tuesday is sold out)

Head to one of the many events at London’s Union Chapel. This beautiful venue is playing host to plethora of events to mark Black History Month, from panel discussions on climate and past colonialism to music and poetry to a documentary screening on the church, slavery and reconciliation. View the lineup here.

On a slightly smaller scale, but equally as fun, north Londoners can have a dance at the Night Owl in Finsbury Park, this week. This is a venue known for its strong support of Black History. With events all month that range from a reggae cookout to a payback funk night, you can’t go wrong here.

For those of you who are passionate about characters and comics this could be the highlight of your year! On the 28-30th (the Halloween weekend) London Olympia will be transformed into a magical wonderland for MCM ComicCon. Be it superheroes, Star Wars, Star Trek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Game of Thrones and Transformers - it’s all happening there.

London has it all - the best nightlife, food, drink, events, markets, everything.

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Things To Do In London Next Week