The capital’s best free events from April 13-19th
Hi there {{ first name | Cheapskater }},
Welcome back to our regular roundup of fab free events in London! And thank you to everyone who responded to last week’s poll about where you live – more than 2,700(!) of you replied and this data will help us improve the newsletter.
Congrats to reader Holli D and Cheapskate Club member Lauren M, who won the sessions with a professional photographer featured in our last email. Scroll down for this week’s prize draw, plus a bonus giveaway!
Just a reminder that our amazing Cheapskate Club supporters get automatic entry into all our weekly competitions, plus they have the satisfaction of knowing they’re helping make London’s culture free and open to all. Please join today (we’ve extended our sale!) 🧡
Kate, Georgia and Clementine x
PS: Would you or someone you know like to promote your free events with us? Get in touch here.
🖌️ An ode to resilience
It’s the final week to catch mental health-themed exhibit The Weight of Being at Two Temple Place, which critics have praised for giving art lovers “permission to linger with discomfort & recognise resilience”. No booking required.
🗓️ Open from 11am Tues-Sun until Sun 19th Apr
📍 Temple
MONDAY
💄 ‘Prada Touch’ pop-up
There are just a few days left to catch this glamorous Prada Beauty pop-up – head to Selfridges for complimentary makeup services & free phone card holders.
🗓️ Until Weds 15th Apr
📍 Bond Street
🥽 Selfhood versus VR
What happens to your sense of self in virtual reality? Science Gallery London’s new exhibit (opening today) lets you step inside playable VR worlds exploring exactly that question.
🗓️ Mon 13th Apr-Sat 25th Apr, 11am-6pm
📍 London Bridge
TUESDAY
🍦 We scream for ice cream
Free ice cream! Yep, you read that right. Head to Ben & Jerry’s in Soho for a free cone (or cup) – it’s the iconic brand’s way of saying a big thank you to its customers.
🗓️ Tues 14th Apr, 12-8pm
📍 Tottenham Court Road
🎧 ‘Resonant Matter’
This new exhibit at the London College of Fashion explores music & fashion from London’s underground subcultures. It’s part of the wider The Music is Black festival.
🗓️ Tues 14th Apr-Sun 14th June
📍 Stratford
WEDNESDAY
🎻 Can you Handel this?
Hear classical music for free in London without even booking a ticket! Just turn up at Unit 08 Copeland Park for the Peckham Chamber Orchestra’s spring concert.
🗓️ Weds 15th Apr, from 7.30pm
📍 Peckham Rye
🎨 Something for everyone
Two very different art openings this Weds: there’s The Wallace Collection at War & this exhibit of work by artists who only paint with their mouths & feet (at Lindley Hall).
🗓️ From Weds 15th Apr
📍 Bond Street/St James’s Park
🤣 Competition time!
Help raise money for charity & have a good ol’ laugh at the same time at comedy magazine LMAOnaise’s birthday fundraiser at Soho Theatre.
We’re offering one lucky reader a pair of tickets to this hilarious event, where you’ll get a chance to see some of the best emerging UK female standup talent.
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
🏛️ The trip of a lifetime
This month’s Bank of England late celebrates & critiques the 18th-century institution of the Grand Tour. It’s sold out, but there will be some walk-in tickets on the door.
🗓️ Thurs 16th Apr, 5.15-8pm
📍 Bank
👩🎨 Pen & paper
Five years after the landmark Tate Britain exhibit, Paula Rego’s work is back in London, this time at Victoria Miro: this retrospective focuses on the artist’s works on paper.
🗓️ Thurs 16th Apr-Sat 23rd May
📍 Old Street
🎙️ Laugh out loud
Head to the Sir Devonshire Square Hotel this Thurs eve for a killer standup comedy lineup, including Slim, the first black British comic to sell out the London Palladium. Get tickets for just £5 using the code CHEAPSKATE.
🗓️ Thurs 16th Apr, 7-9.30pm
📍 Liverpool Street
FRIDAY
🌎 ‘Upgrade Yourself’
Somerset House’s latest youth takeover celebrates Earth Day, with “a night full of making, reflecting & connecting”, including free entry to the Edible Earth exhibit.
🗓️ Fri 17th Apr, 6-10pm
📍 Temple
🦪 The world is your oyster
For a different kind of lunch break, head to London Museum Studios to “write the oyster” – that is, use the idea of an oyster as a jumping-off point to think about creative writing.
