The capital’s best free events from April 7-12th

Hi there {{ first name | Cheapskater }},

We hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend – whether you spent it enjoying London’s free culture, eating your body weight in chocolate… or both!

There’s so much going on for free in London this week, from a fintech pop-up with free matcha to a cosy letter-writing session. As always, please do let us know if you end up attending any of the events we feature!

This week, we have a question for you: where in the city are you based? Please fill out the poll below to let us know – it’ll help us get a better sense of the areas our readers call home, and make sure we’re recommending events that are actually useful to you.

Thanks for reading and have a lovely week,
Kate, Georgia & Clementine x

PS: Congrats to Jane D, who won four tickets to The Revel Puck Circus in our bank holiday edition. Scroll down for this week’s prize draw!

Just a reminder that our amazing Cheapskate Club supporters get automatic entry into all our weekly competitions, plus they have the satisfaction of knowing that they’re helping make London’s culture free and open to all.
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TUESDAY

🎬 Popcorn in the piazza

It’s the second (& final) week of free Easter film screenings in Covent Garden’s Piazza. Tonight, there’s Coco in the 2pm matinee slot & Barbie in the evening. Wrap up warm!

🗓️ Until Sun 12th Apr, various times
📍 Covent Garden

🐕 A forgotten classic

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai has to be one of the most eclectic film titles out there; the 1999 postmodern hitman thriller is showing tonight at Tercera Video Club.

🗓️ Tues 7th Apr, 6-8.30pm
📍 Holloway Road

💚 Money, matcha & more

Fintech firm Wise is running a fun pop-up at Future Stores on Oxford Street to mark the launch of its UK current account. The experience features immersive money-themed installations, tasty matcha for new customers, exclusive merch & other freebies.

🗓️ Daily until Mon 13th Apr, 12-8pm (Sun 12-6pm)
📍 Tottenham Court Rd

WEDNESDAY

🌿 Flower power

From Weds, the beautiful nave at the Garden Museum will be filled with a series of stunning botanical collages, which push “herbaria into new & unchartered territories”.

🗓️ Weds 8th Apr-Sun 24th May
📍 Lambeth North

🐌 ‘Snail Mail Isn’t Dead’

There’s nothing quite like receiving a handwritten letter, is there? Rons Coffee House is hosting a cosy, crafty letter writing evening, with all materials & prompts provided.

🗓️ Weds 8th Apr, 6.30-9pm
📍 Peckham Rye

Cheapskate writer Clementine

📸 Competition time!

Need new headshots for work, LinkedIn or just for fun? This week, we’re giving away two one-hour sessions with photographer Bimal Tailor.

The sessions (worth £200 each) will take place at Bimal’s east London studio & you’ll come away with five edited images. Feel free to bring some outfit changes!

To enter the competition, get someone you know to subscribe to Cheapskate by sending them this link (it contains your personalised referral code): {{rp_refer_url}}. Once they’ve signed up, you’ll be entered, & we’ll pick a winner at random. Good luck! 🤞

THURSDAY

🦇 Bat out of hell

Head to William Parnell (Pineapple) Park this Thurs to hunt for bats. As well as hopefully spotting some of the winged critters, you’ll also learn to use bat detectors to look for them.

🗓️ Thurs 9th Apr, 7.35-9pm
📍 Imperial Wharf

🎨 Life in colour

Thurs is the last day to catch Don’t Forget to Teleport, a large-scale, immersive exhibit at Colour Works, Sugar House Island in Stratford, exploring ideas of ancestry & vulnerability.

🗓️ Until Thurs 9th Apr, 12-7pm
📍 Pudding Mill Lane

FRIDAY

🧠 Art on the brain

Neurodivergent Aesthetics is a new exhibit at the University of Greenwich Galleries, all about the centrality of neurodivergence in contemporary art practice.

🗓️ Fri 10th Apr-Weds 6th May
📍 Greenwich

🍵 ‘The way of tea’

If you’re in the market for a calming afternoon excursion, look no further than the tea ceremonies at the British Museum on select Fridays (like this one). Booking recommended.

🗓️ Fri 10th & 24th April, 2pm & 3pm
📍 Holborn

SAT - SUN

🚤 Ride the rib

This one’s sold out, but there is a waiting list: join IHG Hotels for an adrenaline-fuelled speedboat tour on the Thames, starting at Embankment Pier.

🗓️ Sat 11th Apr, 9.45-11am
📍 Embankment

☀️ ‘Playing Outside’

This festival, held in the vicinity of Corner Corner Canada Water, celebrates local indie artists & small businesses, & will also host several paid-for craft workshops.

🗓️ Sat 11th-Sun 12th Apr
📍 Canada Water

📚 Read all about it

It’s a big weekend for book lovers: there’s this fair celebrating feminist & queer publishing in New Cross, & this festival in Islington jam-packed with varied author panels.

🗓️ Sat 11th Apr/Weds 8th-Sat 11th Apr
📍 New Cross/Highbury & Islington

🛍️ Meet me at the market

So many markets to choose from this week! There’s this at the Horniman, this emo-themed fair up in Walthamstow, & this cult vintage market debuting in Hackney Bridge.

🗓️ Sat 11th & Sun 12th Apr
📍 Forest Hill/Walthamstow/Hackney

LOOKING AHEAD

🎶 Booking is recommended for Good Vibes Day, a so-called ‘day of pure joy’ at the Roundhouse on Sat 25th Apr.
❤️ Why do we love? A very good question indeed, & Gresham College is attempting to answer it on Weds 22nd Apr. These talks often ‘sell out’; book ahead!
🧘 Also on 22nd Apr is a rare in-person Action for Happiness event at Conway Hall. Make Life Happier will be hosted by the broadcaster Claudia Hammond.

And for dessert...

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💄 I love Hurdling, a newsletter by Emily Ash Powell that looks at how we get over the things that get in our way. Emily (a writer, creative director & brand consultant) interviews people from all walks of life about hurdles they’ve overcome, & writes about culture, creativity & her own obstacles. - Georgia

🍽️ To mark its 25-year anniversary, iconic India restaurant The Cinnamon Club is offering a ‘retro menu’ – where prices are what the restaurant charged back in 2001 – at its Battersea outpost (until Sun 19th Apr). Plates start from £6!

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