This year we're welcoming March with open arms – not only do we say hello to springtime, but also to a whole load of excellent events. This month brings us the likes of Vikings: Life and Legend at the Britain Museum, Classic Car Boot Sale along the South Bank and Designs of the Year at the Design Museum. Plus, don't forget to dig out your best green garms for St Patrick's Day, and be sure to mark Sunday March 30 in the diary: it's Mother's Day.
Below is a handful of great happenings in the city just this week. Got a tip for something hot happening next week? Tweet us your suggestion and it might just make our top ten!
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The ten hottest things to do this week
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Holi festival
From Tuesday
Holi celebrations take place from Tue Mar 11. Various London locations
If you start seeing rainbow-coloured soot billowing the capital – nobody’s burning a big pile of My Little Ponys, don't worry. It’ll just be hundreds of people chucking powdered paint at each other. The roots of this increasingly popular Technicolor pastime lie in the Hindu festival of Holi – an annual celebration held on the first day of spring (Holi falls on Monday March 17 this year). Though London's Holi events are often removed from the religious aspects of occasion, the same air of convivial fun and abandon are at their heart. Over the next few weeks, playful Holi parties are springing up around town, with the first taking place in Devonshire Square on Tuesday. The House of Holi is a pop-up pod in which revellers can dance in vibrant powder, with nearby restaurant Cinnamon Kitchen offering up scrumptious Holi-inspired snacks and cocktails as a tastier accompaniment to the paint particles.
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St Patrick's Day Parade
Sunday
Sun Mar 16. Trafalgar Square, WC2N 5DN
If anyone knows how to party, it's the Irish, and on St Patrick's Day they do it bigger and better than ever. London's annual paddy parade takes place this Sunday (which means, appropriately, that some of us may be looking pretty green the day after, Monday March 17, which is when St Patrick's Day actually falls). Find your Irish roots for the weekend and follow the St Patrick's Day Parade floats and marching band, which begin in Piccadilly at 2pm, then head to Trafalgar Square for a whole load o' craic – there'll be dancing, singing, Irish food, comedy and Gaelic-themed entertainment for the kids.
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Under the Skin
Released Friday
Released Fri Mar 14. Nationwide cinemas
ET landed in the cosy American suburbs and wanted to go home. Now Scarlett Johansson – or something that looks like her – lands in modern Glasgow and thinks about sticking around in Jonathan Glazer’s creepy, mysterious and bold ‘Under the Skin’. One can only guess that the weather is beyond dire on her side of the galaxy. The film is an adaptation of Michel Faber’s 2000 novel and the first in nearly a decade from the director of ‘Sexy Beast’ and ‘Birth’. It’s an intoxicating marvel, strange and sublime: it combines sci-fi ideas, gloriously unusual special effects and a sharp atmosphere of horror with the everyday mundanity of a woman driving about rainy Scotland in a battered transit van.
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RCA Secret
From Friday
Fri Mar 14 – Sat Mar 22. Royal College of Art Battersea, Dyson Building 1 Hester Road, SW11 4AN
The Royal College of Art's annual fundraising event is an exhibition and sale of postcard-size artworks, each priced at £50, which include drawings, paintings and photographs by RCA students, along with work by established artists, illustrators and designers and famous names. The secret bit is, however, that since the artist's signature is on the back of the postcard, you won't know for certain whose work you're buying until you've paid for it. Card viewing takes place online and at the gallery beforehand, with the actual postcard sale working on a first-come, first-served basis. This year's contributors include the likes of Grayson Perry, Yinka Shonibare, David Bailey, Jeremy Deller and Sir Paul Smith, so it's well worth taking a sneak peek at what's on offer.
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Nagoya
Four-star Japanese fare in Marylebone. 110 George St, W1U 8NX
This Marylebone Japanese spot has an extensive menu and features a huge range of classics: sushi, tempura and deep-fried breaded pork (tonkatsu), plus ramen and other noodle dishes. All of which are undoubtedly done well – our sushi selection contained faultlessly fresh fish, while a section of grilled skewers was pleasingly smoky. But there are also a few less common options, which definitely shouldn’t be ignored. A rich and meaty miso stew came packed with pieces of tender braised tripe and tofu. And a Japanese pub classic of rice in a green tea broth with salt-pickled plum (ochazuke) made the perfect conclusion to our meal.
