Morning, London! Happy Thursday. Anyone else’s weekends now entirely dictated by birthday parties? We’re in peak birthday territory. Late September, early October. Count back nine months and Christmas starts to look rather productive.

Nobody mentions this at the soft play. Instead, we’re comparing calendars. Two parties, opposite sides of London, both at 2pm. Present bought on the way. Card signed on your knee. Quick check of the WhatsApp invite to remember which child it’s for.

If you’ve got a gap between cakes, we’ve found plenty to fill it below.

Let’s go.

🐰 Alice in Wonderland Is Taking Over Canada Water. A huge new immersive Alice in Wonderland experience is coming to Dock X just in time for Christmas, inviting visitors to tumble down the rabbit hole and into Lewis Carroll’s wonderfully bonkers world. Full story

🚶 Oxford Street Is Going Traffic-Free Next Month. From Oct 26, a nearly kilometre-long stretch of Oxford Street will begin going pedestrian-only, with buses, taxis and bikes all banned. Just in time for Christmas shopping. Full story

🌵 Single, Ready to Mingle, About to Die at Kew. A rare agave at Kew Gardens is preparing to flower for the first time, which, rather unfortunately, will also kill it. Staff are now desperately searching for a pollen partner so it can produce seeds before its grand finale. Dating in London is tough, even for plants. Full story

We’ve only just got back into the school routine but October half term is already round the corner. That was quick.

Don’t panic though, our friends at The Strings Club have got your back. Regular readers will know them by now: music-led holiday camps for 4–11-year-olds across London, and this October they’re giving things a Halloween twist.

Guitar, violin or ukulele to try, arts and crafts, games and plenty of time outdoors. Their Spooktacular Celebrations week includes:

👻 Ghoulish Singalong: stomping, wiggling and learning the moves to the Monster Mash.
🎨 Mask Makers: creating spooky masks, from friendly ghosts to wild monsters.
🎶 Fright Night Composers: teaming up to write their own Halloween-inspired music.
🧟 Zombie Kickball: running, kicking and dodging in a game with a spooky twist.

And a Grand Concert to round off the week.

Book a single day or the full week. Daily updates and photos too, so you can see what they’ve been up to.

📅 Week commencing 26 October
📍 Across London: Balham, Blackheath, Brockley, Bow, Clapton, Crouch End, Dulwich, Ealing, Fulham, Greenwich, Hackney Dalston, Hampstead, Islington, Kingston upon Thames, Nunhead, Richmond, Walthamstow and Wimbledon

New to The Strings Club? They’ve kindly offered our readers 10% off their first booking with code SCOOP.

👉 Find your nearest camp

✍️ Poetry Fun 4 all the Family @ Holborn Library
Date & Loc: Oct 1 (Thu), Holborn WC1X
Poet Paul Lyalls brings funny poems, stories and audience participation to an after-school session for the whole family.
Age: All ages | Price: no cost | Info

🐷 The Three Little Pigs @ Polka Theatre
Date & Loc: Oct 1–4, Wimbledon SW19
Three resourceful pigs need help building a wolf-proof shelter in a lively retelling with puppets, physical comedy and audience participation.
Age: 3–7 | Price: from £10 | Info

💰 Pocket Money @ Unicorn Theatre
Date & Loc: Oct 1–Nov 1 (selected dates), London Bridge SE1
Children vote on what happens next in an interactive show about money, with a live DJ and a mischievous clown.
Age: 7–12 | Price: from £3 | Info

🏔️ Everest: The First Ascent @ Eclipso
Date & Loc: Oct 1 onwards (newly opened), Camden NW1
Join Hillary and Tenzing’s historic expedition in a 40-minute VR adventure. Considerably less packing than an actual Himalayan trek.
Age: 8+ | Price: from £21.50 | Info

🎶 Home Song @ Unicorn Theatre
Date & Loc: Opens Oct 2 (Fri), runs until Nov 8, London Bridge SE1
A gentle musical journey from Ghana to London, with puppets, a cappella singing and sensory play made especially for babies.
Age: 6–18 months | Price: £12 | Info

