Our fantastic pop-up bookshop is back!
Saturday 25 April, open from 9am
Venue: Beckenham Place Mansion
Back at the Mansion with its exciting, well-stocked pop-up bookshop will be local independent and festival bookseller Beckenham Bookshop.
The pop-up bookshop will be open all day from 9am, so you can pick up a copy of your favourite author's book for signing later and explore the colourful and diverse choice of books on display.
Visitors young and old, and everyone in between will find something to treasure at Beckenham Bookshop's pop-up.
Book-themed crafts, sewing machine work-shop and swap and shop
Saturday 25 April, 9.30am - 4pm
Venue: Beckenham Place Mansion
KYW Sewing School, at Beckenham Place Mansion, will be offering a kids sewing machine workshop, free drop-in craft-making, and a sewing-themed shop and swap.
9.30am - 12pm: Kids Sewing Driving Licence (7–14) Special price: £25 (normally £40), 12 spaces only
In this workshop, participants will learn to use a sewing machine while crafting a one-of-a-kind book bag featuring an exclusive pattern debuting at the event. Book early to secure your spot. If the morning fills up, the school will aim to add a workshop later in the day.
Afternoon Drop-in Crafts: 1pm – 4pm
Drop in and create a variety of book-themed crafts such as pom bookmarks, book page pinners and more surprises.
Additional Shop & Swaps
Sewing magazines, patterns, and books available for swap or sale.
Take a walk with
Wild South London
Saturday 25 April, 10.30am and 1.30pm
Venue: outside Beckenham Place Mansion (on the car park side of the park) - what3words link: https://w3w.co/lowest.crate.origin
Join Wild South London for a Wild Walk around Beckenham Place Park to celebrate spring and learn about the flora and fauna in the park.
Wild Walks are fun, free events that encourage people to get outside, explore local green spaces and enjoy feeling like a kid again. We’ll walk for up to two hours, depending on how everyone feels, stopping along the way to talk about what we’ve seen, read some passages from nature books and learn some facts about the natural world. These are not rigid guided walks or foraging walks, but Wild South London trustees will be on hand to point out species, answer questions and encourage walk attendees to share their knowledge along the way too!
Please ensure you wear suitable clothing and footwear based on the weather forecast. Some parts of the walk may be on muddy or uneven ground, but we will ensure we make it as accessible as possible. Please note that although we will not be eating or foraging for anything on this walk, we may point out and talk about species we have some knowledge of as foragers.
Children are more than welcome, if they are supervised by an adult at all times. Dogs are also welcome but must be on a lead whilst in the garden areas as per Beckenham Place Park's rules.
Follow Wild South London on Instagram to hear about other events: @wild_south_london
Price: Free of charge, booking needed
Swapping a book is as simple as ABC
Saturday 25 April, all day
Venue: The Homestead Courtyard
Do you have lots of books you have outgrown? Donate them!
Are your shelves full of books that you’ve already read? Swap them!
Or are your bookshelves bare? Choose a book or two to take home to enjoy.
Please ensure donated books are in great condition and suitable for children aged between 5-11.
On-the-spot poetry portraits with Helen Bowell
Saturday 25 April, 12pm – 1.30pm
Venue: a bench outside Beckenham Place Mansion
After her nature poetry workshop, Helen will set up her typewriter and write bespoke poems for anyone who'd like one, between 12pm - 1.30pm. The theme? Inspired by our beautiful surroundings, she'll be offering poetry plant portraits. What plant would you be, and what does that say about you? How can we learn more about ourselves by learning more about the natural world?
This is a unique opportunity to commission a prize-winning poet to pen a poem for you, a loved one, or even an enemy (no judgement). Helen will chat with you for 5-10 minutes, and then you can come back in 10 minutes for your bespoke typewritten poem. This service is pay as you feel, recommended £10-20/poem. Card accepted!
Food and farmers market joins the festival
Saturday 25 April, 10am - 3pm
Venue: outside Beckenham Place Mansion
Family-run weekly Beckenham Place Park Market will be bringing a string of local traders and produce to the festival this year.
Launched in Beckenham Place Park in March 2022, this market is the perfect place to support the local community by doing your weekly food shop. And you can sample some delicious hot food, with a promise of flavours from around the world!
The market is operated by The Food Market Company. Follow the market’s account on Instagram or @BeckenhamPlacePark on Facebook for updates.
Design a 'zine' and join a treasure hunt with Lewisham Libraries
Saturday 25 April, all day
Venue: The Homestead Courtyard
There will be plenty to engage all ages with Lewisham Libraries. Families can solve a fun treasure hunt and discover exciting new ways to read along the way.
Grownups can get creative by designing a page of our collective zine, while children have fun learning to draw their favourite book characters.
Browse a selection of our newest titles and discover our Zine Library. Plus try free audiobooks and find out about the exciting events and activities happening in the libraries this National Year of Reading.
Bromley Libraries supports early-career authors
Saturday 25 April, all day
Venue: The Homestead Courtyard
Bromley libraries will be sharing information about the vast range of resources, activities and support services on offer for everyone.
Come and find out about the GLL Literary Foundation, which supports early-career authors in continuing to write and inspire young readers.
The Foundation provides bursaries, training, and networking opportunities to authors who live, work or study near GLL's public libraries across Bromley and Greenwich.
Eco-crafting in action with Greener and Cleaner
Saturday 25 April, all day
Venue: The Homestead Courtyard
Greener and Cleaner will be onsite offering crafting activities for all ages. In the spirit of recycling and nature connection we will help you create a nature collage from unwanted magazines.
Drop in during the day to chat to our volunteers about the charity, our Community Hub and Repair Cafes and learn some tips and tricks for leading a more sustainable lifestyle, including energy advice. We’ll also have a selection of books from our library for browsing and sharing ideas.
Make your own cyanotype bookmark
Saturday 25 April, all day
Venue: The Homestead Courtyard
The first book illustrated with photographs was made possible by the cyanotype process, with its distinctive blue colour.
Photographer Anthony Jones will be returning to Books In the Park with a selection of cyanotype bookmarks and there will be an opportunity for visitors to make their own bookmark throughout the day.
Price: £5, no booking needed