21+ Amazing Things to Discover this June
21+ Amazing Things to Discover this June
Family activities, summer fun and the best of local theatre…
Pictured: Kingston Bear Trail
Family Fun
1 Kingston Bear Trail
Until 7 June
Follow the trail and embark on a bear hunt through Kingston! Discover 10 giant sculptures inspired by ‘We’re Going On A Bear Hunt,’ the animation based on the book by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury.
2 Love Wimbledon’s Local Market on The Piazza
1-2 June
Wimbledon Town Centre welcomes a mix of artisan stalls, from hot food and baked goods to homewares, art, accessories, and beyond at its monthly market.
3 Summer at Gatton: Picnic in the Park
Gatton Park, 2 June
Celebrate the start of summer with a picnic. Children’s activities include croquet, skipping, hoops, Jenga and other games. The park will be fully open to explore with walks around the rock garden, Japanese garden, lakes and more.
4 Great Big Green Week – Grow Urban Festival
Morden Hall Park, 8-16 June
Morden Hall Park’s Urban Ranger youth volunteering group have organised a host of events that promote greening and growing in London. There’ll be a ‘Hidden Gems’ trail and a ‘Recycle and Grow Pot Making Party’ on 9th June.
5 Wimbledon Village Stables Open Afternoon
8 June
The Stables will be open between 2 and 3 pm for visitors to look around. You can learn about the horse simulator and children can meet Mr Fudge, the miniature Shetland Pony, and they can also learn about how to look after the horses and ponies.
More fab things to do:
Art & Culture
1 The Queen’s Reading Room Festival
Hampton Court Palace, 8 June
The Queen’s Reading Room Festival will gather authors, experts, actors and literature lovers for one day in this magical setting where Shakespeare once performed. A top line-up of authors, experts, actors and literature lovers, including Harlan Coben, Lee Child and Helena Bonham Carter, come together for this festival, in a place where Shakespeare once performed with his King’s Men.
2 Sculpture Trail
Claremont Landscape Garden, 8 June – 14 July
Surrey Sculpture Society will be bringing a new outdoor exhibition to Claremont Landscape Garden this summer, with over 90 exhibits from some of Surrey’s finest artists to explore and purchase.
3 Portraits of the Maharanis
Sacred Heart Church Hall, Wimbledon, 12 June
This lecture draws on a stunning collection of portraits and photographs of Indian Maharanis. These beautiful portraits are brought to life with insights into their lives, memoirs, and the role they played.
4 Beyond Fashion
Saatchi Gallery, Chelsea, runs till September
Beyond Fashion showcases the work of acclaimed fashion photographers from around the world. The works demonstrate how fashion photography has developed to reflect on the reality of our lives, and to push at the boundaries of creativity.
5 Alistair McGowan
St Mary’s Barnes, 29 June
Alistair McGowan, one of Britain’s top impressionists and humourists, joins Barnes BookFest 2024 for a preview festival event to share his first anthology of poetry Not What We Were Expecting.
See what’s on at your local theatres:
Theatre
1 Closer to Heaven
Turbine Theatre, Battersea, 31 May – 30 June
With original club music composed by Pet Shop Boys, Closer to Heaven is a radical musical exploring queer lives at the turn of the Millennium.
2 The Comedy of Errors
Fulham Palace, 2 June
Enjoy an outdoor theatre production of William Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors performed by the Three Inch Fools in the palace’s picturesque walled garden.
3 #FromtheFringe
New Wimbledon Theatre, 3-29 June
New Wimbledon Theatre’s very own micro-fringe festival is back with a bang for 2024 with an eclectic, 24 show line-up.
4 Moffie
Riverside Studios, Hammersmith, 5-30 June
In 1979, Nicholas van der Swart is conscripted into the South African Defence Force and finds himself in a regime that demands absolute conformity, brute masculinity, racism, and bigotry.
5 The Railway Children
Rose Theatre, 7-8 June
This exciting, heartfelt story by E. Nesbit is given a fresh adaptation for the stage which remains faithful in essence to the original.
6 Drop the Dead Donkey
Richmond Theatre, 18-22 June
30 years since the launch of the trailblazing, smash-hit TV series, the Globelink News team are back and now live on stage for the very first time.
7 Sam Wu is NOT Afraid of Ghosts
Polka Theatre, Wimbledon, 22 June – 18 August
When a trip to the Space Museum goes terrifyingly wrong, Sam begins a mission to prove to everyone that he is a fearless space adventurer… Ideal for children 6-12 years.
8 Romeo and Juliet
Reigate Castle Grounds, 26 June
The award-winning outdoor theatre company ‘Illyria’ is set to visit Reigate Castle Grounds with an exciting production of Romeo and Juliet.
Music
1 The Speakeasy Party: Soulfunks
Ram Jam Records, Kingston, 1 June
Soulfunks are an eight-piece soul and funk covers band coming to the Speakeasy Party in June, with distinctive female lead vocals, and great harmonies backed by tight rhythm.
2 Wimbledon Symphony Orchestra
St Paul’s Church, Wimbledon, 29 June
A concert in celebration of WSO’s retiring leader, Charlotte Edwards. Featuring Bizet’s Carmen Suites Nos 1 and 2, Dvořák’s Romance for Violin and Orchestra and Respighi’s La Boutique Fantasque.
3 Wimbledon Community Chorus Summer Serenade
St Matthew’s Church, Wimbledon, 29 June
Wimbledon Community Chorus presents Summer Serenade, an uplifting evening of band and choral pieces, in honour of Armed Forces Day. The concert is a fundraising event, with profits going to the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal, and including a special guest, the Central Band of the Royal British Legion.
4 Taste of Twickenham
The Cabbage Patch, Twickenham, 30 June
The second year of this fabulous event celebrating food, music and culture in Twickenham. The Eel Pie Club is putting on a selection of excellent local bands in the Cabbage Patch Garden.
