London Bankside/Coventry October Plenty

Where: Coventry at the Cathedral ruins (Formerly London - Starting at Bankside near the Globe Theatre and processing to Borough Market)
When: A Sunday late in October
Time: Noon

 

October Plenty is a harvest festival celebration of the bounty of autumn and is a fusion of old customs with modern street theatre. It was held in London each October until 2025, starting outside the Globe Theatre on Bankside in London, and it took place whatever the weather, free of charge. In 2025 it’s moved to Coventry so all the traditional figures should be there such as the Corn Queene, Hobby Horse and Berry Man, the autumnal incarnation of the green man complete with an apple tree. The proceedings get underway with  a procession which when in London wound its way to Borough Market followed by dancing, performances of plays and seasonal fare including cider. As the event is organised by professional actors the standard is very high! There are competitions for all ages, a story-telling orchard, singing and dancing and at the end the Corn Queene is dismantled and her many component parts are flung to the crowd (we took home a turnip!).

Helpful Hints

In 2023 the Bankside event took a break but in 2025 a revival took place at Coventry starting at the Cathedral ruins on Sunday 26th October, then processing to Fargo Village. 2026 details are yet to be announced.

This is a very family friendly event organised by the same team as Twelfth Night Celebrations. In 2012 when we went, it coincided with Apple Day so many of the events followed the theme, such as apple bobbing, competitions for the longest apple peel and apple tasting. There were also displays of bees and conker competitions. Borough Market itself had a very diverse and tempting array of goods on offer.

Click here for the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheLionsPart

Click here for the event website  : http://www.thelionspart.co.uk/octoberplenty/index.html





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