Weekend Guide June 9th and 10th
London Weekend Family Festivals
Open House Families Weekend: Head into London to Kings Cross Gas Park, The Gherkin, Canary Wharf and Here East in the Olympic Park to explore the concepts of design, space, engineering while also investigating some of London’s unique spaces. Lots on offer, mostly free and all affordable, catering for all ages.
Crouch End Festival: 8th-10th June. The Crouch End Festival boasts a variety of family-friendly activities and really good workshops including introduction to sewing, interactive storytime, How to Draw for Fashion and a Zombie Walk. Lots on offer for kids and grown-ups off all ages, including performances, food, craft stalls and more.
Pop Brixton’s Birthday: Saturday 11am. If you fancy a meal out, Pop Brixton offers a great way to cater to a variety of tastes and preferences in an extremely causal dining environment. This Saturday will include live music making for an even more enjoyable atmosphere. Loop it in with a trip over to Brockwell Park if the weather cooperate.
Wild Child Festival, Dulwich 17th-19th August. Get a limited release of early bird tickets now, for just £21.50 … before they run out. Wild Child Festival is a new London family festival that focuses on the arts, creative play and wellbeing for families with children under 12. This festival will have some of the best providers including Baby Broadway and Mama Codes, of quality children’s workshops, entertainment, yoga and more. Check out their page - be sure to like and follow to stay updated with offers and tickets.
Kensington Mums, Get Pampered with Decleor: Monday 6:30-8:30pm. Head to Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill for an evening of drinks, canapés, mini facials, bespoke product recommendations and a Decleor goody bag. Tickets £25
Making, doing, thinking, movement and performance this weekend
Kings Place, Poet in the City Presents: Saturday noon and 2pm. Kate Wakening will be taking you on a super-sonic treasure hunt to find music that fizzes through poetry, for the whole family. Then, Rastamouse Creator Michael de Souza and Lil’ Bruv will share some of their favourite stories from the book and TV series. Children’s £5, adults £8.
The Crystal, London Festival of Architecture: Saturday 10-5pm. Head to the Royal Victoria Dock (you can get there by cable car) and check out The Crystal and take part in a series of actives exploring the future of urbanisation and climate change. Take part in cinema experiences, games, touch screens, interactive challenges, kinetic squares and more. £3 adults,
London Philharmonic Orchestra FUNharmonics Family Concert: Sunday noon. Bring the family to explore Stravinsky’s Petrushka. Tickets from £12.
Institute of Imagination, Future Me: Saturday 10am-5pm. My kids always enjoy going to the Imagination Station. This weekend, kids to move through a series of zones where kids will invent, try new technologies, and create using Stop Frame animation, code with BBC MicroBit and ppl pwr will guide you in DIY renewables. Morning session 10am-1pm, afternoon 2-5pm and all day. Children ages 5-12, £7 half day, £12 all day.
The National Gallery, “Architecture and Us”: Saturday 11am-4pm. Bring the kids to a day-long festival of a variety of drop-in events for kids of all ages. There will be architecture workshops, Magic Carpet sessions, and performance activities. Free, ages 0-11, drop-in.
British Library, Architecture Explorers: Saturday 10:30-noon and 1-2:30. Learn about the architecture of the British Library and the palaces of Jaipur and then make your own to take home. ages 5-11, free, drop-in, but tickets allocated on arrival. r
Royal Institute of British Architecture, Family Fun Day: Saturday 11am-4pm. Learn how design can bring communities together through a series of drop-in and timed workshops and activities. Free, booking required.
JW3, Kids Yoga with Tulika: Sunday 4pm. For children of all ages, and drop-off for older kids, kids learn yoga and mindfulness exercises through music, games and stories. Booking required.
London Baby and Toddler Events and Activities
Parasol Unit, Project Light: Thursday 14th, 10am-noon. Bring children under 5 to use create a process-driven architectural floor piece using paper, objects and light. £2 per child, £3 per adult.
Baby Broadway: bring the littlest ones to Stoke Newington on Thursday, Walthamstow on Friday, Highbury on Saturday to sing along to show tunes and dance with your little ones. Just £10 and great fun.
House of Illustration, Creative Fun: Wednesdays – 20th June, 10:30-noon. Bring children ages 2-5 years old to Kings Cross to House of Illustrations for a workshop led by illustrator Neysela de Silva-Reed where kids will play games, listen to a story and make some art to take home. £5.83
Royal Albert Hall, Storytelling and Music Sessions: bring children ages 0-4 to Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday for a magical experience with storytellers Paul Rubinstein, Becky Dixton and Samantha Sutherland where singing, storytelling and musical instruments are woven into one story session. £4, 11:30am
National Gallery, Welcome Wednesdays: Wednesdays 10:30-11:15. Bring children 16 months to 5 years to the National Gallery for Dance Adventures with Olivia Armstrong. Age 16 months – 5 years, tickets £5 per child.
Pimlico Toy Library: Bring the kids to the Toy Library for play sessions and toy lending. Fantastic resource for anyone in the area.
Electric Cinema, Electric Scream: Mondays 11am. This week’s feature: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Bring babies under 12 months to this amazingly plush cinema, relax with some coffee and catch a flick. Big Scream, Ritzy Brixton: Mondays, 11am. Jurassic World and McQueen. Clapham Picturehouse, Big Scream, Thursdays 10:30; this week: Book Club and On Chesil Beach.
Family Cinema
Regent Street Cinema, Kino Club Films : Saturdays. This week’s screening: Jumanji, just £1.75. Prince Charles Cinema:Mary and the Witch’s Flower Saturday 4:10pm and Sunday 1:20 and 6:05pm; tickets £8.50 kids just £4 and just off Leicester Square. BFI Families: A Wrinkle in Time, Saturday 1pm. Gate Picturehouse, Kids Club: This week’s programme: A Turtle’s Tale: Sammy’s Adventure Saturday, 10:30 am. Tickets just £1 with £4 membership, popcorn and juice £2. (best £3 you will ever spend on a rainy Saturday) Electric Cinema, Kid’s Club: This week’s feature Mary and the Witch’s Flower Saturday 9:30am. Clapham Picturehouse A Turtle’s Tale: Sammy’s Adventure, Saturday 11.45am; adult/child £2 Hackney Picturehouse A Turtle’s Tale: Sammy’s Adventure, Saturday at 10.30am; adult/child £2. Phoenix Cinema Kids Club A Turtle’s Tale: Sammy’s Adventure, Saturday 12pm; Adult/Child £3.
