Share the love with family, friends and partners this Valentine’s/Palentine’s/Galentine’s Day, with plenty of events and activities taking place across Wimbledon from 13th February.
Snap a photo with family or friends at our new heart installation on The Piazza (located outside Wimbledon Morrisons). The perfect spot to create loving memories, that brings a pop of colour and joy to Wimbledon. Available from 13th – 18th February. Be quick – blink and it’s gone! Tag us @lovewimbledon on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and #LoveLocal.
If the way to their heart is through the stomach then dine out at intimate venues across Wimbledon such as Grilandia, now serving a delicious Valentine’s Day set menu. Cosy up with blankets on the beautifully-lit pergola at Lu-Ma and listen to the soothing sounds of live saxophone at their Valentine’s Supperclub. As you arrive you will be handed a love potion cocktail, followed by a candlelit three-course meal.
Laugh it up with a pal at CMYK’s Late Gay Valentine’s Comedy Show on Tuesday 15th February from 9-11pm, or join award-winning cabaret artist Aidan Sadler for some self-love at an Anti-Valentine’s Gay night on Thursday 17th February from 8pm.
Be a part of a dance flashmob with the family or enjoy a party-style boogie at new FREE dance workshops at Centre Court Studio. From 2-3pm on Valentine’s Day, enjoy a 30-minute Zumba party workshop followed by a 30-minute choreography session to learn a short flashmob sequence. Adults, groups, children and even small babies (pre-crawlers) are invited to have a wonderful experience together. Details are available here.
Love is definitely in the air across shops in Wimbledon. Show your love with a heartfelt gift from Elys’ curated Valentine’s Day edit, full of bubbles and all things sweet, and get free same day Click + Collect. Head to Centre Court Shopping Centre for subtle scents from The Fragrance Shop, delicate jewellery from Oliver Bonas or Pandora, or unique art from The Artist Collective. Or make it easy with the Wimbledon Gift Card, featuring 30+ shops, restaurants and theatres across the town.
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Whether you’re looking for family-friendly entertainment for the kids this half-term, some spooky seasonal adult fun or just great autumn events to welcome in the colder months, Wimbledon has an abundance of activity this October.
For the kids and free
The Wimbledon Hocus Pocus Trail kicks off on the 16th October (until 31st October). Dust off your broomsticks and hats and join Love Wimbledon’s FREE video-led trail around Wimbledon Town Centre. With your wands at the ready, begin at Fielders Art Shop and look for the Hocus Pocus poster. Scan the QR code, watch the videos of our wonderful wizard Merlin to find clues and solve the riddle. Be sure to make a stop at Multea Choice and Polka Theatre along the way for a special treat and pick up your certificate at the end of the trail!
For creative fingers, enter in a Pumpkin Decorating Competition before Monday 25th October for a chance to win a mystery prize at Fielders, or head down to Centre Court Shopping Centre’sNo Carve Pumpkin Station on 30th October (11 – 4pm) with themed games, stories and demonstrations. Plus the opportunity for children to have a go at dressing pumpkins using crafty goods, including bandages, glitter and more.
Wolves have seized power at Polka Theatre! Inspired by Little Red Riding Hood, discover the world of RED and voyage across Polka, through woods and swampland in an adventure like no other. Book your tickets here for this exciting visual and physical storytelling production and follow the action along with actors, exploring the brilliant new Polka Theatre building! Running until October 31st.
Why not make a day of it? Explore the wonderful newly-redeveloped Polka venue, featuring indoor and outdoor play spaces, a friendly café, a colourful kids shop stocked with children’s toys (puppets, creative kits, etc.), and a book corner to read with your child. The theatre is also hosting a Halloween Shadows creepy craft workshop on Tuesday 26th October, an Autumn Senses multi-sensory storytelling workshop on Friday 29th October and a Power Poets spoken word masterclass on Thursday 28th October.
Enjoy free Prosecco (or Nosecco) while taking part in Centre Court Shopping Centre’s autumn floristry workshop, Pumpkins and Prosecco. From 6.30 – 8.30pm on 21st October, join the session to choose a pumpkin from the locally sourced selection and be taught how to create a stunning autumnal floral display that you can take home beautifully gift-wrapped. All materials and equipment included. Finish your evening in Queen’s Rd Market bar with bespoke cocktails and live music on a Thursday night. Limited tickets are available.
Up for a night out? Many of the pubs and bars in Wimbledon are celebrating Halloween with special drinks or events.
Trick or treat yourself to a deliciously frightening evening at plant-based café Lu-Ma for their Halloween Supper Club, featuring canapés, cocktails and a 3 course meal: Friday 29th October, 7 – 9pm.
Fancy skipping the Halloween buzz? We’ve got you covered..
Listen to the soothing sounds of jazz in the tranquil surroundings of Lu-Ma café whilst enjoying your favourite meal and tipple, on Saturday 23 October 6-9pm for a very special Jazz Night with saxophonist Andy ‘Bones’ Shaw.
Indulge in foodie haven at our Local Market on The Piazza (Saturday 30th – Sunday 31st October, 11am – 6pm) located in front of Wimbledon Morrisons. Try superb street food, savour the aromas of freshly-baked bread or dive into decadent desserts, olives and cheeses – all whilst browsing unique art, bespoke jewellery, homewares and accessories from independent makers and creators.