🤹 Mixed Doubles: You Too Can Tutu & Knot @ Jacksons Lane
Date & Loc: Oct 2–3 (Fri–Sat), Highgate N6
Juggling meets ballet, followed by an acrobatic duet about relationships, in this evening double bill for older children and their grown-ups.
Age: 8+ | Price: from £10 | Info

🎃 Pumpkin Patch @ Hobbledown Heath
Date & Loc: Oct 2–4 (Fri–Sun), then selected dates until Nov 1, Hounslow TW14
Pick a pumpkin, try seasonal games and toast marshmallows at the newly opened patch. Pumpkins and fairground rides cost extra.
Age: All ages | Price: from £7 | Info

🍯 Winnie-the-Pooh @ London Zoo
Date & Loc: Oct 2–Nov 1, Regent’s Park NW1
Follow Pooh and Eeyore around the zoo on a new illustrated story trail celebrating everyone’s favourite honey enthusiast turning 100.
Age: All ages | Price: Incl. w adm. | Info

🎭 Family Fun Day @ Half Moon Theatre
Date & Loc: Oct 3 (Sat), Limehouse E1
Drop in for storytelling, music, movement and crafts as the theatre opens its doors for a whole day of family activities.
Age: All ages | Price: no cost | Info

💤 Mr Sleepybum’s Dream Machine @ Lyric Hammersmith
Date & Loc: Oct 3 (Sat), Hammersmith W6
A homemade dream machine unleashes dinosaurs, robots and ridiculous adventures in an interactive comedy show. Bedtime has clearly gone off the rails.
Age: 3+ | Price: from £12 (+£2 per booking) | Info

🚌 Route 106 Heritage Day @ Finsbury Park–Ash Grove
Date & Loc: Oct 3 (Sat), Finsbury Park N4 to Hackney E8
Flag down a vintage Routemaster or RT bus for a ride through north and east London. Real conductors, wonderfully old buses, no fare.
Age: All ages | Price: no cost | Info

🎨 The Big Draw Festival Launch @ Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration
Date & Loc: Oct 3 (Sat), Clerkenwell EC1R
Help create a giant garden artwork, experiment with collage and play with colour at a day of artist-led drawing activities.
Age: All ages | Price: no cost drop-ins | Info

🐠 Bright and Early: Relaxed Opening @ Horniman Museum
Date & Loc: Oct 3 (Sat), Forest Hill SE23
A quieter morning for neurodivergent families, with access to Voyage to the Deep, the aquarium and hands-on objects. Advance booking required.
Age: All ages | Price: no cost | Info

😂 Shelf: The Kids Show 2 @ Blackheath Halls
Date & Loc: Oct 3 (Sat), Blackheath SE3
Comedy duo Rachel and Ruby return with silly sketches, slapstick and optional audience participation in a relaxed show for children and grown-ups.
Age: 5–11 | Price: from £12 | Info

🐀 Pied Piper Puppet Workshop @ Little Angel Studios
Date & Loc: Oct 3 (Sat), Islington N1
Make a cheeky rat puppet together, then let it loose on the mini puppet theatre stage. Workshop and show tickets are separate.
Age: 5–9 | Price: from £10 per person | Info

🤸 Acrobalance with Mimbre @ Southbank Centre
Date & Loc: Oct 3 (Sat), South Bank SE1
Watch acrobats perform, try balancing tricks together, then stay for Ballroom Boogie’s free family disco at 2.30pm.
Age: 5–11 | Price: no cost | Info

❄️ That’s How the World Was Made! @ Jacksons Lane
Date & Loc: Oct 3 (Sat), Highgate N6
Storyteller Nell Phoenix brings Arctic myths to life, complete with troublesome tricksters, strange creatures and some deliciously dark humour.
Age: 8+ | Price: from £10 | Info

