The capital’s best free events from September 8th-14th

Happy Monday {{ first name | Cheapskater }},

This week, we’ve teamed up with the inaugural Chelsea Arts Festival, which is taking place from 18th-21st September. The festival will feature music, art, literature, theatre and SO much more, along with a huge range of talent (hello Elizabeth Day, Annie Mac, Sadie Frost, Kate Mosse and Matt Haig, to name just a handful of participants!).

There are several low-cost and free events as part of the festival, and we’re also thrilled that Cheapskate readers can take 30% off all Cadogan Hall events* (where the majority of talks etc are taking place!). Just use the code CHELSEAARTS when booking.

In other news, we really appreciated some feedback from a reader last week who told us about great events going on in Kingston! If you ever feel like your local area should be getting more love in Cheapskate, please let us know:

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Have a great week,
Clementine x

PS: Big congrats to our reader Chris G, who won a meal for four at Burger & Lobster 🍔🦞 in last week’s newsletter. Scroll down for this week’s fab, free-to-enter competition (in partnership with SweatLounge).

MONDAY

🎥 Asia on screen

Portobello Film Festival continues with an Asian cinema showcase at the Muse Gallery, where you can see everything from a romance between two elderly Indian women to a tale of a Kazakh teen discovering rock music.

🗓️ Mon 8th Sept, 6-10.30pm
📍 Ladbroke Grove

👨‍🌾 Rural romanticism

If London ever makes you yearn for a simpler life in the countryside, then head to the National Gallery’s latest temporary display, featuring the idyllic paintings of French artist Jean-Francois Millet.

🗓️ Until Thurs 9th October
📍 Charing Cross

TUESDAY

👗 Passion for fashion

Turns out there’s more to SW19 than tennis: this month, the area plays host to the sustainability-focused Wimbledon Fashion Week. This Tues will see a glamorous launch party at 4 Queen’s Road.

🗓️ Tues 9th Sept, 5-8pm
📍 Wimbledon

🤓 Automation anxiety

Tues marks the launch of The Future of Work, a new series of Gresham College talks looking at the impact of AI in the workplace & beyond. The opening lecture will explore the history of “automation anxiety”.

🗓️ Tues 9th Sept, from 6pm
📍 Chancery Lane

😅 Competition time!

This week, we’ve teamed up with SweatLounge, London's flagship infrared sauna studio, to give away an incredible prize!

Five lucky Cheapskate readers will each win an infrared sauna pod session worth £35 (to be claimed within the next year). You must be 18+ to enter.

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*By selecting “yes please!”, you are consenting for us to share your email address & any comments with our partner, SweatLounge.

WEDNESDAY

🇲🇽 A slice of CDMX

The Museo Jumex is an impossibly cool private collection in Mexico City (check out their building!). The museum is hosting a group exhibit at South London Gallery, with exciting, varied work from around the world.

🗓️ Weds 10th Sept-Sun 11th Jan 2026
📍 Peckham Rye

🌸 Gardens galore

The beloved Emma Cons Gardens in Waterloo is going through an exciting regeneration programme - & a special community day is being held there to celebrate, featuring live jazz, swing dance & creative workshops.

🗓️ Weds 10th Sept, 12-8pm
📍 Waterloo

THURSDAY

👩‍🎨 Artistic women

The Women In Art biennale (launching on Thurs) will spotlight exceptional female artists & draw attention to gender inequality in the art world. Head to Chelsea Old Town Hall to see the selected artists’ work.

🗓️ Thurs 11th-Sun 14th Sept
📍 Sloane Square

🖌️ Draw from life

The Markfield Road Festival is back in Tottenham, & to kick things off there’s a life drawing session at The Cove Studio – all materials provided. There’s plenty of free art & live music over the weekend, too.

🗓️ Thurs 11th Sept, 7.30-9.30pm
📍 Seven Sisters

FRIDAY

🥺 In another life

Be prepared to cry & also have an existential crisis. Celine Song’s modern classic Past Lives, about a pair of old friends who reconnect after two decades apart, is screening at Wimbledon’s St Matthew’s Church.

🗓️ Fri 12th Sept, 7-10pm
📍 Raynes Park

🏘️ Community connections

The Mayor’s Community Weekend is hosting tonnes of wholesome events across various boroughs – we love the sound of this “joyful & intergenerational” vintage games day in Whittington Park on Sat.

🗓️ Fri 12th-Sun 14th Sept
📍 various locations

SAT - SUN

💁‍♀️ As IF!

Can you believe iconic teen comedy Clueless turns 30 this year? To celebrate this momentous occasion, Juju’s Bar & Stage is throwing a 90s-themed party, complete with bubblegum pop bangers, a photo booth, & a costume parade. You’d be totally buggin’ to miss it!

🗓️ Sat 13th Sept, 7-11.30pm
📍 Shoreditch High Street

💪 Work it out!

There really is something for everyone at the Wembley Park Wellness Festival – enjoy everything from high-intensity HYROX & HIIT classes to a soothing gong bath, by way of boxing & my personal fave, padel.

🗓️ Sat 13th Sep, 9am-6pm
📍 Wembley Park

🏺 Pottering around

As part of the London Design Festival starting this weekend, the Museum of the Home plays host to Ceramics in the City, a fair/exhibit showcasing the diversity of ceramics production in London & beyond.

🗓️ Sat 13th-14th Sep, 10am-5pm
📍 Hoxton

🎨 Make a huge mural

Egyptian-British artist Tasnim Mahdy has made a career out of facilitating human connection through creativity, & this weekend she’s leading a collaborative, family-friendly mural-making workshop at the Southbank Centre (as part of the Saturday Sessions series).

🗓️ Sat 13th Sept, from 1.30pm
📍 Waterloo

🗝️ The house is open!

The annual Open House festival will see fascinating buildings across London fling their doors open to the public (mainly for free) over the weekend. Highlights include guided tours of this epic space & this quirky museum.

🗓️ Sat 13th-Sun 21st Sep
📍 Various

🎪 Fun at the fair

The glorious pedestrianised neighbourhood of Eccleston Yards is hosting a community day this Sun, complete with a barbecue, raffle & tombola, & a beer tent. A similar community festival is taking place in St Mary’s, Islington, on Sat.

🗓️ Sun 14th Sep, 12-5pm
📍 Victoria

And for dessert...

🫶 Want to support Cheapskate without spending any money? Please click on our links like this one - it won’t cost you a thing, but you’ll massively help with our running costs.

👓 Another great deal’s just been announced at Meller. They’re offering two high-quality, durable pairs of sunglasses for just £59 (one pair would cost you £49) – these teeny-tiny Osei frames really take me back to Brat summer.

🏰 Here’s something you don’t see every week: the Tower of London will be firing cannons over the Thames today (Mon) to commemorate three years since the King came to the throne. Also in royal palace news, Hampton Court is opening up its iconic gardens to the public for FREE this weekend.

👨‍🎤 Nearly a decade on from the famous V&A David Bowie exhibit (the most visited in museum history), the V&A East Storehouse has acquired the singer’s archive for its permanent collection. Get info about upcoming (free) ticket releases here.

🐑 You know what would make Hampstead Heath even better? Sheep! A flock of bleaters is currently on loan to the Heath from Mudchute City Farm - see them grazing from 8am to 7.30pm before they go home on Weds.

🇱🇰 You’ll have to be speedy for this one! New Sri Lankan street food joint ADOH is offering 100 free portions of its signature Vadai savoury doughnuts, after doors officially open at 11.30am TODAY.

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*Please note that this discount code is for ticket bands A and B, and excludes partner events Ian McEwan, Elizabeth Day and Women’s Words.

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