Held in the intimate setting of the Studio at New Wimbledon Theatre, hear a unique and unusual story about friendship, love and loss, set to the sounds of live epic pop songs : Epic Love and Pop Songs is running from Saturday 19th October – Saturday 23rd October.
Laugh it up with live comedy every Saturday either at Queens Rd Market (7.30 – 10pm) or Tunnel 267 (8 – 10pm), or giggle away at LGBTQ+ venue CMYK every Tuesday for their Late Gay Comedy Show (9 – 11pm).
See what else is on this October in Wimbledon via our What’s On pages.
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Love Wimbledon often facilitates collaboration between Wimbledon businesses and local organisations, and recently helped RSPCA Wimbledon find much-needed storage space in the town centre, so that they can continue their animal welfare work.
When Putney Animal Hospital closed last year, RSPCA Wimbledon, Wandsworth & Sutton District Branch lost their Cat/Kitten Rehoming Centre, situated on the site. The branch manager, Laura Kennedy, approached the Love Wimbledon team to see if we could help the branch to find suitable premises to store their equipment and supplies for their animal welfare work in the area. The RSPA branch also supports Wimbledon Foodbank with a Pet Foodbank, and accepts and processes donations for their two charity shops in Earlsfield and Wandsworth. It was crucial to find available space to organise these vital activities.
Kevin Gallagher, Operations Manager at Love Wimbledon, approached the Centre Director of Centre Court Shopping Centre, Simon Plumb, to see if he could help. Simon kindly agreed to supply a unit (free of charge) for an initial 6-month period to Laura, and the whole branch, who were delighted and relieved at the news.
“As part of our ongoing effort to engage with the local community, we are pleased to be able to facilitate local enterprises in offering space and resources where we can. I personally am delighted to support such a worthwhile charity in a time where charities are in such need in the locality.”
– Simon Plumb, Manager of Centre Court Shopping
Laura, Branch Manager at RSPCA Wimbledon, Wandsworth and Sutton, also added:
“Many thanks to both Kevin from Love Wimbledon and Simon from Centre Court for helping us through this difficult situation, it has been a real lifesaver!”
Here at Love Wimbledon, we like to support great causes, where possible, and help build new connections for our businesses, which strengthens the interconnectivity in Wimbledon.
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A new store joined Centre Court Shopping Centre at the end of last year, bringing with it a trailblazing new movement which could change the way that we shop.
Zéro is Wimbledon’s first zero-waste shop, where all products are sold in bulk or without disposable packaging and, where possible, come from organic or fair-trade farming and from local producers. Simply bring your own containers and fill them to the level you want!
Previously located at Merton Abbey Mills, the zero-waste shop offers a simple alternative to excessive single-use packaging consumption with a wide range of ready-to-go bulk items, including: vegan and palm-oil-free shampoo bars, recycled toilet paper and organic salted vanoffee cashews.
We sat down (virtually of course) with one of the founders of the store, Alicia, to find out more about the new innovative store.
Tell us more about Zéro and where the inspiration for the store came from…
“In July 2018, we joined the “Plastic Free July” challenge and tried to give up on single-use plastic for 1 month. To our surprise the challenge turned out to be a daily uphill struggle and we realised that we couldn’t be the only ones who felt this way! We drew our inspiration for Zéro from the continental European model of zero-waste grocery shopping, where there is still a culture of going to specialised shops for individual items e.g. bakery for bread, cheesemonger for cheese, etc. We used to shop in such establishments when we lived in France and Italy and thought there was no reason why the model should not be replicable in the UK. After all, this is how all shops used to be in this country as well before supermarkets monopolised the market!”
Why did you choose Wimbledon as a location for relocation?
After 1 and a half years at Merton Abbey Mills in South Wimbledon, we wanted to find a bigger unit in a more central location. This has enabled us to retain some of our customers, which was very important to us whilst also reaching out to many many more. We believe that the idea of zero-waste living must become more mainstream and having a shop in a major shopping centre in a place like Wimbledon will hopefully help achieve this. Moreover, the move has allowed us to increase our product lines, as the new unit is larger, making it easier for customers to find everything they need and cut down on waste in more areas of their life.
What products do you and your customers love best?
We like to think that people find our range appealing as a whole! But that said, we have a large choice of household cleaning products available for refills, which have always been very popular. We love our new range of grains and pulses from Hodmedod’s which are all grown in the UK and are helping contribute to a resurgence in the popularity of traditional grains and pulses such as carlin peas and spelt.
How do you see your store contributing to the future of the zero-waste movement in Wimbledon?
We would like to think that our shop will inspire people and even other businesses to make a difference. Our shop is not only a place where people can find eco-friendly products, it is also an area where new ideas and conversations about sustainability can germinate. We have already learned so much from our customers, some of whom are also involved in other sustainable groups and activities in the borough and we hope we can continue to be part of this movement!
As an essential store, Zéro remains open over lockdown so pay them a visit and begin your journey to a zero-waste lifestyle! Many other independent stores have joined Centre Court over the last few months – click here to find out more so you can head down when they re-open.
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