🔎 Culture Quest Treasure Hunt @ British Museum
Date & Loc: Oct 3 (Sat), Bloomsbury WC1B
Team up to track down museum treasures, solve clues and collect photographic evidence before the final score tally and prize-giving.
Age: Everyone | Price: from £15 | Info

🎸 Fun Palace @ Hoxton Hall
Date & Loc: Oct 3 (Sat), Hoxton N1
Try dance, crafts and a music jam as Hoxton Hall joins the street’s annual celebration of creativity. Resin workshops for 8+ need booking.
Age: Various | Price: no cost | Info

🍂 Harvest Festival @ Morden Hall Park
Date & Loc: Oct 3 (Sat), Morden SM4
Apple pressing, autumn crafts, Morris dancing and a nature-themed Punch and Judy show make a very wholesome autumn afternoon.
Age: All ages | Price: no cost | Info

🌈 Prism Break @ Royal Institution
Date & Loc: Oct 3 (Sat), Mayfair W1S
Find out how rainbows form and why the sky is blue, with bubbles, flames and chocolate helping explain the science of light.
Age: 7–13 | Price: from £10 (+booking fee) | Info

🎤 Children’s K-Pop Party @ Foyles
Date & Loc: Oct 3 (Sat), Charing Cross Road WC2H
Meet K-Pop Witch Academy author Fiona Scoble, try pop-star activities and learn a routine with professional K-pop choreographers.
Age: Everyone | Price: £3 including an accompanying adult | Info

🎬 The Songbird’s Secret @ Barbican
Date & Loc: Oct 3 (Sat), Barbican EC2Y
A paper-cut animated adventure about friendship and family secrets, followed by a short film showing how it was made.
Age: 6+ | Price: from £2.50 | Info

⚔️ Sword Fighting Demonstration @ Shakespeare’s Globe
Date & Loc: Oct 3 (Sat), Bankside SE1
Watch the Globe’s fight team demonstrate Shakespearean combat, then handle the weapons for a photo.
Age: Everyone | Price: from £15 | Info

🐕 Waggy Walk & Family Fun Trail @ Wimbledon Common
Date & Loc: Oct 3 (Sat), Wimbledon SW19
Follow a new 4km trail, crack a secret message and collect a prize while supporting Wimbledon Guild. Dog ownership entirely optional.
Age: All ages | Price: £16 for an adult and child | Info

🍞 Bread Festival @ St Anne’s Church Hoxton
Date & Loc: Oct 3 (Sat), Hoxton N1
An afternoon celebrating bread with creative activities for all ages, part of the neighbourhood’s free Fun Palaces weekend.
Age: All ages | Price: no cost | Info

🫧 The Bubble Show @ The Exchange
Date & Loc: Oct 3 (Sat), Twickenham TW1
Mr Bubbles mixes magic, storytelling and science with a bubble volcano and a fire tornado.
Age: 3+ | Price: from £12 | Info

✏️ Sketching Like Sarrut @ National Army Museum
Date & Loc: Oct 3–4 (Sat–Sun), Chelsea SW3
Try different drawing materials and sketching techniques inspired by an artist who captured everyday life during the First World War.
Age: 6+ | Price: no cost | Info

🏛️ Chelsea History Festival Family Weekend @ Royal Hospital Chelsea
Date & Loc: Oct 3–4 (Sat–Sun), Chelsea SW3
Meet characters from history, try printmaking on Saturday or collage on Sunday, and explore wartime objects in the historic hospital grounds.
Age: All ages | Price: no cost | Info

🌿 Open Family Weekend @ Chelsea Physic Garden
Date & Loc: Oct 3–4 (Sat–Sun), Chelsea SW3
London’s oldest botanical garden opens for pond dipping, crafts, storytelling and encounters with historical characters. Book your entry slot in advance.
Age: All ages | Price: no cost | Info

