Events by this organizer

A Carnival 60 evening of Caribbean rum tasting at The Mitre, Holland Park – a guided tasting of Bumbu, the spiced Barbadian rum.

Spend an evening tasting your way through Bumbu, the spiced Barbadian rum, in one of Holland Park’s best-loved gastropubs.

This is a guided tasting with a story. Alongside the rum, you will learn the history of rum and its place in Caribbean culture – from the sugar cane of the colonial plantations to the spirit that runs through Carnival today.

Long before spiced rum reached a shop shelf, the sailors of the West Indies were blending their own – fruit, spice and raw cane spirit mixed by hand. They called it bumbu. Bumbu Original is the modern revival of that tradition, distilled in Barbados at one of the Caribbean’s oldest rum distilleries, blended from sugarcane drawn across eight countries, with notes of caramel, vanilla, banana and warm baking spice.

Across the evening you will taste a flight of different Bumbu rums, be introduced to the brand and its Barbadian roots, learn the history of rum and the Caribbean and raise a glass in good company.

The evening falls on World Steelpan Day, the 11th of August, which honours the steelpan, the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago and the heartbeat of Carnival – a fitting moment to raise a glass to Caribbean culture.

What does Caribbean identity mean in Britain today? Food, culture, belonging – an honest conversation with three fresh voices.

What does it mean to be Caribbean in Britain in 2026? Is the culture thriving or disappearing? What does Caribbean identity look like for a generation who have never lived in the Caribbean?

Comedian, Eugene Dusauzay, Zara Lopes from French creole pop-up restaurant, Goutebon, and Symone Williams, the daughter of Notting Hill Carnival pioneers, bring three different perspectives to an honest conversation about food, identity, belonging and what gets passed down.

The hidden Caribbean history behind Notting Hill’s pastel houses. Shebeens, resistance and the Mangrove Nine. A walking tour like no other.

Behind the pastel houses and the Hugh Grant film, there is a Notting Hill that most people never hear about.

This walk takes you through the streets where Caribbean families built an entire community from scratch – because nobody else would let them in. We visit the sites of clubs, cafés, pubs, restaurants and shebeens that no longer exist, but whose stories shaped this neighbourhood.

You will hear about illegal gambling dens in basement rooms, the only pub in the neighbourhood that would serve a Black customer, a restaurant whose story changed British civil rights history, a James Bond actor with a secret second life, and a political scandal that connected these streets to the fall of a government.

We start outside Notting Hill Community Church, Kensington Park Road, and end at The Tabernacle on Powis Square. 75 minutes. The Notting Hill they do not tell you about.

The hidden Caribbean history behind Notting Hill’s pastel houses. Shebeens, resistance and the Mangrove Nine. A walking tour like no other.

Behind the pastel houses and the Hugh Grant film, there is a Notting Hill that most people never hear about.

This walk takes you through the streets where Caribbean families built an entire community from scratch – because nobody else would let them in. We visit the sites of clubs, cafés, pubs, restaurants and shebeens that no longer exist, but whose stories shaped this neighbourhood.

You will hear about illegal gambling dens in basement rooms, the only pub in the neighbourhood that would serve a Black customer, a restaurant whose story changed British civil rights history, a James Bond actor with a secret second life, and a political scandal that connected these streets to the fall of a government.

We start outside Notting Hill Community Church, Kensington Park Road, and end at The Tabernacle on Powis Square. 75 minutes. The Notting Hill they do not tell you about.

Chief Executive of Notting Hill Carnival 1989–2002. A barrister who kept Europe’s largest street festival alive. Hear her story firsthand.

Dr Claire Holder OBE served as Chief Executive of Notting Hill Carnival from 1989 to 2002 – thirteen years that defined the modern era of Europe’s largest street festival. A barrister by training, she gave legal advice at the Black People’s Information Centre on Portobello Road before going on to navigate the legal, organisational and community challenges that come with running an event of Carnival’s scale.

Claire shares her story, her memories and her reflections on what it took to keep Carnival alive and how festivals can build rather than divide communities.

Sixty years of resistance, music and community. Where has Carnival been – and where is it going? A panel that matters.

Notting Hill Carnival is 60 years old. It started as a small community street party and became Europe’s biggest festival. But who built it, who runs it and who decides what happens next?

The evening will include a screening of Rosita Lynch’s documentary film about Carnival pioneer Russ Henderson – her godfather and the man who brought steel pan to the streets of Notting Hill in 1966.

