May — October 2026
Six months. One community. Sixty years of history.
Walks, talks, Caribbean suppers, exhibitions and workshops celebrating sixty years of Notting Hill Carnival heritage. Based at Mason & Fifth, Westbourne Park.
In 1966 the London Free School and Rhaune Laslett threw a street party in Notting Hill. Sixty years later, Carnival is the heartbeat of Caribbean London. Carnival 60 is a six-month programme of heritage events telling the stories behind the mas, the sound systems and the community that made it all happen.
The Programme
Talks, an exhibition, workshops, Caribbean and African suppers and walks. May to October 2026 at Mason & Fifth, Westbourne Park. Filter by what interests you, or see it all.
Walks
Guided walks through the streets where Notting Hill's real history happened. Running monthly from May to October. We recommend Portobello Shack on Portobello Road for Caribbean food and heritage photographs after any walk.
This neighbourhood has been fought over, built up, torn down and reinvented for a thousand years. From Notting Hill Gate to the summit of the actual hill: the artists' colony, the working families, the Victorian dreamers and the communities who shaped this place.
60 min — Various datesStroll through the hidden Notting Hill behind the pastel houses. The story of All Saints Road as the frontline between the Caribbean community and the police. Meet on the corner of Blenheim Crescent and Kensington Park Road, outside the Notting Hill Bookshop.
75 min — Various dates
The full Caribbean heritage story of Notting Hill from Windrush to the present day. We stop at landmarks, visit the places where the community gathered, and trace sixty years of history through the streets.
90 min — Various dates
We are inviting community members to lead their own walks as part of the Carnival 60 programme. If you know Notting Hill and have a story to tell, we want to hear from you. Guests and dates announced throughout the programme.
£10 per person — Various datesAll three walks for £24. Children under 16 go free on all walks.
We are available to deliver up to three private walks per month for workplaces, universities and visiting groups. Choose any of our three Notting Hill walks. Every participant receives a Carnival 60 keepsake.
Email vip@nottinghillwalks.co.uk to book.
Talks
Intimate conversations and panel discussions with the people who shaped Notting Hill. Conservatory and Listening Lounge at Mason & Fifth, May to October.
Ten voices across six months. The daughters of the Mangrove Nine, the director who transformed Carnival in 1973, the founder of UK Black History Month, the DJ still performing four decades on, and more.
Full speaker profiles →Jamila Bolton-Gordon and Yinka Innis – daughters of the Mangrove Nine.
Wed 27 May, 6 – 8pm — Conservatory — £6Cultural activist, co-founder of UK Black History Month.
Sat 20 June, 6.30 – 8.30pm — Listening Lounge — £6Co-founder of Genesis mas band. Carnival costume maker, administrator and board director.
Sat 11 July, 6.30 – 8.30pm — Listening Lounge — £6Eugene Dusauzay, Zara Johnson of Goutebon London and Symone Williams.
Wed 12 August, 6 – 8pm — Conservatory — £6
Rosita Lynch, Linett Kamala and a further panellist to be confirmed.
Wed 26 August, 6 – 8pm — Conservatory — £6Grassroots Bookshop & Ujima Housing Association
Sun 27 September, 2 – 4pm — Listening Lounge — £6
Director of Notting Hill Carnival 1973 – 75. The final event of Carnival 60.
Sat 17 October, 6 – 8pm — Listening Lounge — £6
Multigenerational supper evenings where food meets oral history. African and Caribbean heritage suppers in August.
Sat 1 & Sat 8 August — Conservatory — Pricing TBCAll talks and panel discussions are filmed for the Carnival 60 heritage archive. Books available at events.
Exhibition
A new exhibition at Mason & Fifth, opening Friday 17 July 2026.
Workshops
Creative workshops running alongside the exhibition weekend. Free plus materials. All ages welcome.
Make your own sugar cake in Carnival colours using natural food colouring, then taste your way across the Caribbean. Chow, benne balls, coconut drops, red mango, guava cheese and more. Includes a talk on the history and traditions behind each sweet.
Sat 18 & Sun 19 July, 11am – 12.30pm — Conservatory — Materials charge appliesTwo keepsakes to make and take home. Paint your own glass jar using glass colour paints, outliner and carnival sequins. Then create a jar lantern filled with dried flowers and carnival costume pieces with a battery tea light inside.
Sat 18 & Sun 19 July, 2 – 4pm — Conservatory — Materials charge appliesCaribbean Suppers
Heritage suppers where food meets oral history. Caribbean and African evenings with home cooking, shared stories and conversation across generations.
These are multigenerational suppers. We will sit together, eat together and hear from elders in the community who will share their stories, their food history and their memories of Notting Hill. Each supper includes a presentation and an opportunity for guests of all ages to ask questions, share their own experiences and connect across generations. With an African Heritage Supper and a Caribbean Heritage Supper running back to back, the programme explores the deep interconnections between the Caribbean diaspora and Africa.
An African Heritage Supper on 1 August and a Caribbean Heritage Supper on 8 August, both at Mason & Fifth. Service from 6pm to 9pm.
Pricing TBC — Mason & Fifth ConservatoryMore to Come
The programme is growing. Coming soon: Notting Hill heritage quests, a self-guided Caribbean audio trail on VoiceMap exploring the blue plaques of Notting Hill, rum and non-alcoholic cocktail making sessions, and visits to panyards. Register to be the first to hear when new events are announced.
Register for UpdatesOur Work
In Full Colour is part of a growing series of community exhibitions produced by More Curricular CIC. Each project puts archival research and young people's creativity together to tell stories that have been overlooked.
Black Presence in Putney's Past. Children from St Mary's RC Primary School Battersea and Holy Ghost RC Primary School Tooting worked with 17th and 18th century parish records to create artwork for an exhibition at St Mary's Church, Putney, as part of Wandsworth London Borough of Culture. Eighty visitors. One hundred per cent positive feedback. Featured by the Mayor of Wandsworth.
Student artwork from St Mary's RC Primary School, Battersea and Holy Ghost RC Primary School, Tooting
Students from Mossbourne Community Academy and St Mary's RC Primary Battersea created portraits of one of the earliest recorded female grocers, discovered through the Grocers' Company Black Book and Borromei Bank ledgers. Exhibited at Grocers' Hall, City of London.
Student artwork from St Mary's RC Primary School, Battersea and Mossbourne Community Academy, Hackney
The next exhibition in the series. Working with local schools to bring Notting Hill's Caribbean heritage to life. Opening 17 July at Mason & Fifth as part of Carnival 60.
Carnival 2026
Notting Hill Carnival 2026 takes place Sunday 30 and Monday 31 August 2026, marking sixty years since the first Carnival in 1966.
Dates, history, times, how to join a Carnival band, FAQs and how to celebrate the 60th anniversary with the Carnival 60 programme.
Carnival 2026: Full Details →The Venue
Our home for Carnival 60. A co-living and community space at 11 Woodfield Road, Westbourne Park W9 2BA.
Nearest Station
Westbourne Park
Hammersmith & City and Circle lines, one stop from Paddington
Paddington
Elizabeth line, Bakerloo, District, Circle, Hammersmith & City
Heathrow Express and mainline trains
Parking
On-street parking for up to two hours
Or park at Westfield London, one stop on the Hammersmith & City line
FAQs
Register to receive Carnival 60 updates and be first to hear when new events are announced.
