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February Fun at WCU

 

 

February is such an exciting time of year!

We have had a great start to 2025 and February is set to be full of fun and artistic opportunities. We have had a great time at the Puppet Barge and have several schools starting arts adventures from textiles & recycling, murals to circus skills there’s plenty for everyone to be involved with some of our friends adventuring all the way to Sherwood Forest. February is also a time of celebration with the Chinese New Year and Valentine’s and Galantine’s day happening in February too there’s plenty to explore and enjoy.

This year, Chinese New Year began on January the 29th and there will still be plenty of parades and celebrations across the country to ring in the Year of the Snake. Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year, always falls between late January and mid-February.

The 2025 Chinese New Year festival in central London, organized by the London Chinatown Chinese Association (LCCA), took place on 1 and 2 February, but there are many ways to get involved this February as listed below.

You could:

  • Order from BAO's celebratory Taiwanese feasting menu during Lunar New Year for good luck and pick up a limited edition t-shirt or tote bag from the chain's Carhartt collaboration. 20 Jan-9 Feb
  • Book tickets to one of three exclusive screenings at BFI Southbank's Focus Hong Kong: Chinese New Year event, featuring works from Hong Kong filmmakers. 23-26 Jan
  • Eat your way through Din Tai Fung's menu of mouthwatering Year of the Snake specials, including fish jiao zi dumplings, "lion's head" pork meatball soup and golden twist cocktail. 24 Jan-9 Feb
  • Pick up a limited-edition almond cookie made with Todoli lemon zest and handtied with a symbolic red ribbon from Toklas Bakery, in collaboration with Poon's London25 Jan-12 Feb
  • Try the exclusive cobra sushi snake at inamo Soho featuring Scottish salmon, creamy avocado and fresh cucumber to signify good fortune, or opt for the vegan option with sweet peppers. 29 Jan-12 Feb

You could choose to enjoy a fun-filled family day out at Museum of the Home's Lunar New Year Family Day, where you can listen to stories and get creative with free arts and crafts sessions. 18 Feb There are many way you could celebrate the Year of the Snake at home too.

You could try these tips for celebrating Chinese New Year in London:

  • Learn Chinese New Year greetings: say "Xin Nian Kuai Le" (Happy New Year in Mandarin) or "Sun Nin Faai Lok" (in Cantonese).
  • Dress in red: red is the key colour of Chinese New Year. You can dress up with a red scarf, jumper or shoes – this will bring good luck for the coming year.
  • Enjoy special Chinese New Year food: order a whole chicken or try dumplings at top restaurants in Chinatown.
  • Buy something red: to bring luck to your year, Chinese tradition dictates that you should buy something red for yourself or your house.

Did you know that in Chinese culture, to “climb high and gaze far” on New Year’s Day or the following day brings good luck in business, career, study and fortune? Maybe you might take a trip on the London Eye or the IFS Cloud Cable Car, or head up to The View from The Shard. The sky Gardens are another great free option to do this.

 We love cinema at WCU and can’t wait until the next Into-Film, Film Festival but in the meantime, why not check out your local cinemas for some great holiday deals? For example, Cineworld’s Movies for Juniors screenings offer children's tickets for £2.50 and Odeon Kids has a deal where adults pay the same price as a child every day during the school holidays, as well as every Saturday and Sunday. If you are near a Vue, they have Mini Mornings screenings from 10am during the school holidays. Tickets for adults and children cost £2.49 each so it’s a great chance to get out and enjoy a movie together, just check in with your local venues to see what’s on, we often visit Odeon Camden, Vue Shepard’s bush and Westfield and they are all active in offering these schemes.

WCU has lots of workshops planned with our colleagues at Primary workshops and we love animal experiences. We have 2 Snakes at Queen’s Park and 3 Mentor Dogs in schools so far. If you love animals and meeting them up close, there is an excellent free opportunity this half term. You could try a free animal workshop the great staff at Pets at Home are offering free animal workshops for 4-11-year-olds this half term. You’ll receive free activity sheets, get to meet the animals and get a certificate too so it is well worth finding your local store to get involved. During half term, events will run at Pets at Home stores between 10 and 25 February, and you can learn how to take care of small animals and birds in the garden too to help give back to nature. You'll need to book a place in advance on the Pets at Home website so make sure you do this first!

Share the love and celebrate Valentine’s Day from the comfort of your home.You can make Valentine’s cards using recyclable materials from around your house. Turn a cardboard tube into a heart stamp and use newspapers and magazines to help decorate your creation.

How about cooking something delicious together at home? This year, supermarkets have rolled out an array of heart-shaped choices – from chicken nuggets to lobster pasta. Or you could go on a special experience or trail together and see something new. From winter light sculptures around Battersea Power Station to the Imagine Children’s Festival on London's Southbank, there’s plenty of free fun to enjoy. The Imagine Children’s Festival takes place over 11 days in the February half-term, with theatre, comedy, music, literature, poetry, dance designed for children aged up to 11. Plenty of events are free. Or you can try to spot the seven light art installations around Battersea until 25 February and enjoy live ‘glow shows’ from LED performers at weekends.

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