Things To Do This Weekend In London: 4-5 February 2023

Things To Do This Weekend In London: 4-5 February 2023

All weekend

NUTELLERIA: Nutella nutters, this one's for you! Pizza Pilgrims opens a Nutella pizza kiosk outside its Carnaby store from Monday. Pick from a choice of chocolate bars to fill your dough rings, stop by for a coffee in the morning, or swing by later in the day for cocktails — including Ferrero Rocher espresso martinis. From 30 January

KEW ORCHIDS FESTIVAL: You know spring is on its way when the Orchid Festival returns to Kew Gardens, and this year's it's Cameroon's turn in the spotlight. Cameroon is home to some of the world’s most delicate and threatened orchids — some so rare their locations must be kept secret for their protection — so being able to see them in London is a real treat. They're accompanied by horticultural sculptures of some of Cameroon's wildlife, including giraffes, hippos and gorillas. 4 February-5 March

SIX NATIONS: England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France and Italy go head-to-head once again in the Six Nations rugby tournament, starting this weekend. Whoever you're cheering on, here's where you can watch Six Nations in London. 4 February-18 March

LAST CHANCE: This is the final weekend of Museum of the Moon at the Old Royal Naval College. See Luke Jerram's replica of the moon suspended from the ceiling in the Painted Hall, made lifelike using NASA imagery of the moon's surface. Until 5 February

An open jar of Nutella with some of the spread being spooned out
Dive into the good stuff in Carnaby. Image: Mikael Stenberg via Unsplash

KIDS' LIT FEST: Head to Herne Hill for a children's literature festival celebrating poetry, performance, writing and illustration. This weekend, take the kids along to an interactive storytelling session, a superhero workshop, author talks and more. 30 January-5 February

NEW EXHIBITIONS: Highgate's Lauderdale House launches two new free exhibitions for the start of February. Above The Blue City features paintings of London park landscapes by local artist Ruth Sallon, and Andrew MacDonald Portraits is the first solo exhibition by an accomplished artist who only took up painting in 2015. FREE, 1-27 February

STRICTLY LIVE TOUR: If you were glued to the latest series of Strictly, now you catch the live show, as the Strictly Come Dancing tour comes to The O2. Past contestants including Will Mellor, Ellie Simmonds and Tyler West are strutting their stuff. 3-5 February

UKRAINE PHOTOGRAPHS: The Imperial War Museum opens a new, free exhibition of photos of Ukraine by English/Swedish photojournalist Anastasia Taylor-Lind on Friday. The photos span the last nine years, since Russian forces annexed Crimea in 2014, and show how everyday Ukrainians have been impacted by the atrocities taking place in their homeland. FREE, 3 February-8 May

Saturday 4 February

People standing and sitting at a rooftop bar, with the London skyline including The Shard and the skycrapers of the City visible in the background. The patchy clouds in the sky have an orange tint.
Skylight launches a new brunch

FREE COFFEE: Social enterprise Fair Shot Cafe opens at its new location in The Yards, Covent Garden, on 1 February. To celebrate, 300 free coffees are being given out today on a first come, first served basis — get down there early to claim yours. The not-for-profit organisation helps disabled young people into work by offering them employment and training for a year, before helping them to find jobs elsewhere using their new skills. FREE, from 9am

HIP HOP BRUNCH: Rooftop bar Skylight Peckham teams up with cognac brand Hennessy to launch a new brunch. The Hip Hop Hennessy Brunch features cocktails, plus dishes including waffles with Hennessy syrup, all to a soundtrack of hip hop tunes. Choose between a ticket which includes an hour of bottomless cocktails and a brunch item, or one which simply includes a cocktail on arrival. 1pm-6pm

SEWING MACHINE MUSEUM: Today's the monthly opening of The Sewing Machine Museum, a little-known collection of 600 machines in Balham, including one which was gifted to Queen Victoria's daughter. Here's what happened when we visited in 2018. FREE (though charity donations welcome), 2pm-5pm

FILMMAKING WORKSHOP: 11-16 year olds are invited to Leighton House for a film screening, followed by a filmmaking workshop. The film being shown is a short, made by a Syrian refugee called Rima about her daughter, and the workshop is a chance to explore the themes of the film and master basic filmmaking techniques. 2pm-5pm

