On the first weekend of October, the much-loved Croydon Harvest returns for the third time with a weekend of outdoor arts, live music, family fun and the spirit of the historic Walnut Fair, across The Queen’s Gardens, Katharine Street, the High Street and Croydon Clocktower.
Croydon Harvest takes its inspiration in part from The Walnut Fair, one of three major Croydon trade and pleasure fairs dating back to 1314. Travellers from far and wide would flock to the town during the first week of October to buy walnuts by the hundred; see circus, theatre, wax works and Wombwell’s animal menagerie; take part in the dancing booths; enjoy roasted goose and gingerbread; and even get their fortune told by a learned pig. Croydon Harvest reimagines that spirit for today, bringing together local communities, international traditions, contemporary outdoor arts and the everyday life of the town centre.
Carrying on the tradition, artist Matt Rudkin will bring to life The Learned Pig, through a new commission exploring the theatrical world of the Walnut Fair. The Farm Yard Circus will bring group acrobatics, juggling, theatre and live music with a farm-life inspired circus spectacle. And Vauxhall City Farm brings audiences up close with sheep, goats and all manner of smaller animals in The Queen’s Gardens.
Hope the Hedgehog, a walkabout artwork made from recycled materials. The Magic Shed offers an imaginative trail with maps, stickers and clues that lead to hidden fruit and vegetable babies, waking up three times a day with small surprises. The Museum of Memorable Trees arrives as a miniature exhibition on wheels, filled with tiny doors, soundscapes and stories, with visitors encouraged to add their own tree memories to the collection.
More animal magic will take place at the David Lean Cinema, where Small World Cinema takes up residence for a family programme including Cinemini, nature-inspired activity for toddlers and the family film Oink. Child-friendly drop-in fruit and vegetable carving from Fruitima will offer accessible formats and safer tools for younger participants. Young people with complex needs will not be left out of the fun, with interactive sensory circus experience SeeSaw aimed at disabled and neurodivergent children and families.
Pif-Paf Theatre’s TOAST takes audiences on a journey around the world and through the seasons with music, food, stories and dance: expect flying pancakes, singing, dancing, 9 tailed dogs, Cypriot doughnuts and wild grannies.
Folk music will take centre stage on a pop-up bandstand. The programme includes folk punk trio Ninotchka playing Klezmer, Balkan and Irish Folk Songs; folk singer-songwriter with Russian and Ingush roots, Daria Kulesh; art-folk originals from the West Country, The Fieldcaps and multi-lingual vocal harmony trio, Magic Number. The UK-based African fusion trio, The Ganda Boys, join the music programme, blending Ugandan roots with contemporary rhythms. Another trio, San Halen, will be performing close harmony renditions of Welsh, English and Spanish folk songs alongside reimagining’s of 60s pop, and Anglo-Brazilian duo Lambrego, mixing polyphonic melodies and rhythmic harmony.
A global folk dance programme complements – including Orleta with Polish folk dance and JÁNUKA with Jamaican style Quadrille Dancing. Audiences can also experience Vietnamese Bamboo Dancing, a fast-paced traditional folk dance where performers hop and step rhythmically between sliding bamboo poles.
There will be a host of crafting including the opportunity to take part in a new sculpture centred around the tradition of plaited wreaths with Harvest Moon Harvest Home led by artist Jenny Steele. Crafting continues with Malaysian Pocket Shrine workshops, inviting participants to create their own miniature shrines inspired by Southeast Asian traditions. Plus, historic pub tours (for adults only) and Surrey Street wanderings exploring Croydon’s 750-year-old market.