🗓️ Fri 17th Apr, 12-2pm
📍 St Paul’s
SAT - SUN
💿 Needle drop
It’s Record Store Day this Sat! Head to your local record store – Old St Records or Putney’s Soul Brother, for instance – for free gigs, day parties, chances to buy exclusive vinyl & more.
🗓️ Sat 18th Apr, various times
📍 City-wide
🖼️ Double trouble
There’s a double bill of exhibits opening at Southwark Park Galleries: A Joyful Parasite (a major new sculpture commission) & an Irish artist’s exploration of her childhood in Japan.
🗓️ Sat 18th Apr-Sun 5th July
📍 Surrey Quays
💃 Party all day
Celebrate Record Store Day this Sat at Ninety One on Brick Lane, where there’ll be DJs taking over the courtyard from 2pm, plus reimagined R&B from Soul Girl Collective & an afrofunk set until the early hours.
🗓️ Sat 18th Apr, from 2pm
📍 Shoreditch High Street
🎁 To give & to receive
Do you have good quality items you no longer need? Bring them to Give & Take Day, a decluttering event at Portsoken Community Centre, which involves, well, giving & taking.
🗓️ Sat 18th Apr, 10am-3pm
📍 Aldgate
🏠 Go east
It’s the big one… V&A East is officially opening this Sat! Head on over to Stratford for iconic dresses worn by Beyonce, stories of trailblazing London design & much more.
🗓️ Sat 18th Apr, from 10am
📍 Stratford
LOOKING AHEAD
🌎 Want to feel informed & inspired about the future of our planet? The Natural History Museum’s free Generation Hope programme kicks off next week with talks, workshops, an after-hours event, guided tours & more.
🍜 Get up close & personal with the gorgeous ceramics from Japan House’s Hyakko exhibit at this object-handling session (on 23rd April & 8th May).
🎪 The Dulwich Festival is back on 8th May, bringing a fab range of cultural events, both free & paid-for, to SE21.
And for dessert...
🎨 We have another exciting prize up for grabs this week – a pair of tickets to Turner prize-winner Veronica Ryan’s new exhibit at the Whitechapel Gallery. The winner will be selected from the Cheapskate Club, our merry band of supporters who help keep us afloat for less than the price of a coffee a month. Sign up here to enter the draw (we’re running a sale!) 🧡
🥑 This Thurs, Honi Poke is offering £1 poke bowls to celebrate the opening of its new Fitzrovia store (near the British Museum), as well as half-price dishes including sushi & chicken katsu.
🥯 Speaking of free food, Grain in Holborn is celebrating its new breakfast menu with 50 free bagels from 8am this Fri. To claim yours, simply download the Grain app, sign up to the loyalty scheme & show proof of this at the till.
💆♀️ Don’t we all want smoother & shinier hair? Try this thermal brush/curling iron, which reduces frizz & helps maintain that perfect, fresh-from-the-salon lustre. Whenever you buy anything on Amazon, please use our affiliate link, to help us make money at zero extra cost to you 🧡
✈️ Travelling this summer? Did you know the Wise app offers airport lounge access for just £29.99 per person, per visit? Sign up using our referral and get a free Wise card too, so you can live that premium life without the price tag.
🤗 Thanks to readers who submitted events/initiatives for inclusion this week! We didn’t have space to feature them all above, but we particularly loved the sound of:
- a free board game night which will bring people in their 20s & early 30s together in a low-pressure environment (at 100 Clapham Park Rd) on Tues 14th
- “Sip n Sing social”, a free event to mark World Voice Day in South Norwood on Thurs 16th
- a free reading of new play Fluent in God, at the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama on Fri 17th
- the chance to land free tickets to Sziget Festival in Budapest by saying the phrase “Island of Freedom” to someone in a purple t-shirt outside Central Saint Martins (King’s Cross) on Fri 17th from 1pm
- Journey to the End of the Night, a free, volunteer-run urban chase game that will be played across the city on Sat 18th
Please keep the submissions coming!
📧 This is a slightly niche rec, but if you have your own newsletter & want to grow it, I recommend signing up for Growth in Reverse, a free email which has lots of amazing tips & useful strategies. - Kate
🧥 Grab your finest deerstalker & hop on your bike in style for this year’s Tweed Run. This central London bike ride with a fashionable twist costs £49 to participate, but it’s absolutely free to watch this fabulously dressed crew riding through the streets on Sat.
What did you think of this edition?
We try to only include accurate information, but sometimes things can change. Everything included in the newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time the newsletter is sent out. Sometimes we make money from ads and the links we include, but we only recommend things we genuinely like. You can also support us by joining the Cheapskate Club as a monthly or annual member.
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