Things To Do In London This Weekend: 15-16 November 2014

All weekend

Start your Christmas shopping at Hyper Japan

PUB: Just want to kick back and relax with a pint and a packet of pork scratchings? Our pubs guide has information about all the best pubs in London, organised by area for your convenience. Find a boozer nearby, try a new place, or see if your favourite made the cut. And see Saturday's listings below for details of our next pub crawl.

CHRISTMAS MARKETS: From now on, there are plenty of Christmas markets and fairs going on every weekend and some weekdays too. Luckily for you, we've rounded them all up — organised by London area and date.

SOUTHBANK: World Press Photo of the Year 2014 opens today at Southbank Centre. See 143 selected pictures from over 130 countries that capture news, portrait and sports. Amazingly, this exhibition also costs nowt to get into. Free, until 26 November. For more openings this month, see our November art listing.

BIOSCIENCE FESTIVAL: The Great British Bioscience Festival kicks off today at the Museum Gardens in London's Bethnal Green. For three days, BBSRC researchers are exhibiting the best of British bioscience — full programme on the website. Free, until 16 November

ICE SKATING: Slowly but surely, London’s seasonal ice rinks are waking up for the season. See what’s already open, or book ahead for the rest of the run-up to Christmas.

JAZZ FEST: The EFG London Jazz Festival returns with a 10-day programme of nearly 300 shows. Various venues from the Roundhouse to the Southbank Centre will be involved in the festival. Too much choice? Have a look at our pick for each day. Various prices, prebook, 14-23 November

BBC GOOD FOOD SHOW: Olympia London is the venue for the BBC Good Food Show. Jamie Oliver, Michel Roux Jr, Mary Berry, James Martin and many more big names will be on the interview stage and in demo kitchens sharing their wisdom, plus there’ll be more than 200 food stalls selling their gourmet wares, from cheeses, chutneys, chocolates and cakes to olives, oils and oysters. Sample before you buy, and drop your bags off in a designated area so you don’t have to carry them around all day. From £26.50, prebook, 14-16 November

MAGIC SHOW: The International Magic & Variety Show takes place at The Mermaid Theatre in Blackfriars. Artists performing include Tina Lenert, Mike Caveney, Master Payne, Xavier Mortimer, Double Fantasy and Noel Britten. £30-£37.5o, prebook, 14-16 November

HYPER JAPAN: The three-day celebration of all things Japanese returns to Olympia London for a Christmas Market. Visitors are promised a chance to purchase unique and interesting Christmas gifts, alongside stage performances, martial arts and cooking demonstrations, and food and drink stalls. £12/£15, prebook, 14-16 November

OPEN STUDIOS #1: Wimbledon Art Studios has an open weekend where the public can meet artists and buy art directly from them. Disciplines covered include painting, sculpture, ceramics, textiles, photography, printmaking and furniture design. Free, just turn up, 13-16 November

OPEN STUDIOS #2: Chocolate Factory Artist Studios in Wood Green opens its doors to the public this weekend. There will be over 120 artists in this vibrant hub of cutting edge design, product development and creativity. Artworks will be on sale as well. Free, 15-16 November, 12pm-6pm daily

RECORD FAIR: The UK's biggest record fair comes to London Olympia giving collectors a chance to rub shoulders with buyers and sellers from all over the UK and around the world to browse through a selection of vinyl, CDs and memorabilia. £5, just turn up, 15-16 November

Saturday 15 November

Queen of Hoxton's rooftop Wigwam

TRANSPORT SYMPOSIUM: London Transport Museum in Covent Garden host a day-long symposium based around the current Goodbye Piccadilly exhibition. alks from museum curators, academics and authors explore the themes of the exhibition in more depth £40/£35, prebook, 10am-4pm

DIGITAL AGE: Senate House, home to the Ministry of Information during WWII and inspiration for Orwell’s 1984, opens its doors today and hosts a day of free activities. This one-day festival explores the contemporary phenomenon of ‘data overload’ and its impact on human consciousness with talks, tours and exhibitions. Free, prebook, 10am-10pm

LAST DAY: The David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation has an art exhibition at Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane. Wild Uncovered showcases the talent of three up and coming artists: Simon Max Bannister, David Filer and Emily Lamb. Fifty percent of sales will support the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation. Free, just turn up, 11am-7pm

POP-UP VINTAGE: Pop Up Vintage Fairs London is at Old Spitalfields Market on the third Saturday of every month. Start Christmas shopping vintage-style with over 40 stalls selling ladies and menswear, jewellery and accessories, homeware, antiques, collectables, posters, maps and curios. Free, just turn up, 11am-5pm

LITERARY WALK: Cool Tan Arts's latest walk sets off from Maudsley Hospital and commemorates William Blake’s birthday. It will stop en route for talks celebrating South London’s literary world, looking at novelists, poets and scriptwriters with connections to the area. These will include the painter, poet and printmaker William Blake, poet Dylan Thomas and Victorian crime fiction. Donation, 11.45am

WINTER'S FEAST: The Cider Box celebrates real cider straight from the Somerset presses at Queen of Hoxton’s rooftop WigWamBam. Each ticket includes four half pints and a meal from circle grill. Alongside there’ll be tutored tasting sessions, acoustic music, lashings of mead and maybe even a drop of Somerset Cider Brandy. £15, prebook, 12pm-7pm

