The capital’s best free events from 26th-31st August

Happy Monday {{ first name | Cheapskater }},

Big milestone alert! Cheapskate is now reaching more than 52,000 newsletter readers every week across Cheapskate London and Cheapskate Kids, plus we have a community of 16,000+ on Instagram (and we’re growing fast 👀).

For the second half of 2025, we’re keen to team up with more brilliant, like-minded brands – from food & drink to culture, lifestyle and family. Do you work with one (or know someone who does)? Drop us a message – we’d love to share our media kit and chat about how we can collaborate.

🧡 Thanks for helping us get here – it’s because of this amazing community that Cheapskate keeps growing!

Have a wonderful week,
Kate x

P.S. Congrats to Cheapskate reader Connie L, who won tickets to the east London music and wellness festival Daybreaker (as featured in our bank holiday special last Friday). Scroll down for another free-to-enter prize draw!

TUESDAY

❤️‍🩹 We Live in Time

Get your tissues at the ready: tear-jerking romantic drama We Live in Time, starring Florence Pugh & Andrew Garfield, is playing at The Source tonight. A short film will play ahead of the main feature.

🗓️ Tues 26th Aug, from 6.30pm
📍 Stratford

🖼️ An ink-spired idea

Don’t worry if you hadn’t heard the term ‘risograph’ before reading this listing: it’s a type of screen printing, & this workshop at PageMasters invites you to create prints exploring our relationship with nature.

🗓️ Tues 26th Aug, 6-8.30pm
📍 Lewisham

🎨 Celebration of Makers

To mark its 130th anniversary, the stunning Two Temple Place is opening its doors for a free four-day celebration of craftsmanship. Expect live demos (stone carving, gilding & more), exhibitions, family workshops (stained glass windows, “clay cherubs” & printmaking), plus a makers’ market.

🗓️ Thurs 27th Aug-Sat 30th Aug, 11am-6pm, Sun 31st Aug, 11am-4.30pm
📍Temple

WEDNESDAY

🎙️ Hear women’s voices

Amplify Her, a collective empowering women in the music industry, is heading to the Lower Third on Denmark St to host its monthly open mic, which will platform up-&-coming female talent from a range of genres.

🗓️ Weds 27th Aug, 7-10pm
📍 Tottenham Court Road

👀 Mystery film…

London’s hardly short on open-air cinema screenings, but this one has a bit of a twist: you won’t know what the film is until you get there. Sign up to Theatreship’s mailing list for those all-important clues! (Here’s this week’s.)

🗓️ Weds 27th Aug, 7-10pm (doors at 4pm)
📍 South Quay

🍅 Competition time!

This week, we’re pleased to be giving away a copy of Speedy Comfort, a new cookbook packed with quick, comforting meals by bestselling author Jon Watts.

Watts, who learned to cook in prison & worked in one of Jamie Oliver’s restaurants after his release, is known for his delicious yet accessible recipes.

To be in with a chance of winning the book, refer a friend 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 into the draw, & we’ll pick a winner at random. Good luck! 🤞

Members of the Cheapskate club get automatic entry into all of our competitions - join today & help keep us going!

THURSDAY

🎸 Talent of tomorrow

Keen to be the friend who can say ‘I knew them before they were cool’? Check out this BBC Introducing showcase at The Scoop, featuring emerging performers from the electronic, neo-soul & pop genres.

🗓️ Thurs 28th Aug, 7-10pm
📍 London Bridge

🕺 Grease is the word

Enjoy those final few summer nights with an open-air screening of perennial musical classic Grease at Lower Marsh, & make sure to wear your finest 1950s garb, because there’s a costume contest!

🗓️ Thurs 28th Aug, 5.30-8.15pm
📍 Waterloo

FRIDAY

👨‍🎤 Don’t stop believin’

Throw it back to the 80s with this euphoric club night at Hackney mainstay Paper Dress Vintage – expect stone-cold bangers from the likes of Madonna, New Order, George Michael, & many more.

