Sport, Health & Physical Activity
Libraries, Heritage & Culture
Theatre & Music
Parks & Outdoor Spaces
Venue Hire
Join us to celebrate Black History Month with a fun-filled afternoon!
Get creative and make your own simplified headpiece, ready for a mini parade around the children’s library!
Craft: 11 am – 12 pm
Carnival Celebrations: 11 am – 1 pm
More information about the day at the desk.
Please note: This event is strictly family friendly with parent supervision.
Limited spaces and availability, first come first served.
Redbridge Festival of the Dead is back and for the first time ever will be held at 2 locations on 2 separate dates, so now you can have double the fun!
Don’t miss this vibrant family friendly celebration inspired by festivals and traditions from around the world.
Activities include:
Look out for the Lantern Company’s fabulous light parades full of infectious music, giant puppets, glamorous light up characters and cheeky skeletons.
Everyone (big and small) is invited to come dressed up in brightly coloured clothes or their favourite Day of the Dead inspired costumes to join in with the celebrations. Don’t forget to bring your glow sticks and torches!
Prizes will be given to the best dressed.
A limited number of workshops are available to book in advance with remaining spaces available to purchase on a first come, first serve basis. During busy periods we may limit the capacities inside the libraries to help keep everyone safe. More information will be available soon.
To view the full programme of activities visit our dedicated, Festival of the Dead webpage.
This project is supported with public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
This session will introduce kids to basic programming and train them to use their skills to make a robot move, light up and groove the way they want!
The Botley does not require a computer, which makes it a great screen-free way to teach kids code.
Ozobots are mini robots that use colour combinations to move the robot and are designed as an introduction to coding.
Botley’s are suitable for Ages 5-8.
Ozobots are for Ages 8-14.
Free – limited spaces, first come first served.
Booking required on the day at the library.
Grab your lanterns, masks and glowsticks to help bring Ilford alive in a grand spectacle of puppets led by The Lantern Company.
Take a moment to honour your loved ones and join the celebration of life – with Las Muertas stilt walkers and music from the Bollywood Brass Band.
The Ilford Procession will gather inside the library 30 minutes before the start of the event.
This project is supported with public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
Join storytelling adventurer Laura Sampson on a voyage through world folk and fairytale to a place where ancestors are remembered, where Death shows who they really are, and where creatures great and small can cross borders between the lands of the living and the dead. Expect silly tricks, talking skulls, long-lost loved ones, and lots more!
Laura Sampson is a London-based storytelling performer and writer, whose mixed heritage and myth studies have taken her on many adventures. She tells stories of surreal situations and big emotions from all over the world.
Story Times
1:00pm (relaxed,) 2:45pm, 4:00pm
All timings are approximate and subject to change on the day
Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England
Join storytellers Cat & Hutch for their interactive storytelling version of Paweł Pawlak’s Oscar Seeks A Friend.
When Oscar the skeleton meets a lonely little girl, it’s the start of an adventure for both of them. Together they make an unusual journey to two very different worlds and it all begins with them both losing a tooth…
Created in partnership with Lantana Publishing.
Cat & Hutch Storytellers bring children’s stories to life through interactive shows and workshops with the aim to encourage children to read for pleasure and use their imaginations to learn through play.
Drop-In, Free – No need to book!
Show Times
12:00pm (Relaxed Performance,) 2:00pm
(All times are appproximate and subject to change on the day.)
Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England
Join storyteller and actor Valentine Hanson for some spooky death themed storytelling as part of our Festival of the Dead activities at Wanstead Library.
Valentine Hanson is an actor, storyteller, and drama practitioner from and based in East London. His work includes performing at The Globe, The National Theatre, Leeds Playhouse, London’s West End and national tours. He has also performed at Discover Children’s Story Centre, various museums, libraries and community events around the UK, as well as SEN schools as a mentor for children, young adults and professional creative with additional needs.
Drop-In, Free – No need to book!
STORY TIMES
1:15pm, 15:45pm
All timings are approximate and subject to change on the day
Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England
We’re celebrating Green Libraries Week!
Calling all young people who would like to learn new skills!
Join Lisa from Recycle for Your Community for a fun hands on workshop where you’ll:
🔧 Dismantle a Handheld Games Console: and discover how it works on the inside.
🧩 Problem solve and work out what needs fixing.⚡ Create your own circuit and learn about electricity.
🛠️ Fix and Play: Once you’ve mastered the art of repair, it’s game on and you can play with the newly fixed console
FREE, book in advance
Join author Shyala Smith for this Interactive reading session of her new book The Language of Flowers – with a fun creative craft and colouring session where you can can make your own flower bouquets and cards!
Shyala Smith is a content strategist, author, and screenwriter whose stories center around navigating immigrant life and finding magic. Born and raised in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Shyala now lives in London with her family.
Booking Essential – Tickets are free, or you can pre-order a signed copy of the book!
Join us as we celebrate Black History Month with a special rhyme time led by local poet and storyteller, Jane Grell. Engage in lively, interactive rhythm games, songs, poems and stories from the African and Caribbean Oral Tradition.
This event is part of Black History Month
This event will take place instead of the regular rhyme time.
Free, drop in, no need to book