Best Events in London for October Half Term
From Storystock at Battersea Power Station to The Tiger Who Came to Tea at The Savoy, LondonTown lists the best events to keep the kids busy this October half term.
Ben Miller and Benji Davies are part of the storytelling festival for kids.
Storystock
Circus West Village,
Circus West, Battersea Power Station London, SW8 5BN
Kids Events
Circus West Village, Circus West, Battersea Power Station, London, SW8 5BN
Tube: Pimlico Station
Dates: 22nd - 24th October 2018
Storystock, the travelling circus of stories, brings a two day festival to Circus West Village, arriving at Battersea Power Station for the October half term. From the 22nd to 24th October children can join in at The Greatest Showman singing workshops, see the Peter Rabbit and Friends show and hear Dr Seuss storytelling. The full line-up of shows includes Ruby Redfort, Harry Potter, Malala's Magic Pencil and Ben Hoare's Anthology of Intriguing Animals while workshops cover comic book creating, comedy, creative writing and shadow puppetry. All shows and performances take place in The Village Hall, Battersea's community arts and cultural space.
Feast on Tiger Scones and Sophie's sandwiches at The Savoy.
Thames Foyer, The Savoy Hotel, The Strand, The Savoy, London, WC2R 0EU
Tube: Tottenham Court Road Station
, Goodge Street Station
Dates: From 08th October 2018
In the golden anniversary year of Judith Kerr's much loved book, The Tiger Who Came to Tea, The Savoy transforms her tale of a hungry tiger into a feast for the imagination. Children can feast on Sophie's sandwiches - filled with peanut butter and jam as well as Red Leicester cheese and honey roast ham - and enjoy freshly baked stripy Tiger Scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam. Sweet treats come in the shape of Battenberg cake (blue and pink, just like Sophie's tights) and The Milkman Special - vanilla yoghurt and raspberry compote. Instead of "all the water in the tap", there's hot chocolate and orange juice to drink. A treat for all tiger loving children and their parents - and its the first children's Afternoon Tea in The Savoy's 129-year history.
Meet phoenixes, dragons, wizards and griffins from the best-selling books.
Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey, Surrey, London, KT8 9AU
Tube: Richmond Station
Dates: 20th - 28th October 2018
Meet phoenixes, dragons, wizards, griffins and more characters from the best-selling Beast Quest books this October half term, as the fantasy children's book seriestakes over Henry VIII's former home. Hampton Court Palace is transformed into a mythical Beast Quest world where families are pitted against a host of strange and magical beasts. Tom and Elenna, the heroes of the books, set you off on a task solving mission around the Tudor palace. Explore the kitchens, where cooks prepare the cockentrice for roasting on the fire, and discover the dragon lurking in the wine cellar. At the end, you'll come face to face with Malvel himself, and use the tools and knowledge collected along the way to defeat him. Once you've completed the quest, head to the Magic Garden to meet more mythical beasts, including a fire-breathing dragon.
Contemporary dance and eye catching visuals for children aged 7 and above.
Sadler's Wells: Lilian Baylis Theatre, Rosebery Avenue, London, EC1R 4TN
Tube: Angel Station
Dates: 18th - 20th October 2018
Contemporary dance as cross-cultural storytelling, Chotto Desh, meaning 'small homeland', is aimed at children aged 7 and above and their families. DESH was an instant hit when it was first presented at Sadler's Wells in 2011. Four years later, Akram Khan Company and Theatre-Rites' director Sue Buckmaster adapted the solo into Khan's much-loved production for young audiences. Through a captivating mixture of dance, text, visuals and sound it tells a compelling tale of a young man's dreams and memories from Britain to Bangladesh.
Borough Market, Southwark Street, London, SE1 1TL
Tube: London Bridge Station
, Borough Station
Dates: 24th - 26th October 2019
A celebration of the autumnal fruit, Borough Market hosts a day of activities in honour of the apple. An annual tradition, Borough Market's Apple Day celebrates the 2,500 varieties of apples. Local historical theatre group the Lion's Part will present a series of music, songs and performance while October Plenty will see the Berry Man, the Autumn incarnation of the original Green Man, who will be decked with wild fruits and foliage and carry an apple tree, lead a procession from Shakespeare's Globe Theatre to Borough Market. The procession also features a huge Corn Queene effigy heavy with 'Plenty' that will be dismantled and thrown into the crowd at Borough Market. The Apple Day also includes a number of traditional games, talks about endangered apple varieties and Morris dancing. Chef Kathy Slack will provide the food, cooking up a range of apple and harvest themed dishes while the market's traders will present apple focused goods like apple biscuits, apple cake and cider.
