Camley Street Wassail Awakening Party '16
Fri 22nd Jan
Alara Wholefoods
Alara Wholefoods annual Wassail Awakening Party with The Urban Orchard Project will have the biggest open bonfire in inner-city London for one night only - so don't miss out!
Adult Colouring In
Mon 25th Jan
Drink, Shop & Do
Publishers Michael O’Mara are stopping by to host an evening of competitions, colouring and cocktails – a perfect chance to explore this quirky pop-culture phenomenon.
VAULT Festival
Wed 27th Jan to Sun 6th Mar
The Vaults
From outrageous comedy acts to hard-hitting political theatre and experimental new work from Britain’s most exciting emerging artists. 2016 promises to deliver another feast for the body, soul and mind with an international array of performances exploring themes such as gender, mental health, conflict and much more.
Brixton Craft: Remake. Reuse!
Sun 31st Jan
Upstairs at the Ritzy
Bring along your Christmas left-overs - whether it's emptying fridges, waste-bins or the recycling - to January's Brixton Craft for Ritzy's New Year's recycling special.
The Great Spitalfields Pancake Race
Tue 9th Feb
Old Truman Brewery
All you need to get together is a team of four people suitably dressed up (or down) to enter in the relay race. Bring your own frying pan and we'll provide the pancakes. The race will be run along Dray Walk at The Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane and all you have to do is toss the pancake a couple of times en route. You can just watch if you don't fancy taking part.
Annual Clowns Service
Sun 7th Feb
All Saints Church
The first Sunday in February is the annual clowns church service at All Saints Church Haggerston. Clowns attend a church service in memory of Joseph Grimaldi. The clowns usually perform for the public after the church service.
Afternoon Poems: Love is…
Sat 13th Feb
Keats House
Love is many things to many people. On this Valentine’s weekend you are invited to go and explore Keats House and experience the poetry of love, performed by the Keats House Poetry Ambassadors. The reading will include poems by Keats, Byron and many others.
Chinese New Year 2016 – Year of the Monkey
Sun 14th Feb
Chinatown & Trafalgar Square
The fun starts at 10am with a parade along Charing Cross Road and Shaftesbury Avenue. Afterwards there’ll be lion teams in Chinatown, plus free entertainment in Shaftesbury Avenue and Trafalgar Square. Highlights in the square include visiting dance and music groups from China and the gravity-defying Chen Brothers flying lion dance team.
Project Awesome
Wednesdays from Jan 22nd until 23rd Mar
The Scoop
Project Awesome is a free fitness movement in London that gets you out of bed and into shape. The movement uses a simple sense of accountability (verbal*) to motivate and encourage people of all ages, shapes, sizes and fitness levels to get outside, sweating and smiling.
Oxford & Cambridge Boat Race
Sun 27th Mar
River Thames between Mortlake and Putney
The world famous sporting event between Oxford and Cambridge was first held in 1829. The 4¼ mile Thames course from Putney to Mortlake is over three times as long as the Olympic course.
Alice in Wonderland Exhibition
until Sun 17th Apr
British Library
Go and see Lewis Carroll’s original manuscript with hand-drawn illustrations, alongside stunning editions by Mervyn Peake, Ralph Steadman, Leonard Weisgard, Arthur Rackham, Salvador Dali and others.
Virgin Money London Marathon
Sun 24th Apr
Across London!
If you're not competing then be part of the crowds of half a million who line the 26.2 mile course offering shouts of encouragement and congratulations.
Astronomy Photographer of the Year
until Sun 26th Jun
The Royal Observatory
The Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015 exhibition at the Royal Observatory Greenwich displays the spectacular winning images from this year’s competition in the Observatory’s Astronomy Centre.
Embankment Summer Market
Fri 15th Jul 2016 to Sun 17th Jul
Victoria Embankment Gardens
Following its highly successful launch in 2015, which saw in excess of 15,000 people visit Embankment Summer Market, organisers City Showcase: Markets, the UK’s premier organiser of artisan and designer crafts events, are now inviting applications from stallholders, creatives and musicians who are interested in taking part in the unique free event.
Britain's Best Political Cartoons
until Thu 20th Oct
The Political Cartoon Gallery and Cafe
Britain's Best Political Cartoons 2015 is a compelling, razor-sharp and frequently hilarious exhibition of 70 of the year's most acerbic and insightful original political cartoons.
See all the upcoming free events in London