LAUREL & HARDY CABARET: Head to The Broadway in Barking to relive the golden years of an iconic comedy duo, thanks to The Laurel & Hardy Cabaret. The live tribute show features routines, songs and dances, along with screenings of classic film sequences. 2pm/7.30pm

Two actors sitting on stage in roles of Laurel and Hardy, complete with black bowler hats
The Broadway pays tribute to the work of Laurel and Hardy

ICE HOCKEY: Head to Alexandra Palace to see home ice hockey team Haringey Huskies face off against Guildford Phoenix. 5pm

CHURCH LIGHT SHOW: Tonight's the final night of the interior of St Martin-in-the-Fields church by Trafalgar Square being filled with sound and light. Space, The Universe and Everything is a show by Luxmuralis, exploring our relationship with planet Earth and beyond, using original footage of a rocket launch, and exploring the Big Bang, before climaxing with an awe-inspiring image of Earth as seen from space. 6pm-10pm

STEFF TODD: Comedian Steff Todd performs her new show at Bloomsbury Theatre and Studio. In the past, she's been the support act for Iain Stirling, Sara Pascoe, Rob Delaney and Dave Gorman — and earned herself a name as a skilled impressionist. 7.30pm

THE CUBAN BROTHERS: Lewisham pub The Fox and Firkin hosts RnB and soul duo The Cuban Brothers for a night of live music running into the small hours, alongside DJ Chris Tofu and DJ Hiphoppapotamus. 8pm-3am

STAMPTOWN: One for night owls, Stamptown at Soho Theatre is a late-night variety show hosted by clown Zach Zucker, and featuring a variety of surprise guest acts. Aisling Bea, Mae Martin and Rosie Jones have all made appearances in previous shows. 11pm

Sunday 5 February

A woman in red coat and orange backpark rummages through a rack of clothes. A sign on the rack says '£20 per kilo!'
Pick up a bargain at the East London Vintage Kilo Sale

VINTAGE KILO SALE: Tonnes (literally) of vintage and retro clothing and accessories are for sale at the East London Vintage Kilo Sale at The Art Pavilion in Mile End Park. It's priced per weight — £20 per kilo — with no minimum spend, though everything's reduced to £15 per kilo for the final hour, so worth holding out if you're on a budget. 10.30am-4pm

ISLINGTON GHOSTSIGNS: If you look up in the Islington area, there are plenty of ghostsigns (faded old advertising signs) to be seen. Join Footprints of London guide Jane Parker for a guided walk focusing on these intriguing signs, and learn more about the history of hand-painted ghostsigns and where to spot them. 11am-1pm

VINTAGE FAIR: Rummage through racks of high-end vintage goods at the Frock Me! Vintage Fair inside Chelsea Old Town Hall. 60 dealers of vintage and antique fashion and accessories will be present. 11am-5.30pm

CLOWN CHURCH SERVICE: After two years of online services, the Annual Grimaldi Clown Service is back at All Saints Church in Haggerston. Forget clowns in a Mini — this is a chance to see how many can pack into a church. Some seats are available for the non-clowning public, but you'll need to get there early if you want one. FREE, 3pm

A black and white photo of Isobel Waller Bridge. She has her eyes closed, and the high neck of her black jumper or coat covers her mouth
Isobel Waller-Bridge performs at Southbank Centre

ZOFFANY ENSEMBLE: Chamber music group the Zoffany Ensemble are back at Conway Hall for this week's Sunday Concert, with a programme including Beethoven’s only string quintet, as well as work by Mozart, and Michael Haydn, younger brother of Josef. 6.30pm

JERUSALEM ORCHESTRA: The Jerusalem Orchestra East & West reflects the diversity of Israeli society, with members from various religions, ethnicities and sectors. Hear them perform a blend of Berber-style North African music, pop, and jazz at Barbican today, accompanied by Moroccan singer and instrumentalist Mehdi Nassouli. 7.30pm

ISOBEL WALLER-BRIDGE: Best-known for her work writing music for film and TV, composer and pianist Isobel Waller-Bridge is at Southbank Centre for her debut UK show, in which she performs new work for the first time. And yes, she's the sister of Fleabag creator Phoebe. Talented family. 8pm

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