JUMBLE & PEARLS: The Book Club in Shoreditch is the venue for Jumble & Pearls (early) Christmas pop-up. Innovators, designers and art sellers all come together to showcase their products, while a DJ spins records. Celebrities including Dawn French, Pixie Geldof and blogger Susie Bubble have all been spotted rummaging at the event in the past. Free entry, 12pm-6pm

EXPLORE ZOOLOGY: The Grant Museum of Zoology at UCL has organised a family day where visitors can get hands on with some of the specimens in the Museum's collection. Find out what the skin of a python feels like or how sharp a shark’s tooth is or how many spots a leopard has. Free, just turn up, 1pm-4.30pm

WALTHAMSTOW PUBS: Londonist readers recently voted for their favourite pubs in E17. We'll be running a pub crawl around the top five today. That is, The Bell, Ye Olde Rose and Crown, The Chequers, The Nag's Head and Wild Card Brewery. To join, please email matt@londonist.com so we can keep an eye on numbers. Free (buy own drinks/food), prebook, from 2pm

FOOD FEST: Urban Food Fest at Euro Car Parks in Shoreditch is a street food night market that takes place every Saturday. From today, there's a different festive street food menu every week, with dishes including: English roast chicken and cranberry pie, Italian turkey and burrata wood-fired pizza, Venezuelan feta and sage stuffing arepas and American three-bird brioche. Free entry, just turn up, from 5pm

SCI-FI FUTURE: At the Science Museum, BBC broadcaster Samira Ahmed chairs a panel discussion on whether nurturing creativity through science fiction could be more crucial to our global progress than we might realise, with particular focus on the Middle East. £10/£8, prebook, 7pm

CHARITY DINNER DANCE: Join WellFound Charity for a Dinner Dance. Enjoy a champagne reception and  meal to a backdrop of live performances by renowned Indian artists. There is also a chance to win exclusive prizes in the raffle. £50, prebook, 7pm

WIND ORCHESTRA: Lambeth Wind Orchestra presents an evening of music featuring members of its brass section, including a musical tribute to Adolphe Sax, with a newly-composed work by Roger Cawkwell for saxophone quartet and band. At St Paul's Church in Herne Hill. £10/£7, prebook, 7.30pm

SHAKESPEARE REWORKED: An opera singer, towering puppets, ballerinas and a performing dog make for a heavily reworked version of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream at Barbican. Director Dmitry Krymov focuses on amateur actors and ‘rude mechanicals’. £16-£35, prebook, 7.45pm

HERMES EXPERIMENT: The Hermes Experiment is a quartet, passionate about contemporary and experimental music. They won the Nonclassical Battle of the Bands 2014, and tonight they present Soundscapes at Limewharf. £8/£10, prebook, 8pm

Sunday 16 November

See Regent Street's Christmas lights switched on. Photo: last year's lights by Bill Green

SUNDAY ROAST: Nothing says Sunday like a full roast dinner. Have a look at our choice of the best Sunday roasts in London, or check out your other food options.

FILM FESTIVAL: Greenhorn Short Film Festival begins today at Arthouse Crouch End and consists of screenings, panel discussions, networking events and more. Full programme here. Various prices, prebook, until 18 November

TURNER IN GREENWICH: Storyteller and guide Rich Sylvester leads a story-walk that connects the life of JMW Turner and the subjects and themes of his paintings to events and locations in Greenwich and the river. Free (donations welcome on the day), prebook, 10am-12.30pm

NOWPortrait: Lucy Williams started NOWPortrait when she wanted to boost her confidence by going up to strangers in the street, striking up conversation and asking to take their photo. Now Lucy runs photo walks getting others to do the same. Meet outside Poppies Fish & Chips on Hanbury Street, Spitalfields for a photo walk around Brick Lane and Spitalfields Market. £10, prebook, 11am-1pm

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS: Regent Street is closed to traffic from 12pm, in preparation for the big Christmas lights switch on at 5pm. City Academy runs performing arts workshops all day and there's other entertainment from 4pm. Free, we recommend getting there early as it'll be very busy.

FAMILY DAY: Head to Keats House for a witches and wizards themed family day with tales, songs and poems with a magical flavour from their storyteller. Learn some of the secrets of Merlin, and invent your own magic spell. Free, just turn up, 1pm-4pm

WINE TASTING: Naked Wines offers two wine tasting sessions at Lindley Hall in Victoria. Try over 100 wines and meet winemakers at the big London wine tasting. £20, prebook, 2pm/6.30pm

NINA SIMONE: Barb Jungr sings the songs of Nina Simone at St James Theatre, as part of London Jazz Festival. She performs with her accompanist and co-arranger, Simon Wallace, on piano and with Davide Mantovani on bass. £12.50-£22.50, prebook, 7pm

ACOUSTIC NIGHT: The Antelope Pub in Tooting Broadway runs a monthly acoustic music night, The Breathing Room. Tonight features singer songwriter Ady Johnson, folk artist Steve Folk and others. £3, just turn up, 7.30pm


Have You Tried …

Wingit? Now available on Android as well as iPhone, Wingit is a smart little app that solves the problem of “I want to do something now, but what is going on nearby?”. Using your location, Wingit scans social media to find cool stuff near where you are and brings it straight to your phone. From performances to pop-ups, screenings to street art, download the free app today on the App Store or Google Play to see what’s going on just round the corner.

Londonist September

This weekend’s Things To Do In London is sponsored by Wingit.


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