FEATURE: BLOOMSBURY FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
Published: 20 October, 2011
YOU may think Bloomsbury is all about literature – but as this taster of the jam-packed programme this Saturday and Sunday shows, there is more to the area than the well-known writers that made up the Bloomsbury Set...
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Saturday, 10am-6pm;
Sunday, 11am-5pm
Artist Ben Ashton’s Polyhedral art structure in Queen Square will be used throughout the festival to capture stereoscopic scenes. The Art Workers’ Guild plays host to an exhibition of Ashton’s work, explaining the evolution of the project.
Affirmative
It’s K-9!
Saturday, 3pm-4pm
Suitable for ages 6-plus.
Come and meet K-9, probably the most famous cyberdog
in history and his keeper Dale Who, and hear some of his
many stories about all the Doctors.
Cartoon Museum
Saturday, 10.30am-5.30pm,
Sunday, noon-5.30pm
From Dennis the Menace to Steve Bell, Hogarth to Ronald Searle and Heath Robinson to Bunny Suicides, the Cartoon Museum shows the best of British cartoons, caricatures and comic strips from the 18th century to the present. Free entry with the festival programme.
Grant Museum of Zoology
Saturday, 11am-4pm
Founded in 1828, the Grant Museum is the only remaining university zoology museum in London and houses around 67,000 specimens. Discover these and the many skeletons, and mounted animals
including the Tasmanian Tiger or Thylacine, the Quagga, and the Dodo.
Food Market and Bar
Saturday, 10am-8pm,
Sunday,11am-5pm
Featuring many wonderful local foodie businesses who have re-located to Russell Square for the weekend, the scrumptious Festival Food Market is a necessary stop-off point to re-fuel in-between activities.
In Sickness and in Health
Sunday, 11am-1pm
Join Richard Barnett, author of Medical London, as he leads a walk that uncovers Bloomsbury’s dark past. Once desperately poor and crammed with slums, it has also been a crucible of medical reform.
Philosophy of Taste Tutored Wine Tasting
Saturday, 7.15pm-9pm
Professor Barry Smith from the Institute of Philosophy, will talk you through the delights of the grape: from the sound of the cork to the heavenly aromas, the silky texture in the mouth to the lingering taste on the tongue. Glass in hand, we ask whether we can know the real taste of a wine and whether we can ever share that experience with others.
SOAS World Music Stage
Saturday, noon-7.30pm,
Sunday,noon-5pm
A two-day programme of world music, selected by the world music specialists at the SOAS Music Department in Russell Square. Come and listen to wonderful music from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe, featuring Laye Sow (Senegal), Ayarkhaan (Sakha/Siberia), Amira Kheir (Sudan), Shavnabada (Georgia), Rún (Celtic music), Harare (Zimbabwe).
• The Bloomsbury Festival runs from October 21-23 at various venues and times. All events are free. A full programme is available online at www. bloomsburyfestival.org.uk