Family festivals bring together food, activities and entertainment, all in one place. In other words, they basically plan a whole day out for you.
We’ve just finished our yearly sweep of London’s best family festivals. 2026’s line-up is full of street parties and outdoor shows. But the biggest surprise perhaps was how many are completely free.
So we broke things down into paid family festivals, free ones and neighbourhood events. To jump ahead, just click below:
If you know exactly what you’re after, here’s a quick table:
| Who for? | Loopla’s pick |
|---|---|
| Toddlers | Little Angel Theatre Puppet Festival |
| Bookworms | London Children’s Literature Festival |
| Nature lovers | Dragonfly Festival |
| Musical fans | West End Live |
| Budding artists | Saatchi Gallery Summer Solstice Festival |
| Aspiring singers | Sounds Sublime Choral Festival |
| Best big family festival | Kaleidoscope Festival |
| North London families | Hampstead Summer Festival |
| East London families | Greenwich+Docklands International Festival |
| South London families | Northcote Road Summer Festival |
| West London families | Kew Fete |
Related:
London’s best paid family festivals for summer 2026
London Children’s Literature Festival
The UK’s largest children’s literature festival. Across two days in Barnes, dozens of authors and illustrators run talks and workshops in halls, churches and a marquee. This year’s names include Hugh Bonneville, Liz Pichon and Robin Stevens. Some events are already sold out, so we recommend booking early or keep a back-up in mind.
(We also recommend signing up to our newsletter for London parents. That way, you get more notice when the really popular events go on sale.)
Date: Saturday 27 – Sunday 28 June 2026
Where: Barnes, SW13
Prices: Events from £10
East London Shakespeare Festival: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
This year, one of Shakespeare’s funniest plays will be showing outdoors in parks all over London (despite this festival’s name). This adapted version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream will have slapstick, songs and plenty of audience participation, so kids don’t get bored. We recommend bringing chairs or a blanket, as seats aren’t provided.
Date: 5 June – 23 August 2026
Where: Various London parks
Prices: Varies by venue
Kaleidoscope Festival
The family area at Kaleidoscope is a mini festival within a festival. Along with (arguably) London’s best views, you get to enjoy silly science, disco yoga and the world’s tallest bubbleologist.
Date: Saturday 11 July 2026
Ages: All ages
Where: Alexandra Palace Park, N22
Prices: Adults from £70.40
Big Beat Playground Summer Festival
A dance music festival built for families is a rare thing. This year, Big Beat Playground has a new home at Finchley’s Victoria Park. But you can still expect the old favourites: confetti cannons, willow weaving, have-a-go circus sessions and giant Jenga.
Date: Saturday 11 July 2026
Ages: All ages
Where: Victoria Park, Finchley, N3
Prices: Adults from £15.05
Dragonfly Festival
The London Wetland Centre’s summer festival is our top pick for little nature-lovers. The six-week event involves pond-dipping, outdoor games and dragonfly safari.
Date: Saturday 18 July – Monday 31 August 2026
Ages: All ages
Where: WWT London Wetland Centre, SW13
Prices: Adults from £18.85 (10% off when you book online)
Sounds Sublime Choral Festival
A day of choral music at St James’s Church Piccadilly curated by one of Britain’s leading choirs. There are lots of ways to join in for kids who like to sing, as they do workshops as well as concerts.
Date: Saturday 11 July 2026
Ages: All ages
Where: St James’s Church Piccadilly, W1J
Prices: Workshops £5 – £10 (some concerts free)
Little Angel Theatre Children’s Puppet Festival
A month-long puppet festival marking the Little Angel‘s 65th birthday. The show we’re most excited about is the world premiere of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, performed with marionettes.
Date: Tuesday 28 July – Sunday 30 August 2026
Ages: All ages
Where: Little Angel Theatre + Little Angel Studios, N1
Prices: Adults £15.50, kids £13.50
Best free family festivals in London for summer 2026
Wanna Play? Festival
At Wanna Play? Festival, kids can dream up play spaces in workshops led by architects and designers. The Alexandra Palace event will also have live graffiti, a Skate Jam and breakdancing lessons.
Date: Saturday 13 June 2026
Ages: All ages
Where: Alexandra Palace Park, N22
LSE Festival Family Day
A family day on the LSE campus, part of the university’s annual festival. This year’s theme is “How to save the planet.” It’s a serious question but they tackle it through games, cookie decorating, face painting and beaver workshops. Some of these activities are ticketed (and selling out fast).
Date: Saturday 20 June 2026
Ages: Varies by activity
Where: LSE Campus, WC2A
West End Live
Two days of free musical theatre in Trafalgar Square, performed by real West End casts from big shows. It’s the cheapest way to find out which ones your kids would actually sit through. We suggest going on Sunday, the quieter day and a safer bet with little ones in tow.
Date: Saturday 20 – Sunday 21 June 2026
Ages: All ages
Where: Trafalgar Square, WC2N
Windrush Homecoming Celebration
A free day of Caribbean music, carnival costumes, crafts and food in Kentish Town to mark Windrush Day. There are sports activities for kids, plus DJs and live performances for everyone else.