🗓️ Fri 29th Aug, 10.30pm-2.30am
📍 Hackney Central

🎨 Creative circuits

Explore the open studios & pop-up galleries in an underrated corner of west London during Brentford’s Creative Mile this weekend. As part of it, there’s a cider & sausage festival at the Globe pub this Fri.

🗓️ Fri 29th-Sun 31st Aug
📍 Brentford

WEEKEND

🛍️ Crafty Fox Market

Discover discounted pieces from some of the UK’s most talented makers, artists & craftspeople, all under one roof. From hand-thrown pottery & organic candles to artisan jewellery, homewares & original art, this market (hosted by Two Temple Place) will be the place to find something truly special!

🗓️ Sat 30th Aug, 11am-5pm
📍Temple

🥦 All the fun of the fayre

It’s a village fete, but not as you know it. To celebrate their Wicker Arms folk horror exhibit, Staffordshire St is hosting a community day involving welly wanging, queer Morris dancing, a veggie sculpture contest & more.

🗓️ Sat 30th Aug, 12-4pm
📍Queen’s Road Peckham

💃 Carnival continued

Camberwell Carnival is bringing all the Notting Hill vibes from last weekend south of the river to Camberwell Green, with a steel band, samba performances, & a mechanical bull if you fancy emulating Beyonce.

🗓️ Sat 30th Aug, 12-9pm
📍Denmark Hill

🪕 Tunes in the park

Round off summer with a free open-air concert in lovely Waterlow Park. The Pop-Up Proms series closes with Funny Bones, a trombone ensemble formed at the Royal Academy of Music. Expect inventive melodies, big brass energy & a unique twist on the traditional promenade concert vibe.

🗓️ Sun 31st Aug, 2.30-3.45pm
📍 Archway

🎶 Hoedown on the Heath

The annual Natural Aspect Summer Concert is taking over the Parliament Hill Bandstand on Hampstead Heath this Sun, for live rock, reggae, & blues tunes, as well as a circus skills workshop & all-around good vibes.

🗓️ Sun 31st Aug, 1-5pm
📍Gospel Oak

👗 A vintage paradise

137 Bethnal Green Road will transform into a vintage lover’s heaven this weekend, thanks to the Funky Cat London pop-up. Expect a curated selection of Y2K gems, with a focus on French & Italian vintage.

🗓️ Sat 30th-Sun 31st Aug, 10am-4pm
📍Shoreditch High Street

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.

🍝 To celebrate the launch of a new breakfast menu, Pasta Evangelists is offering free coffees at its Farringdon branch every morning (7-8am) this week.

🧘 Are you looking for new low-impact workout inspo? If so, you’ll be pleased to know that Yoga-Go offers a dedicated pilates programme, alongside two different types of yoga. It’s totally customisable depending on your age or experience level. - Clementine

🤖 Do you ever feel mystified by how quickly AI is developing? Us too! Luckily, newsletter The Deep View is here to bring you daily tips on how to use new AI tools to improve your productivity: you can subscribe for free here.

🧣 Unfortunately for all of us summer lovers, the winter chill is around the seasonal corner. A good quality scarf is a solid investment for trekking to & from work while it’s still dark out, & I love this sleek grey angora-wool blend option. - Clementine

🍴 Upstairs at the Crown, a new restaurant headed up by ex-Dusty Knuckle & Spring chef Charley Samuelson, is opening in Highgate & the team is running a special soft launch offer: take 50%(!) off your food when you pre-book a table from 28th Aug-7th Sept.

🍕 Regular readers will know how much we love Neapolitan pizzeria brand Santa Maria, so we’re thrilled they’re giving away 150 free pizzas this Thurs to mark the opening of the refurbished Ealing branch.

📷 Did you check out the seaside photography exhibit in Coal Drops Yard that we recommended last week? It was run by the Photographers’ Gallery, which usually charges for admission, but this summer you can get in for free every Friday after 4pm 😍

What did you think of this edition?

Click to share your feedback

Login or Subscribe to participate

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 (like this one!) but we only recommend things we genuinely like. You can also support us by joining the Cheapskate club as a monthly or annual member.

Sign up for Cheapskate Kids, our spin-off newsletter featuring free, family-friendly events across London, here 👧

Keep Reading