Free & Cheap London Events: 26 August-1 September 2013

Ruth Hargreaves
By Ruth Hargreaves Last edited 127 months ago
Free & Cheap London Events: 26 August-1 September 2013

Interesting and unusual things to do for a fiver or less this week.

Stitch to show your support for the #LoveFashionHateSweatShops campaign, at The Make Escape. Details below.

Monday 26 August

ZOOLOGY: For the first time, the excellent Grant Museum of Zoology will be open today for bank holiday visitors. Pop along for animal skeletons, preserved specimens and even a jar full of moles ... Free, just turn up, 1-5pm

DANCING: Learn the foxtrot, rumba and tango steps at Strictly Summer Ballroom in the Royal Festival Hall with live music and demos by the pros. Free, just turn up, 12-6pm

DOGS: Spitalfields Market hosts the annual Paw Pageant - that’s dogs in designer togs - raising money for Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. Free to watch, £5 to enter your dog, 1-3.30pm

Tuesday 27 August

WALKS: The kind folks at Clerkenwell & Islington Guides Association are still offering free walks every Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday. Check their website to see what you can join in with. Free, prebook.

PAPER AND PONG: Take part in a ping-pong tournament (£5, just turn up, 6.30pm) or practise your game design skills at a free weekly game producing night (free, just turn up, 7.30pm), both at The Book Club in Shoreditch.

GOOD CAUSE CRAFT: The Make Escape put on another free night of crafty goodness at Hackney Attic, but this time they've teamed up with War On Want and The Craftivists for their Love Fashion Hate Sweatshops campaign. As well as talks about the campaign, attendees can learn to stitch mini protest banners as well as the usual jewellery making and sewing/knitting workshops. Free, just turn up, 7.30pm

Wednesday 28 August

JANMASHTAMI: Bhaktivedanta Manor’s spectacular Janmashtami festival celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna on earth 5000 years ago. All are welcome. Free, just turn up, today and 1 September 9am-midnight

DREAM: Southbank Centre is the venue for I Have A Dream: Architects of Our Republic, an outdoor mass-participatory event celebrating the anniversary of Martin Luther King's legendary 'I have a dream' speech. Free, just turn up, from 2pm

FOOD SCIENCE: Another excellent sounding late from the Science Museum: learn about the science of food and drink by trying a bug buffet, liquid nitrogen ice cream, or brewing your own ginger beer. Free, just turn up, from 6.45pm

VICTORIAN LONDON: Author Clive Bloom returns to Housman's bookshop to present his latest book, Victoria's Madmen, and tell the stories of some of the neglected figures of the Victorian age. £3, prebook, 7pm

Thursday 29 August

LONDON LORE: Join London Fortean Society host Scott Wood on a walk from the Royal Exchange to their home at The Bell on Middlesex Street, that takes in London lore, ghosts, urban folklore and psycho-geography. £3/£2, just turn up, 7.30pm

Friday 30 August

AFFORDABLE ART: Online gallery, The Affordable Art Studio, hosts a pop-up exhibition at The Shop in Kensal Rise to showcase the artworks they offer, usually only viewable online. Free, just turn up, until 30 September

MOUTH AND FOOD PAINTING: Join Mouth and Foot Painting Artists (MFPAs are artists who have lost the use of their hands through accident or illness) at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park for a demonstration of their painting techniques. Free, just turn up, between 11am-5pm until 1 September

CLOCKS: If you’re a clock lover (don’t want to misspell that…) then join Wallace Collection’s team of conservators for a special walking tour of the collection where you can see them open many of their historic clocks and wind the mechanisms. Free, just turn up (limited spaces so first come first served), 1-2pm

PING: The ping-pong craze is still going strong — King Ping's annual tournament takes place tonight. Expect music, drinks and, ahem, "pingspirational"  activities. Free, just turn up, 7-10pm

Saturday 31 August

COOLWALK: Join a CoolTan Arts CoolWalk today and learn about the Myths & Legends surrounding Nunhead Cemetery. Free, just turn up (meet at Nunhead Library), 12-3.30pm

Sunday 1 September

ICE SKATING: Ice skating in August? Why not. Today is the last day you can make the most of Alexandra Palace Ice Rink's ‘price freeze’, where sessions only cost a cool £5. Just turn up (but make sure you download the voucher beforehand), until 1 September

Check out our map of free things to do in London for more frugal fun.

Last Updated 25 August 2013