Things To Do This Weekend In London: 19-20 August 2023

All weekend

SUMMER SOUNDS: Free live music festival Summer Sounds is in its final weekend at King's Cross, with live music every day. Catch artists from the English National Opera performing on Saturday evening, followed by Family Sunday with performances by Fire Choir, the London Show Choir, Harrow Gospel Community Choir, and others. FREE, until 20 August

MORPH TRAIL: This is the final weekend of London's free Morph Art Trail, which sees 56 Morph sculptures, each uniquely decorated, dotted around London — predominantly the City and South Bank. Once they're taken off display this week, they'll be auctioned off to raise money for Whizz-Kids. The Covent Garden gorilla sculpture trail sticks around for a while longer, if you're looking for something similar to do after this weekend. FREE, until 20 August

MAGICAL SCIENCE: Calling all pint-sized Einsteins! Learn how to make water disappear, defy gravity, and even create lightning indoors at Magical Science. This hands-on, experiments-based kids' show by Nutty Scientists ends its summer run at The Sidings in Waterloo this Sunday. Tickets cost £10 per child (adults go free with paying child). Until 20 August (sponsor)

FOOD WEEKEND: As part of the summer events programme at Greenwich Peninsula, focus is firmly on The Joy of Food this weekend. Take part in workshops on topics including cake decorating, as well as wine pairings and cheese tastings, or simply eat your way around Canteen Food Hall and Greenwich Peninsula Market. 19-20 August

RARE POSTER SALE: Fancy livening up your living space with some very special wall art? Head to Twentieth Century Posters, a hidden treasure trove of rare original posters in Islington run by London Transport Museum’s ex Head of Collections, David Bownes. This weekend, it kicks off a four-day sale, where you can get your hands on unlisted posters — spanning travel, art, film and more - at reduced prices. FREE ENTRY, 19-22 August (sponsor)

COMEDY FESTIVAL: It's the final weekend of this year's Roundhouse Comedy Festival, with acts including BGT finalist Daliso Chaponda, along with comedians Zach Zimmerman and Kane Brown performing at the Camden venue. Closing gala takes place on Wednesday next week. Until 23 August

CAMDEN FRINGE: An improvised Greek tragicomedy, a moving theatre show about a young woman dealing with the demons of her past, and a play about a transgender man whose mum discovers he is trans before he's ready to come out are our picks for the Camden Fringe this weekend. Festival runs until 27 August

ALL POINTS EAST: Stormzy, Haim, Aphex Twin, The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs... just some of the impressive line-up at this year's All Points East Festival in Victoria Park, which begins on Friday and also Field Day on Saturday this year. Sunday is the start of In The Neighbourhood, a free programme of family-friendly activities including theatre and cinema, taking place at the festival site on the days between the main festival. 18-28 August

FUJI MUSIC: The Africa Centre unveils a new exhibition and music showcase, Fuji: A Opera, telling the story of the Nigerian fuji music genre, which laid the groundwork for the better-known Afrobeats genre. The exhibition includes archive recordings, a photography wall of album covers and live performances, and a collection of fashion pieces worn by fuji artists. 18-28 August

BBC PROMS: Catch the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Trinity Boys Choir and Finnish-Swedish mezzo-soprano Jenny Carlsted performing Mahler’s mighty Third Symphony, or the Manchester Collective presenting urban musical pieces by contemporary composers — just some of the options at the BBC Proms this weekend Until 9 September

50 YEARS OF SKATEBOARDING: Wheel your way back to the 1970s at Pure Evil Gallery, for London Calling!, an exhibition charting the rise of skateboarding in the UK, with a selection of photos, artefacts and more. 18 August-10 September

Saturday 19 August

SUMMER FAMILY FESTIVAL: The Shape of Us is the theme of a one-day family festival at the V&A in South Kensington. Make your own sculpture; take part in workshops, dancing and costume-making; watch performances in the galleries and enjoy storytelling sessions. It's all inspired by the new display of work by sculptor Thomas J Price. FREE, 11am-5pm

FOLK IN THE PARK: Head down to Sutton for Folk In The Park, a one-day festival of live music, food and drink, workshops and family activities. 13 bands and artists perform across two stages, including Nick Lowe, Del Amitri, and Dana Gillespie and the London Blues Band. The festival also has an eco market, food and drink stalls and other entertainment. 11am-9pm

DRAG SHOW BRUNCH: Jimbo the Drag Clown is the guest star of this week's Drag Show Brunch at Between The Bridges, along with stars of UK & US Drag Race. Kick things off with an hour of bottomless bubbly accompanied by drag tunes, followed by further performances, games, prizes, lip syncing and more. Food isn't included in the ticket but there's a selection of food vendors on site. 11.30am-3pm

SMOKESTAK: It's been 10 years since Smokestak started serving its melt-in-the-mouth smoked plates, and to celebrate, they're hosting a summer street party in Shoreditch, with firepits, tunes, lager from 40FT Brewery, plus lashings of mouth-watering food. You'll need to book your slot, with start times available 12pm-5pm

BLACK PRIDE: The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford hosts UK Black Pride, a huge celebration for LGBTQIA+ people of African, Asian, Caribbean, Latin American and Middle Eastern-descent, and their allies. The exact line-up hasn't been announced at time of writing, but 25,000 people turned up last year, so you can expect quite the party! FREE, 12pm-8pm

