Sunday 8 June 2008: 1100-1900: Vauxhall's large Portugese population - and their neighbours - celebrate their national day, Portugal Day, in Kennington Park:- food, stalls and excellent music.
This is a calendar of free events (or nearly-free events) in/around the Vauxhall/Kennington area month by month throughout the year. See also separate web pages listing local places to visit and things to do, and places to go, and places to eat, with children.
Note: Please check the year in the following dates as some of the entries relate to events which have already happened, and whose future dates have not been confirmed.
Tuesday 1 January 2008: New Year's Day Parade departs Parliament Square between 1200 and c.1430
Saturday 31 March 2007: The highly popular Children's Easter Egg Hunt takes place in Vauxhall Park. Registration begins 1030 and ends shortly afterwards:- You must be there early to avoid disappointment. The event itself begins at 1100.
Dates of future Easter and other bank holidays may be obtained from this bank holiday website.
Sunday 20 May 2007: The Kennington Village Fete takes place from 1200-1500 in Cleaver Square (in St Anselm's on Kennington Cross if wet weather):- Magic show, Punch & Judy, and lots of stalls.
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Sunday 8 June 2008: 1100-1900: Vauxhall's large Portugese population - and their neighbours - celebrate their national day, Portugal Day, in Kennington Park:- food, stalls and excellent music. |
Saturday 14 June to Sunday 22 June 2008: There are numerous local events as part of Bike Week:- the UK's annual celebration of cycling, which is this year promoting everyday cycling for health and fitness. Many fun events will be aimed at novice or lapsed cyclists, including children and young families.
Sunday 22 June 2008: 1400-1700 : Vauxhall Park Summer Fair:- This event goes from strength to strength and now includes lots of children's games, a giant bouncy castle, go-karts, Punch and Judy, a space ball, face painting, fire engines, various stalls and refreshments.
Saturday 28 June 2008: There is a rare opportunity to view the Lambeth Palace Gardens if you visit the North Lambeth Parish Fete from 2-5pm. Spend the afternoon in the Archbishop of Canterbury’s beautiful gardens, listen to local jazz steel bands, browse the stalls, try your hand on the sideshows or have your face painted. Stalls include home produce, plants, books, bric-a-brac and the ever popular tombola. Enjoy ice cream and spicy hot food, or a cup of tea and a cake from the tea tent. Entry is via garden gate, facing the river. Admission £3 (or concessions) includes a guide to the garden.
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Sunday 6 July 2008. The The British 10km London Road Race features 20,000 runners who start in Piccadilly at 0935 and finish in Whitehall. |
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Sat/Sun 19/20 July 2008: The Lambeth Country Show, near Herne Hill station:- see photos on left. It's hard to imagine a "country show" in Lambeth but this one works well on the side of the hill in Brockwell Park. There is something for everyone, including farm animals, a fun fair, a steam engine parade, a battle re-enactment, a circus, and lots of craft, food and beer tents. Open 1100-1830. |
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Sunday 3 August 2008: The Carnaval del Pueblo - London's premier festival featuring Latin American music and dance features a parade leaving City Hall, off Tooley Street SE1, at around 1200 noon, before arriving at Burgess Park around 1500. The event continues until 2130. |
Saturday/Sunday 9/10 August 2008: The London Triathlon attracts around 8,500 competitors who swim up to 1.5km in an old London dock, then cycle for up to 40km before running for up to 10km. You can see them on the Sunday cycling west along the north side of the Thames to Westminster Bridge, and then returning to the Excel Centre. But it is well worth while catching the tube and Dockland Light Railway out to the Excel Centre (the DLR stop is "Custom House") on either day for an excellent view of all three disciplines, and the "transition" from one to another.
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Saturday 13 September 2008: The Great River Race features 300 boats with crews from around the world including replica Greek galleys, Chinese dragonboats and Viking longboats! Check the website for timings. The slowest craft start first and reach Vauxhall Bridge around two hours after leaving Ham - around 3pm in 2007. They finish at Greenwich. |
Saturday/Sunday 13/14 September 2008: The Thames Festival gets bigger and better each year. It includes lots of events on/near the river and ends with a Notting Hill-style Lantern Procession on Sunday evening. The head of the procession leaves Embankment Tube Station at around 1930 and crosses Blackfriars Bridge around 2015 before turning into Upper Ground around 2030.
Saturday/Sunday 20/21 September 2008: The London Open House Weekend is a London-wide event in which many fascinating buildings normally closed to the public open their doors. A leaflet giving full details is usually available in public libraries two to three weeks beforehand or much earlier via the web site, which also contains a useful search facility. You need to book for some visits, and queue for others, but most of the smaller venues are readily accessible on a "turn up and enter" basis. Local attractions may include:-
Incidentally, there is a similar event for buildings outside London over the weekend before this one. Full details are on the Heritage Open Days website.
Saturday 20 September 2008: The Stockwell Festival will take place in Larkhall Park from 1300-2000. The centrepiece attractions will be a music stage and a Colourdome - an interactive structure featuring light and sound. There will also be lots of arts and crafts and other stalls, activities for children, and Portuguese food and drink.
Saturday 27 September 2008: Lambeth Archives Open Day, Minet Library, 52 Knatchbull Road, SE5. A "must see" for all those even vaguely interested in local history. The exhibitions are open from 1000-1700, and there are 4 or 5 themed talks spaced throughout the day. Further details from 7926 6076.
Sun 2 November 2008: The London to Brighton Run: Veteran cars - built in or before 1904 - drive up Kennington Road, past Kennington Park, and up the Brixton Road. The first and oldest reach Kennington Cross at about 0720 and the last pass through at about 0830.
Sat 8 November 2008: The Lord Mayor's Show is a great spectacle, featuring a long and entertaining procession culmiating in some beatiful hosre-drawn coaches. No Londoner should miss it!
Please contact me by email if you would like your event or venue listed on this site.
