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Things To Do In London This Weekend: Oct 19 - 21
Because going out is the new going out
NIGHTLIFE: Fabric’s 19th Birthday
So you think you’ve got stamina? Step this way, brave friend. Because Fabric, surely the most legendarily hard-partying of the capital’s superclubs, is throwing a birthday party. That lasts 30 HOURS. That’s right: a full day. Then another six hours just for fun. Still game? Good: you’ll be rewarded with sets from residents Craig Richards and Terry Francis, new queen of tech Helena Hauff, eclectic mavericks Joy Orbison, minimal maestro Villalobos and many, many more, going from Saturday night all the way through till 5am on Monday morning. Have that sick-day excuse at the ready.
20-22 Oct; from £25
Fabric, 77a Charterhouse St, Clerkenwell EC1M 6JJ
ART: Affordable Art Fair
We do like it when the name of an event tells you exactly what you’re in for. Especially when that’s the chance to buy art from over 110 galleries and 1,100 artists at – you guessed it – an affordable price. Look out for modern-classic Damien Hirst prints from Manifold Editions, starkly beautiful photography from The Artful Project, and The Next Big Thing™ at the Recent Graduates Exhibition – they’re all on show at Battersea Park this weekend. In short: great for lovers of art, bad for fans of cryptic event names.
18-21 Oct; from £10
Affordable Art Fair, Battersea Evolution, Queenstown Road, SW8 4NW
POP UP: RA Lates - Cosmic Ocean
Prepare to get psychedelic, folks, because the RA’s latest after-hours arty party is concerned with all thing sparklingly aquatic. Inspired by its exhibition Oceania (the first major showing of Polynesian art in the UK), you’re invited to don deep-sea-themed attire and dive in: expect sketching sessions in an oceanic-themed drawing room, stargazing in a pop-up planetarium, an immersive dive down to the depths of the sea, plus dance performances, cocktail bars, DJs and live music sets and roving performance art. Start readying that neon starfish outfit right now.
20 Oct; £35
RA Lates: Cosmic Ocean, Royal Academy, Burlington House, Piccadilly, W1J 0BD
FOOD: Jolene
They say a pessimist is never disappointed. But when the team behind two of our favourite London restaurants, Westerns Laundry and Primeur, announced a third site, we couldn't help getting excited. Like, REALLY excited. But in your face, old proverb: Jolene, in Newington Green, is brilliant. By day, it's a bakery, but not just any bakery. This, believe it or not, is a bakery serving loaves, croissants and palmiers baked with heritage grains, ethically grown by... a member of Groove Armada. True story. By night, however, you’re in for to-die-for small plates, stuffed pasta and show-stopping whole grilled fish. Eco- and rock-star credentials with the food to match? Hell. Yeah.
Jolene, 21 Newington Green, Mayville Estate, N16 9PU
POP-UP: Skyline Skating
Christmas comes early on the high street. But while we’re not on board with tinsel and Mariah Carey just yet, this new pop-up on John Lewis & Partners’ rooftop we CAN get behind. Largely because it in involves gin. Lots of gin. In the form of hot G&T and gingerbread sours... Oh yes, then there’s the small matter of Oxford Street’s first-ever rooftop skating rink, cockle-warming savoury bakes from MYPIE, bookable hot-gin hideaways, and cosy winter vibes aplenty. Ho ho… nope, still too early.
20 Oct-6 Jan; skating £8
Skyline Skating, 300 Oxford St, Marylebone, London W1C 1DX
POP-UP: Last Nights of Havana
Cigars. Heels. Two things Cuba does rather well. But even better than that is its skills when it comes to rum-soaked salsa. Now that, it does amazingly. And here to celebrate is London’s own slice of Havana, popping up at Tobacco Dock for a weekend of cocktails, Cadillacs and Cuban beats. Expect 1950s décor, drinks curated by Cocktail Trading Co (mojitos, daiquiris and Cuba libres as standard) and live, Buena Vista Social Club-inspired music led by Oreste ‘Sambroso’ Noda – London’s unofficial Cuban music ambassador. Did someone say salsa-raaaave?
19 Oct-May 2019; £20
Last Nights of Havana, Quayside Bar, Tobacco Dock, Tobacco Quay, Wapping Lane, E1W 2SF
ART: all in: bodied
The third in curator Bryony Stone’s ‘all in:’ series that has seen artists take up residency in the arches under Waterloo station, centres around the female-identifying body ‘in motion’.
Through the medium of fashion, movement and speech, artist Zoë Marden, designer Sinéad O’Dwyer, choreographer Grace Nicol and dance artist Becky Namgauds look to explore the ‘female’ experience.
19-21 Oct; free
Galeria Melissa London, 43 King St, London WC2E 8JY
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