🐈 Toto the Ninja Cat and the Great Snake Escape @ artsdepot
Date & Loc: Oct 3–4 (Sat–Sun), North Finchley N12
A ninja cat races to stop an escaped cobra in this musical puppet adventure based on Dermot O’Leary’s books.
Age: 5+ | Price: from £15 | Info

🐝 Bee and Honey Show @ Capel Manor Gardens
Date & Loc: Oct 3–4 (Sat–Sun), Enfield EN1
Peer into a live observation hive, meet beekeepers and try children’s crafts, with local honey to take home.
Age: All ages | Price: from £5 | Info

🚀 Festival of the Girl @ Business Design Centre
Date & Loc: Oct 3–4 (Sat–Sun), Islington N1
Hands-on activities in engineering, sport, gaming and more encourage girls to try something new. Saturday morning offers a quieter SEND session.
Age: Best for 7–11 | Price: from £12.50 | Info

🐐 Croydon Harvest @ Croydon Town Centre
Date & Loc: Oct 3–4 (Sat–Sun), Croydon CR0
Farm animals, circus, crafts and folk music take over the town centre, alongside a fortune-telling pig. Obviously.
Age: All ages | Price: no cost | Info

🇯🇵 AnimeCon UK @ Olympia London
Date & Loc: Oct 3–4, Kensington W14
Two packed days of anime, manga, cosplay, J-Pop, K-Pop, special guests and an Artist Alley full of fan-made creations. One for the Pokémon-and-beyond crowd.
Age: All ages | Price: from £25 | Info

💭 A Class of Your Own @ Polka Theatre
Date & Loc: Oct 3–4, Wimbledon SW19
Physical theatre and video projections explore growing up, difficult feelings and why the labels other people give us don’t have to stick.
Age: 8–12 | Price: from £14 (+£2.50 per booking) | Info

🇯🇵 Japan Matsuri @ Trafalgar Square
Date & Loc: Oct 4 (Sun), Charing Cross WC2N
Japanese music, dance, martial arts and food stalls fill the square for a day of performances and very good snacking.
Age: All ages | Price: no cost entry | Info

🚲 On Your Bike Baffo @ Jacksons Lane
Date & Loc: Oct 4 (Sun), Highgate N6
Bumbling clown Baffo tackles bicycles, wild stunts and basic competence in a physical comedy show with live music.
Age: 3–9 | Price: from £10 | Info

🦖 The Dinosaur That Pooped @ New Wimbledon Theatre
Date & Loc: Oct 4 (Sun), Wimbledon SW19
Tom Fletcher and Dougie Poynter’s dinosaur books become a musical adventure packed with new songs, laughs and plenty of toilet humour.
Age: 3+ | Price: £18 | Info

🍎 Apple Day @ Fulham Palace
Date & Loc: Oct 4 (Sun), Fulham SW6
Celebrate the orchard harvest with garden games, themed activities, market stalls and plenty of apple-inspired food.
Age: All ages | Price: from £3 | Info

🥙 West Norwood Feast @ West Norwood
Date & Loc: Oct 4 (Sun), West Norwood SE27
A neighbourhood street festival with food stalls, live music and free children’s activities. Lunch and entertainment conveniently sorted together.
Age: All ages | Price: no cost entry | Info

🎻 Aurora Orchestra: Meet the Instruments @ Kings Place
Date & Loc: Oct 17 (Sat), King’s Cross N1
A lively interactive concert where kids can sing, dance, play games and discover the sounds of different orchestral instruments.
Age: 3–7 | Price: from £15 | Info

😂 The Funny Life of Teachers @ Museum of Comedy
Date & Loc: Oct 24–25 (Sat–Sun), Bloomsbury WC1A
Stand-up for children from James Campbell, with ridiculous stories and plenty for the accompanying grown-ups to laugh at too.
Age: 6+ | Price: from £14 | Info

🙏 If this makes your week a bit easier, pls think of two parents who'd love it, or drop it in a WhatsApp group. Takes 20 seconds. Please don’t ignore me 😂.
Appreciated, kind Londoner!

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