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Classic Car Boot Sale
Saturday and Sunday
Sat Mar 15 – Sun Mar 16. Southbank Centre Square, Belvedere Rd, SE1 8XX
The Southbank Centre plays host to some serious vintage loveliness this spring as the Classic Car Boot Sale returns. Now extended into a second day, pedestrians with pockets full of change can pick up any number of retro bits-and-bobs from the 100 or so traders displaying their wares from ice cream-coloured cars. Once you've emptied your pockets, fill up your stomach on street food and retro tipples. You never know, you might even spot Kenickie buying Rizzo a drink.
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McNeil & Pamphilon Go 8 Bit!
Thursday
Thu Mar 13. Wenlock & Essex,18-26 Essex Rd,N1 8LN
This Thursday, bantering sketch duo McNeil & Pamphilon mix together their two loves – comedy and video games – for a live night of funny, pixely fun, which was a big hit at the Edinburgh Fringe. They describe it as being 'like "GamesMaster" off the telly, but in a pub', where guest comedians perform gaming-based material and battle it out on classic videogames. This month's gig sees 'Show Me The Funny'' star Stuart Goldsmith and Australian comic Brendon Burns battling it out on the retro games. If you're a big gaming nerd, you'll be in perfect company.
Read more about McNeil & Pamphilon Go 8 Bit!
Looking for more LOLs in London this week? Look no further...
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Bombay Bicycle Club
Thursday
Thu Mar 13. O2 Academy Brixton, 211 Stockwell Rd, SW9 9SL
The UK's answer to Vampire Weekend, Bombay Bicycle Club have successfully hybridise choppy pop, gloomy drama and harmonious punk energy, and have moved on from straightforward indie into dark, electronic-edged alt pop over the last few years. Since the release of their storming fourth album 'So Long, See You Tomorrow' last month, the preppy, north London foursome have cemented themselves as one of Britain's most creative and credible bands in recent years. At Brixton this Thursday, look forward to hearing the likes of 'Carry Me' and 'Luna', to name just a few solid-gold tunes from their latest record.
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Repeater
Friday to Sunday
Fri Mar 14 – Sun Mar 16. Shacklewell Arms, 71 Shacklewell Lane, E8 2EB
A few months ago much-loved Dalston nightspot The Shacklewell Arms announced a tasty-looking new bi-monthly festival. Kicking off this Friday, Repeater is promising us three days of ace live bands and DJs, a record fair, zine swap, poster sale and real ale showcase. The line-up of bands will change daily so plan to spend more than just one of your well-earned days off down at the Shacklewell this weekend. With a sparkling programme of entertainment, we reckon Repeater should hit near-illegal levels of fun.
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Affordable Art Fair
Thursday to Sunday
Thu Mar 13 – Sun 16 Mar. Battersea Evolution, Battersea Park, SW11 4NJ
It’s easy to see why the Affordable Art Fair, which takes place in Battersea Park this weekend, is so popular: the artists include both emerging talents and household names, and there's nothing remotely snooty about the atmosphere. There's paintings, photography, sculpture and prints from over a hundred UK galleries at the fair and pieces are strictly priced from £40-£4,000. As funds are short for many of us these days, the organisers have arranged 'Really, Really Affordable Art' tours to help you identify the biggest bargains of the lot. So, what masterpieces will bag this weekend?
Read more about Affordable Art Fair
See more top-notch event happening in the capital this month
Looking for more fun in London?
Just announced concerts
Free events in London
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And our readers recommend...
Richard Hamilton
'Great historic exhibition - a chance to see some iconic work first hand and a must see for all those interested in art and design and the the way we see the world today.' Ann Smith
- Tate Modern Bankside, SE1 9TG
- Wed Mar 12 - Mon May 26
Only in England: Photographs by Tony Ray-Jones and Martin Parr
'Absurdly creative images capture the joyfulness and melancholia of English seaside towns. A vivid celebration of eccentricity.' Steven Robson
- Science Museum Exhibition Rd, SW7 2DD
- Wed Mar 12 - Mon Mar 17
The Cheapside Hoard: London's Lost Jewels
'The wonder lies not in the size of these gems, but in their delicacy. This exhibition is made up of dozens of tiny, dazzling universes... it was impossible to choose a favourite.' Darren Ross
- Museum of London 150 London Wall, EC2Y 5HN
- Wed Mar 12 - Mon Apr 28
Sensing Spaces: Architecture Reimagined
'Much like Thomas Heatherwick’s brilliant UK Pavilion at the Beijing Expo, Sensing Spaces is daringly simple.' Curated London
- Royal Academy of Arts Piccadilly, W1J OBD
- Wed Mar 12 - Sun Apr 6
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