COCKTAILS IN THE CITY: Boozy festival Cocktails in the City has its August outing at Bedford Square Gardens, with cocktail bars and masterclasses, live music, a silent disco and other entertainment. This month is The Travel Edition, with cocktails reflecting Mexico, Japan and tropical Tiki paradises. Café Pacifico, Chotto Matte, Laki Kane, Punch Room at London Edition, Kindred and The Aubrey at The Mandarin Oriental are among the London bars serving up the tipples. 12pm-10pm

BANDSTAND LIVE: Enjoy an afternoon of rhythms from the African diaspora at free live music event Bandstand Live in the Horniman Museum Gardens. Black nightlife platform WNDRLST curates an afternoon of live music and DJs from amapiano to afrobeats, with seriously impressive views over London to boot. FREE, 1pm-5pm

BLACK PANTHER: Wellcome Collection offers another of its free film screenings for 14-19 year olds, and this time it's 2022 film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Artist Hillary Juma introduces the film and hosts a discussion afterwards, with free food and drinks provided. FREE, 2pm-5.30pm

PILOT TV LIVE: The Pilot TV podcast — which discusses the newest TV shows each week — holds a live recording show at Kings Place in King's Cross. Hear from Boyd Hilton, Kay Ribeiro and James Dyer about the latest shows, and what they're watching at the moment. 7pm

JAZZ, STEEL AND GOSPEL: The Tabernacle in Notting Hill lays on a night of jazz, steel pans and gospel music, with the help of Kenton Noel plus the Ebony Steel Band and a slew of DJs. 7pm-10.30pm

THE GUILTY FEMINIST: Last chance to catch the current run of The Guilty Feminist at Soho Theatre. Deborah Frances-White hosts a guest (TBC) for a show that's part comedy, part deep-dive discussion, and part activism. 7.15pm

SCARED TO DANCE: Jojo Orme from Heartworms is guest DJ at this week's Scared to Dance at The Shacklewell Arms. Enjoy an evening of post-punk, indiepop, new wave and art rock music by the likes of David Bowie, Wet Leg, Talking Heads, Joy Division, The Cure, Cate Le Bon and The Velvet Underground. 11pm

Sunday 20 August

GOSPEL BRUNCH: Sundays at Boogaloo in Highgate mean Gospel Brunch — with the likes of eggs benedict and cinnamon pancakes dished up alongside live music (which starts at 3pm) from country/blues bands. DJs spin tunes for the rest of the day. Kitchen open 10am-6pm

ALICE IN WONDERLAND: Today is your last chance to see Wild Immersive Theatre perform Alice in Wonderland in the open air at Chelsea Physic Garden. The production is suitable for all ages and lasts around an hour, taking the form of a promenade performance through the gardens. 10am-11.40am

LORD OF THE RINGS: Leicester Square's Prince Charles Cinema holds one of its legendary Lord of the Rings Trilogy screenings, when all three films are shown back-to-back with just a 10-minute break between each showing. 11am-11.02pm

ANIMAL SOUNDS: As current exhibition Animals: Art, Science and Sound nears its close, the British Library offers a day of free family workshops aimed at 5-11 year olds, where children can create and identify different animal sounds. FREE, 11am/1.30pm

CONTEMPORARY DANCE: London-based contemporary dance company Traceworks take over Wembley Park for a day of free performances and workshops. Throughout the afternoon there are three performances of their show Jack Defrost, followed by workshops, so you can master the steps. FREE, 12pm-6pm

MORPH DAY: To coincide with the final day of the Morph Art Trail, there's a free day of Morph-themed activities at Summer by the River. Design your own morph, take part in an animation workshop and create part of a London Landscape scene, colour part of a huge colouring wall, catch free screenings of Morph's Epic Adventure, and buy your own Morph merch at a pop-up shop. FREE, 12pm-5pm

BEAT THE BAR: Feeling strong? Make your way to Roof East in Stratford for the Beat the Bar contest. Go head to head with friends and strangers to see who can hold themselves up on the hang bar for the longest — the prize is a a 40-class pass to F45. 2pm

DON QUIXOTE: Barbican Cinema hosts a 50th anniversary screening of 1973 dance film Don Quixote, also known as The Impossible Dream, starring ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev at the peak of his career. The film was shot in an airport hangar in 40 degrees over 25 days, and has now been re-mastered, restored and re-orchestrated for the first time. 2.10pm

BANDSTAND CONCERT: The Phoenix String Quartet are the latest performers to give a free Sunday concert at the bandstand in Greenwich Park. Just turn up and enjoy a couple of hours of free live music in the open air. FREE, 3pm-5pm

AD LIBRETTO: See a musical put together right before your eyes at live show AdLibretto, at the Museum of Comedy. Each show is unique with scenes, characters, music and lyrics improvised on the spot. 7pm (repeated — though with a completely different show — tomorrow)

BENNET KAVANAGH: Topics from lift to d**k pics are covered in Bennet Kavanagh's WIP of his surreal musical outing, pithily titled One Shod, Sorry I’m Meant Shot, Can We Take That Again? It's on at Aces & Eights in Tufnell Park as part of the Camden Fringe Festival. 8pm (also on 21, 22, 25 and 26 August)

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