February Fun Things

Yes, that’s alliterative. Kinda. If you say it like a 5-year-old. So there.

It’s almost the end of January! Whoop! January is a miserable, long, dark month, when no-one has any money. February, meanwhile, is a bit lighter and has my birthday in it, which is a cause for national celebration. And moreover, I’ve found some super-fun things to do so that you can celebrate as well. Woohoo!

First off, an extremely exciting collaboration is about to happen and I’m like the puppetmaster. The puppetmaster of toddler rave. Yes, it’s Big Fish Little Fish news and the collaborator is none other than my good friend and notable partystarter Christian Laing, of Buttoned Down Disco. We spent many happy nights dancing at Buttoned Down when we were younger, and many unhappy nights being beaten at Monopoly by Chris. It’s happening at The Bedford Arms, Balham on Sunday 8th Feb, and I am very, very excited. If you’re a fellow East Londoner, you can also catch the BFLF crew at Stratford Circus the day before. It’s a full on BFLF Weekender!

If that’s not enough toddler-dancing, then there’s another exciting party two weeks later. Taking things in a wistful indie direction rather than hands-in-the-air electropop, Nimble Arts present their very first Indiepop Tots event. Expect Belle & Sebastian, motown and bands too obscure for even us to own (and we have that blue album by Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci). It’s in Peckham on 22nd February and hosted by the lovely Becky, famous for her cello renditions of birdsong at The Dish and The Spoon. I’ll tell you this though – when the DJ puts on an entire Arab Strap album, you know it’s time to leave. I speak from experience.

Of course, the staple of February’s toddler-schedule is the Southbank Centre’s Imagine Festival. It’s going to be strange living more than a mile away from it this year, but I’d still like to pop down to visit the Pirate School (we went last year and it was one of the last things we ever did….before chickenpox confined us to home for the rest of our Kenningtonlives) and maybe even take in some children’s opera. One of the highlights this year is “Charlie and Lola’s Best Bestest Play” and I’m very pleased to say my old friend Nikki, at Mumsnet Lambeth, is running a competition to win tickets. Click here to enter!

The Imagine Festival has an “Alice in Wonderland” theme this year (flamingo croquet ahoy!) and that brings me neatly onto the last event I have in mind – a family fun day at the Rabbit Hole. Thanks to your support, it is still open and trading and it would be awesome to give it as much love as possible. It’s on the 8th Feb and should be a day of Wonderland games and silliness. Come on down!