Explore our ever-changing relationship with our nearest star.
Science Museum, Exhibition Road, London, SW7 2DD
Tube: South Kensington Station
Dates: 06th October - 06th May 2019
This autumn, the Science Museum hosts blockbuster exhibition The Sun: Living With Our Star. The biggest ever exhibition to be staged about the Sun, it explores humanity's ever-changing relationship with our nearest star, looking into its power, beauty and dark side though a series of spectacular interactive experiences, unique artefacts and striking imagery. Items on display include beautiful early Nordic Bronze Age artefacts, which reveal ancient beliefs of how the Sun was transported across the sky; details of upcoming NASA and ESA solar missions; and an astronomical spectroscope made for Norman Lockyer, who used it to identify the element helium in 1868.
70 years since Charlie Brown was created, original drawings by Charles M Schulz are displayed alongside contemporary art works.
Somerset House, Strand, London, WC2R 1LA
Tube: Temple Station
Dates: 25th October - 03rd March 2019
Showing the enduring power of Peanuts, 70 years since Charlie Brown was created, original drawings by Charles M Schulz are displayed alongside works inspired by Snoopy, Charlie and the rest of the Peanuts gang. Artists and designers who've paid homage to the comic strip characters include Kim Jones, of Dior Men's, who has loaned his sweatshirts and first edition books, and Ryan Gander who presents a new film and flag to fly over the Somerset House courtyard. The exhibition shows the enduring influence of Schulz's drawings on varied groups including Vietnam War veterans, NASA scientists and satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which gets its name from Charlie Brown. Free monthly artist led talks give greater insight into the show while a series of late night events include an 'Unrequited Love' special on Valentine's Day.
An eco-friendly family show inspired by a true story.
One Duck Down
Pleasance Theatre,
Carpenter's Mews, North Road London, N7 9EF
Theatre
Pleasance Theatre, Carpenter's Mews, North Road, London, N7 9EF
Tube: Caledonian Road Station
Dates: 26th - 28th October 2018
Winner of Best Family Show at Vault Festival 2018, One Duck Down tells the true tale (featured on Blue Planet II) that saw 7000 Rubber Ducks cast adrift in a mighty storm. FacePlant Theatre presents an eco-friendly family show with physical theatre and clowning production based on the true story. With a set and props made from recycled rubbish, this award winning show for audiences aged three and above reminds us of the importance of looking after our oceans.
Meet suffragettes Miss Solomon and Miss McLellan at The Postal Museum.
Various Venues, Bloomsbury, Bloomsbury, Bloomsbury, London, WC1N 1NX
Tube: Russell Square Station
Dates: 11th - 20th October 2019
From Friday 19th October the Bloomsbury Festival brings more than 200 events, most of them free, to the literary district of London and there are lots of family friendly listings. On 21st October Sunday Funday brings a day of fun for families to Brunswick Square with T-shirt printing, cricket, Bollywood dancing and origami animals. A Suffragette Scavenger Hunt is just one of six events celebrating Bloomsbury women at this year's festival. On Saturday 20th October suffragettes Miss Solomon and Miss McLellan visit The Postal Museum to tell visitors about their efforts to post themselves to 10 Downing Street. Family events also take place at The Building Centre, the Wellcome Collection, William Goodenough House at Goodenough College and The Francis Crick Institute, where there's a family workshop exploring the amazing mix of patterns found in biology.
Free and colourful celebration of the festival of lights.
Diwali Festival
Trafalgar Square,
Central London London, WC2N 5DS
Exhibitions
Trafalgar Square, Central, Westminster, London, WC2N 5DS
Tube: Charing Cross Station
, Leicester Square Station, Embankment Underground Station, Piccadilly Circus Station
Dates: 28th October 2018
The Diwali celebrations return to Trafalgar Square in October. The colourful festival of lights, which has religious significance for Hindus, Sikhs and Jains, is celebrated each year with a free concert of contemporary Asian music and dance, with traditional religious music and rites to open and close the show. You can also sample South East Asian vegetarian cuisine, enjoy children's activities, buy colourful trinkets, don a sari and see Lord Ganesh adorned with marigold garlands at this celebration of the victory of light over darkness.