Culture

On the sixth day of Christmas

14 November 2024

… my true love sent to me, the LMP brass band playing… OK, I’m shoehorning metaphors again. I’m actually talking about the sixth day of December, so read on. We are only at the...
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4000 years of toys

7 November 2024

Last month during the Walnut Fair weekend we finally made it along to Pollocks Toy Museum, which has its current temporary home near Turf Projects in the Whitgift Centre. One of the oldest toy...
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A spooky story with Hip Hop

31 October 2024

This year the spooky season spills into November as Stanley Arts’ Days of the Dead Festival takes place next week. On the festival programme there is a new immersive theatre production called Selecting a...
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Early Cro Cro catches the worm

24 October 2024

Ok we may have twisted an idiom to the max there, but we are very excited to announce that our baby and Croydon’s much-loved indie and alt-rock festival, Cro Cro Land, is making a...
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Desmond and Desrene

17 October 2024

October is of course Black History Month, and as part of the borough’s culture programme, there is a series of events happening on the last weekend of the month, called Reclaiming Narratives, which shines...
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Croydonites: the monster edition

9 October 2024

It’s Autumn and that means Croydonites is back very soon. In fact the theatre and performance festival is back x 2, because they are hosting their first ever Fringe Festival from Thursday 31 October...
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Creative buzz by the park

3 October 2024

A couple of weeks ago I spent my Friday evening holding a paintbrush and sipping prosecco at Hive – the new arts space on the edge of the leafy rec in the heart of...
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Did someone say walnuts?

26 September 2024

Did you know that there used to be a Walnut Fair in Croydon? When I say ‘used to be’ we’re talking a long long time ago – if we discount the 1987 revival at...
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The story of Central Library

18 September 2024

As Open House Festival continues around London, a series of events are on the programme celebrating Croydon’s Central Library building and its striking design. Croydon’s first Central Library moved into the Clocktower in Victorian...
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Croydon places by Croydon people

12 September 2024

Earlier this week I went to a charming photography exhibition about Croydon architecture at Stanley Arts. ‘Framing Croydon: The Buildings that Shape us’ is a community-based exhibition that explores the buildings and places which...
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Uncovering Croydon’s buildings

5 September 2024

It’s September, which means the Open House Festival is just around the corner. As a bit of an architecture fan, it’s a festival I always look forward to, especially as the nosy part of...
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Drawing nature

28 August 2024

It seems fittingly summery, to finish August immersed in nature. So this week we chat with our current social media artist and Croydon resident Mirri Rowland who runs Drawn to Nature. A watercolour artist...
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A right royal party

21 August 2024

Looking for local things to do to kick off the bank holiday weekend? Well look no further than the Queen’s Gardens Party (see what they did there with the name) which takes place this...
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Party in Purley

15 August 2024

Yes, it’s the middle of August and it feels like we’ve got weeks and weeks of lazy summer days where we can soak up the holiday atmosphere, before we need to brush off our...
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Croydon speaks out

1 August 2024

Back in April we featured Shaniqua Benjamin’s multi-generational project called ‘Out of Silence’ which is her final project as Croydon’s Poet Laureate. In case you missed it, the project engaged a diverse mix of...
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Happiness is Creative Croydon

25 July 2024

This year the Creative Croydon exhibition took on a bit of a different format. We teamed up again with Croydon BID and our alter ego 31% Wool (aka our day job) to curate the...
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Hetain Patel’s hobby heaven

18 July 2024

I’m sure most people have collected something at some point in their lives: I used to collect badges and keyrings; Angela, Beanie Babies; my parents, teapots… Why am I telling you this? Well a...
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Mini Pride, major party

11 July 2024

In just over a week Pride returns to Croydon. This year it’s billed as Croydon’s Mini PrideFest, because it’s on a smaller scale than the previous years’ celebrations in Wandle Park. Earlier this year...
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Croydon goes to Edinburgh

4 July 2024

Summer is well under way, so for many performers that means decamping to Scotland for ‘The greatest platform for creative freedom in the world.’ Yes folks, I’m talking about the Edinburgh Fringe. This week...
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Fusing drums, pringles and jazz

27 June 2024

Did you know that drumming can boost your IQ? Well Croydon drummer Bella Matthews must be very smart, as earlier this year, she was the only female finalist out of 10 young drummers in...
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