Linett Kamala is an interdisciplinary artist, educator and DJ who has been part of Carnival’s sound system culture for decades. She brings the perspective of someone who understands Carnival not just as heritage but as a living art form.

Together with a third panellist to be announced, they will explore where Carnival has been, what it means today and where it is going – the music, the politics, the community and the future.

Join us for an in-depth 90-minute journey through Notting Hill’s Caribbean history.

90-Minute Guided Walk Through the Historic Heart of Caribbean London

Experience the incredible true stories that created Europe’s biggest street festival! This comprehensive walking tour visits all the essential sites where Caribbean history was made in Notting Hill, including the powerful story of Kelso Cochrane.

You’ll Learn About:

The Windrush generation’s arrival and early struggles
How violent racism was met with community organising
Kelso Cochrane’s tragic murder
The Mangrove Nine: Britain’s landmark civil rights case
How tragedy became triumph through music, culture and celebration

Perfect For:

Those wanting the complete Caribbean Notting Hill story
Anyone curious about the deeper history behind Carnival
People who want to understand how struggle, loss and resistance shaped a community
Visitors who want more time to absorb the history at each location

The hidden Caribbean history behind Notting Hill’s pastel houses. Shebeens, resistance and the Mangrove Nine. A walking tour like no other.

Behind the pastel houses and the Hugh Grant film, there is a Notting Hill that most people never hear about.

This walk takes you through the streets where Caribbean families built an entire community from scratch – because nobody else would let them in. We visit the sites of clubs, cafés, pubs, restaurants and shebeens that no longer exist, but whose stories shaped this neighbourhood.

You will hear about illegal gambling dens in basement rooms, the only pub in the neighbourhood that would serve a Black customer, a restaurant whose story changed British civil rights history, a James Bond actor with a secret second life, and a political scandal that connected these streets to the fall of a government.

We start outside Notting Hill Community Church, Kensington Park Road, and end at The Tabernacle on Powis Square. 75 minutes. The Notting Hill they do not tell you about.

Join us for an in-depth 90-minute journey through Notting Hill’s Caribbean history.

90-Minute Guided Walk Through the Historic Heart of Caribbean London

Experience the incredible true stories that created Europe’s biggest street festival! This comprehensive walking tour visits all the essential sites where Caribbean history was made in Notting Hill, including the powerful story of Kelso Cochrane.

You’ll Learn About:

The Windrush generation’s arrival and early struggles
How violent racism was met with community organising
Kelso Cochrane’s tragic murder
The Mangrove Nine: Britain’s landmark civil rights case
How tragedy became triumph through music, culture and celebration

Perfect For:

Those wanting the complete Caribbean Notting Hill story
Anyone curious about the deeper history behind Carnival
People who want to understand how struggle, loss and resistance shaped a community
Visitors who want more time to absorb the history at each location

He worked at Grassroots on Golborne Road – the bookshop at the heart of Notting Hill’s Caribbean community. Here his story.

From 1979 to 1981 Robert worked at Grassroots Bookshop on Golborne Road, with responsibility for its operations. Grassroots was one of the foundational Black activist centres in Notting Hill, operating on pan-Third World principles alongside the Mangrove and the Black People’s Information Centre. He was also involved in the publication of Grassroots Newspaper during this period.

From 1981 to 1985 he worked for Ujima Housing Association, the Black-led housing association founded to address the chronic housing discrimination faced by the Caribbean community. He continued on the Ujima Management Board until its liquidation by the Housing Corporation in 2007.

This is an intimate In Conversation evening in the Listening Lounge – a small space for no more than 20 people. Robert shares his story, his memories of the neighbourhood and what community meant on the Frontline.

Join us for an in-depth 90-minute journey through Notting Hill’s Caribbean history.

90-Minute Guided Walk Through the Historic Heart of Caribbean London

Experience the incredible true stories that created Europe’s biggest street festival! This comprehensive walking tour visits all the essential sites where Caribbean history was made in Notting Hill, including the powerful story of Kelso Cochrane.

You’ll Learn About:

The Windrush generation’s arrival and early struggles
How violent racism was met with community organising
Kelso Cochrane’s tragic murder
The Mangrove Nine: Britain’s landmark civil rights case
How tragedy became triumph through music, culture and celebration

Perfect For:

Those wanting the complete Caribbean Notting Hill story
Anyone curious about the deeper history behind Carnival
People who want to understand how struggle, loss and resistance shaped a community
Visitors who want more time to absorb the history at each location