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A series of 'Fun Palaces' will spring up over London early this October, bringing with them community-led events celebrating creativity in all its forms.
The concept of a Fun Palace was conceived in 1961 by the playwright Joan Littlewood and architect Cedric Price, who imagined a 'laboratory of fun' that was accessible to all, including those who wouldn’t normally go to arts venues or centres of learning. Littlewood and Price never built their own fun palace, but in 2013, the first Fun Palaces were finally made a reality, and since then they've been inspiring, informing and entertaining countless folk up and down the country.
(Note: a Fun Palace is not some inflatable castle filled with ball pools, but pop-up events in community spaces.)
A long weekend of Fun Palace activity takes place across the UK from Friday 3 to Sunday 5 October 2025, with a number of events in the capital.
The programme is still growing as we write (and most events appear to be taking place on the Saturday at time of writing), but among those confirmed are:
🤡 A day of crafting, comedy and circus for kids (4 October, Bethnal Green)
🪡 Learn to stitch, patch, fix, recycle, upcycle and mend (4 October, Telegraph Hill)
🍞 Bake bread — and make your own badges (4 October, Shoreditch)
🌸 Get stuck into Alpona, a form of floral Bengali folk art painting (4 October, Isle of Dogs)
To find a Fun Palace near you, browse this map.
Fun Palaces, London-wide, 3-5 October 2025, free
