All weekend
MEATOPIA: Attention carnivores: BBQ festival Meatopia fires up at Tobacco Dock, with chefs and pitmasters from across the globe each serving one speciality dish, cooked over wood or charcoal. Throw in multiple bars and live music and DJs, and you've got quite the sausage (and steak and chicken) party. 28-31 August
QUEEN'S PARK BOOK FESTIVAL: Hanif Kureishi, Kate Summerscale and Rob Cowen are on the line-up at the Queen's Park Book Festival this weekend, which incorporates a comedy night and children's events, as well as chances to hear from various authors and experts on their latest works. 30-31 August
CAT FESTIVAL: Calling all cat fans! The London Specatular takes over the University of Greenwich for two days of cat shows and pageants, children's activities, rescue organisations, stalls and other feline-adjacent events and activities. 30-31 August
ANIME & GAMING CON: What claims to be the UK's largest anime convention comes to Hammersmith, with merch, gaming, comics and cosplay. Expect appearances from anime rapper Shao Dow, as well as a chance to meet voice actors from anime productions. 29-31 August
BRENTFORD ART TRAIL: Venues around the area open their doors for the Brentford Art Mile, showcasing work by local artists. Ceramics, photography and painting go on display at locations including the Musical Museum, the Steam Museum Studios and Everyman Cinema. Full details of the trail, including a map, are available on the Creative Mile website. 29-31 August
OSCAR AT THE CROWN: A brand-new, purpose-built bunker on Tottenham Court Road is the setting for Oscar at The Crown, a musical celebrating the life and work of Oscar Wilde... at a time when the world is ending. The show closes on Sunday. Until 31 August
HORRIBLE HISTORIES: Take a whistle-stop tour through Britain with the nasty bits left in, as the Horrible Histories team takes to the stage at the Apollo Theatre. Boudica, King John and the Magna Carta, and the Gunpowder Plot feature in a show which'll have kids fascinated by history... without even realising they're learning stuff. Until 31 August
ALICE IN WONDERLAND: Take a final trip down the rabbit hole with a puppet adaptation of Alice in Wonderland at Marylebone Theatre. Look out for the Cheshire Cat, the White Rabbit and co as you follow Alice on her adventures through a topsy-turvy world. Until 31 August
GORGEOUS GEORGIANS: West London National Trust property Osterley Park & House has teamed up with Horrible Histories for a family-friendly trail themed around the Georgians. Explore the house and grounds as you take part in 10 activities giving you an insight into Georgian life. Included in admission ticket. Until 31 August
THEATRE ON KEW: The Theatre on Kew summer run comes to an end this week, with final performances of two shows. Enjoy an afternoon in the gardens followed by an evening watching Shakespeare's Macbeth under the stars, or take the family along to a morning or afternoon showing of The Dream Fairies - Adventure through Bubble Land. Until 31 August
YOSHITOMO NARA: Hayward Gallery at Southbank Centre holds the largest European retrospective of one of Japan’s most celebrated artists, Yoshitomo Nara. View more than 150 works in drawing, painting, sculpture, installation and ceramics — with themes of resistance, rebellion, isolation, freedom and spirituality. Until 31 August
FREE CIRCUS FESTIVAL: Performing arts festival Greenwich + Docklands International Festival (or GDIF) takes over Greenwich Peninsula for a weekend of free circus performances. The UK premiere of Ripple fuses contemporary circus and engineering centred around a giant metal spiral, while The Scale, taking place on London's only rooftop basketball court, explores the theme of gravity. FREE, until 6 September
Saturday 30 August
THE PRODUCERS: Mel Brooks' musical adaptation of The Producers is back in town, opening at the Garrick Theatre, and telling the story of a struggling Broadway producer and accountant who attempt to create the biggest flop in theatre history... only for it to be a roaring success. 30 August-February 2026
COMMUNITY CELEBRATION: Chiswick House holds an open studios and family day to celebrate the opening of its brand new Artist Studios. Head to the Kitchen Garden for creative workshops with crafting stations, a chance to contribute to a clay garden, a nature trail, and the opportunity to visit the new studios and meet the artists. FREE, 10.30am-3.30pm
STREET PARADE: Colours of Redbridge is a free community arts festival, kicking off today with a nature-inspired street parade in Valentines Park, choreographed by STOMP co-founder, Carl Smith. There's a relaxed version of the parade, with no music or loud effects, in the morning, followed by the main show in the afternoon. FREE, 11.30am/2.30pm
BOAT PARTY: Dance the afternoon away on a boat, cruising up and down the Thames. Board the Golden Star at Temple Pier for four hours of DJs including Don Mac, Coordinated and Will Konitzer — and if that's not enough for you, there's an after party at the Horse and Groom in Old Street once the boat docks. 12pm-4pm
CHELSEA WOMEN: Head to the Kingsmeadow Stadium in Kingston to watch Chelsea Women play AC Milan Women in a friendly, ahead of the first Women's Super League game of the season on 5 September. K/O 1pm
101 DALMATIANS: Starring Britain's Got Talent winner Sydnie Christmas as Cruella De Vil (in selected performances), alongside JLS star Aston Merrygold and TV host Jeff Brazier, 101 Dalmatians - The Musical brings Dodie Smith's doggy classic to life. Today is your last chance to see the puppet-centric stage adaptation of the pooch-punctuated book/film, at the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith. Age five+. 1pm/5.30pm
SHARD SILENT DISCO: Make your way up to the View From The Shard late on Saturday night, for a silent disco 800ft above the capital. Through glowing LED headphones, pick from three DJs, each spinning tunes from a different genre, and dance into the early hours of Sunday while enjoying dizzying views over the capital. 10pm-1am
Sunday 31 August
PALACE STORYTELLING: Buckingham Palace marks the final Sunday of the summer holidays with a series of family storytelling sessions, included in a State Rooms admission ticket. Once you've toured the State Rooms, head to the Family Pavilion overlooking the Palace Gardens for a garden-inspired performance by Time Will Tell Theatre. 11.30am/12.30pm/2.30pm/3.30pm
FAMILY RAVE: DJ Joy Alarm spins the tunes at the Hotsy Totsy Family Rave at Big Penny Social in Walthamstow. Aimed at under-eights and their families, the event combines music and dancing with face painting and props. 10am-12.30pm
FRINGE FIX: Underbelly Boulevard Soho kicks off its new series Fringe Fix, bringing a curated selection of performances from this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe to London, spanning comedy, cabaret, theatre and musicals. This afternoon, that takes the form of sci-fi inspired, cinematic shadow puppetry show Space Hippo, and surrealist comedy show 3 Chickens Confront Existence. 3pm/7pm
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE: It is a truth universally acknowledged that stage adaptations of Jane Austen's novels are everywhere right now. Today it's the turn of Fulham Palace, which hosts theatre company Illyria for an open-air performance of Pride & Prejudice. Pack yourself a picnic and a rug or small chair and watch Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy's story unfold. 5pm-7.30pm
HUMAN INJUSTICES: Today's BBC Proms event at the Royal Albert Hall features a programme that reflects on human injustice. Pekka Kuusisto and the strings of the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra perform Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 8, which contemplated the Allied bombing of Dresden during the Second World War. That's followed by songs by Katarina Barruk, one of only a handful of remaining speakers of the Ume Sámi language. 7.30pm
INTERSTELLAR: Out-of-this-world film Interstellar is the star, so to speak, at Rooftop Film Club Stratford tonight. Watch Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain and Michael Caine in this film set in a dystopian future, where a group of astronauts venture through a wormhole near Saturn in order to find an alternative habitable planet for humanity. 8.10pm
