Walnuts are now firmly embedded in our autumn cultural calendar as ‘Croydon Harvest featuring the Walnut Fair’ returns to the town centre for a third year. If you attended year 1 or year 2, you’ll know what to expect: an abundance of quirky happenings in the form of outdoor arts, live music, global folk traditions, storytelling and craft workshops. The celebrations take their inspiration from Croydon’s historic Walnut Fair, where folk flocked to Croydon from the 1300s onwards to buy (amongst other goods) – you guessed it – walnuts, whilst being entertained by theatre, circus and so on.

This year’s free celebrations take place on the weekend of 3 and 4 October in The Queen’s Gardens, Croydon Clocktower, David Lean Cinema, Surrey Street, Katharine Street and the High Street.

Hope the Hedgehog at Croydon Harvest 2025 (by PA Images)

One commission I’m most intrigued about is The Learned Pig by artist Matt Rudkin, as this links directly back to the historic Walnut Fair, where fair-goers had their fortune told by a pig (yes, I know, you’d need to see it to believe it!).

Culture Croydon always spoils us with wonderful acrobatic spectacles at their events, and I don’t think this one is going to disappoint. The Farm Yard Circus is bringing us group acrobatics, juggling, theatre and live music with an animal theme, and SeeSaw will be entertaining us with an interactive sensory circus experience particularly aimed at disabled and neurodivergent children and families.

Vauxhall City Farm has been a favourite with kids in past years (and, erm, me, if I can stroke a sheep!) and they will be back again in The Queen’s Gardens.

Left: Vauxhall City Farm (by Richard Battye). Right: TOAST (Arts by the Sea)

I do love a theatrical walkabout, and I’m hoping this year our now three-year-old won’t be frightened of the giant hedgehog (called Hope) who will be roaming our streets, constructed from recycled materials. (Who can be afraid of an ‘animal’ named Hope?)

And if you prefer your theatre in one location, Pif-Paf Theatre’s TOAST sounds brilliantly bonkers, as we can apparently expect flying pancakes, singing, dancing, nine-tailed dogs, Cypriot doughnuts and wild grannies. (The latter I’m particularly intrigued to see!)

There’ll be plenty more music and dancing across the weekend too, with folk sounds spanning Klezmer, Balkan and Irish music to Ugandan roots and 60s pop. The global dance programme is just as varied, with Polish folk and Jamaican Quadrille dancing alongside fast-paced Vietnamese Bamboo Dancing.

Left: Farm Yard Circus. Right: Harvest Moon Harvest Home – Jenny Steele Participatory Textile Installation

The David Lean Cinema is getting involved this harvest, where Small World Cinema takes up residence for a family programme including Cinemini, nature-inspired activity for toddlers and the family film Oink (about a pig presumably).

There’s also fruit and vegetable carving (a good warm-up to our Halloween pumpkins) and many other types of crafting, including the opportunity to take part in a new sculpture centred around the tradition of plaited wreaths.

And just for adults, you’ll be able to book a historic pub tour in and around Surrey Street, as well as explore Croydon’s 750-year-old market.

*I do still think there should be some walnuts on sale, but maybe next year…

The 2026 Walnut Fair and harvest celebrations take place on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 October between 12 and 5pm. Find out more information about the weekend’s events on the Culture Croydon website here.

Images courtesy of Culture Croydon (header image Farm Yard Circus).

Posted by Julia