Croydon Harvest featuring the Walnut Fair 2026

Croydon Harvest is back for an autumn weekend of outdoor arts, live music, folk traditions, family fun and unexpected encounters across Croydon town centre.

Inspired by the history of Croydon’s Walnut Fair, this free festival celebrates the season by bringing together local communities, global traditions, contemporary performance and the everyday life of the town centre. Come along to meet a farmyard of animals in the heart of Croydon, take part in hands- craft activities, and follow folk dancers through the streets

Expect a lively programme of performances, making, music, animals, food, stories and participation. Meet The Learned Pig, a brand new walkabout commission by artist Matt Rudkin, bringing the first fortune-telling pig to Croydon since the Walnut Fairs of the 1790s, and enjoy Farm Yard Circus, a joyful mix of acrobatics, juggling, theatre and live music inspired by life on the farm.

Visit Vauxhall City Farm in The Queen’s Gardens, where you can meet sheep, goats and other friendly animals, or head to the David Lean Cinema for Small World Cinema, featuring Cinemini creative activities for toddlers and family screenings including Oink. Get hands-on with Fruitima’s fruit and vegetable carving workshops, with accessible formats and child-friendly tools, and enjoy free face painting throughout the weekend.

Families can also experience See Saw by Reallynice, an interactive sensory circus experience for small groups of disabled and neurodivergent children, including young people with complex needs, and their companions. Meanwhile, TOAST by Pif-Paf Theatre takes audiences on a journey around the world and through the seasons with music, food, stories and dance. Expect flying pancakes, singing, dancing, nine-tailed dogs, Cypriot doughnuts and wild grannies.

The programme also includes live folk music and dance, with performances from Ninotchka, Daria Kulesh, The Fieldcaps, Magic Number, Orleta and JÁNUKA. Join artist Jenny Steele for Harvest Moon Harvest Home, helping to create a collaborative artwork inspired by harvest traditions, discover Croydon’s fascinating past through historic pub tours and Surrey Street wanderings, and look out for a new artwork by Vic Lee celebrating the history of the Walnut Fair.

Market Stalls & Street Food

Browse a small craft and community market on Katharine Street, enjoy local street food on Surrey Street, and discover independent makers, artists and community organisations from across Croydon.

A Festival Inspired by the Walnut Fair

Croydon Harvest takes inspiration from the Walnut Fair, one of Croydon’s great trade and pleasure fairs, with a history stretching back to 1314. Travellers once flocked to Croydon each October to buy walnuts by the hundred, while fortune tellers, circus performers, traders and entertainers filled the town with spectacle and celebration.

Croydon Harvest reimagines that spirit for today, bringing together harvest traditions, contemporary arts, global cultures and local communities in the heart of Croydon.