Date: Saturday 20 June 2026
Ages: All ages
Where: Talacre Gardens, NW5
BST Hyde Park Open House
Between the big BST Hyde Park concerts, they do free midweek Open House days with family activities. This festival covers a wide age range. Kids can try cricket with Lord’s coaches, watch Paddington at the outdoor cinema or pretend to drive a real digger. They even have baby sensory sessions.
Date: Monday 29 June – Thursday 2 July & Monday 6 – Thursday 9 July 2026
Ages: All ages
Where: Hyde Park, W2
Young V&A Summer Festival
This festival marks the Young V&A‘s third birthday, at the children’s museum in Bethnal Green. Circus performers, a community orchestra and South Asian dance will be popping up across the galleries all afternoon. Elsewhere, kids can drop into circus workshops on the lawn or make a bracelet for a friend.
Date: Saturday 4 July 2026
Ages: All ages
Where: Young V&A, E2
Camden Mela
Camden Mela is a free celebration of British South Asian culture at Coram’s Fields. A mela is a South Asian fair, and this one will involve live Bangladeshi music and dance. You also have more than 50 stalls to browse, selling food, fashion and handicrafts. Being in Coram’s Fields, you get to explore one of the best playgrounds in London.
Date: Sunday 12 July 2026
Ages: All ages
Where: Coram’s Fields, WC1N
Coram’s Fields Play Day 2026
Speaking of Coram’s Fields: the park turns 90 this year, and Play Day is their birthday party. It’s a free afternoon of games and activities celebrating every child’s right to play. Adults can only get in if they bring a child.
Date: Wednesday 5 August 2026
Ages: All ages
Where: Coram’s Fields, WC1N
King’s Cross Summer Sounds
Eleven days of free live music at Coal Drops Yard, now in its 11th year. You can see everything from folk and jazz to classical but the best time for families to go are the Sundays, from 1pm to 6pm.
In terms of London’s best outdoor spaces in summer, Coal Drops Yard is a personal favourite with us. You’ve got great food markets, two kids’ playgrounds, free pétanque and a screen on the canal showing films.
Date: Thursday 13 – Sunday 23 August 2026
Ages: All ages
Where: Coal Drops Yard, King’s Cross, N1C
Black On The Square
A free celebration of Black British culture, held on Trafalgar Square at the end of summer. Full details are yet to be confirmed but last year involved a family zone with hands-on kids’ activities. More generally, you can expect music, performance and street food, all in one of London’s most iconic settings.
Date: Saturday 5 September 2026
Ages: All ages
Where: Trafalgar Square, WC2N
Greenwich+Docklands International Festival
GDIF 2026 is 17 days of free outdoor theatre, circus and dance across east and south-east London. One of our favourites from last year was Above and Beyond, where eight parkour performers scaled the buildings of Woolwich accompanied by a live choir. This year they have Do Birds Dream Of Flying, an aerial dance show performed at the tip of a rotating, swinging ladder.
Date: Friday 21 August – Sunday 6 September 2026
Ages: All ages
Where: Various east and south-east London venues
Local family festivals across London this summer
Marylebone Summer Festival
For dog lovers, Marylebone Summer Festival is probably our best recommendation in terms of family festivals. It’s a one-day street festival taking up the high street and beyond, plus Paddington Street Gardens for live music in the evening. It will involve wellness sessions, a family area and this year’s new addition: Bark in the Park, a programme just for dogs.
Date: Sunday 14 June 2026
Where: Marylebone High Street & Paddington Street Gardens, W1U
Kew Fete
Our top pick for West London families looking for an old-school fete. Kew Green will be taken over by bunting, a vintage fairground and more than 120 stalls. The highlight for many is the Friendly Dog Show, judged by a celebrity each year. There’s also a tug of war that anyone can join, kids included.
Date: Saturday 20 June 2026
Where: Kew Green, TW9
Hampstead Summer Festival
The two-week Hampstead Summer Festival is bigger than ever. This year it will involve five events taking place at Keats House and Heath Street. The family highlights are the Garden Party (with a magician, birds of prey and giant chess) and the Big Fair, which will have 110 stalls and a kids’ circus school. There’s family-friendly open-air theatre too, though that one’s ticketed.
Date: 21 June – 5 July 2026
Where: Keats House Garden & Heath Street, NW3
Northcote Road Summer Festival
Battersea’s traditional shopping street will swap its traffic for stalls, street food, arts and crafts, and live music for a day. The Northcote Road Summer Festival will also have a big screen showing the Wimbledon finals, plus strawberries and cream on sale. The other fixture is the annual Dog Show, where local pups take to the catwalk.
Date: Sunday 12 July 2026
Where: Northcote Road, SW11
Grand Junction Family Festival
Grand Junction Family Festival is a two-day community event at a Grade I listed church in Paddington. They will have maypole dancing workshops, face painting, crafts and DJs. On each day there’s a different family theatre show: Let’s Talk About Socks on the Wednesday, Wolf Boy on the Thursday. Both are free but you need to book tickets ahead.
Date: Wednesday 26 – Thursday 27 August 2026
Where: Grand Junction at St Mary Magdalene’s, W2
The quickest way to find free family fun in London
With pop-ups offering free food and fun activities happening every week, London is one big festival for families.
To avoid missing family events near you, sign up for Loopla’s newsletter. Every week we uncover special offers, hidden gems and popular events to book before they sell out.