City of London Festival in England: Exhibits, Music and Movies

Every summer, London holds the City of London Festival. This summer the festival will be held from the end of June to August.

The festival features all kinds of entertainment, such as art exhibitions, musical performances and movie screenings. According to www.colf.com, there are many free events, such as the lecture "The Question of Beauty in Architecture."

Another free event is the Indian Poetry Reading, which will take place on June 24, 2008. The Festival Exhibitions include Treasures from the English Church: Sacred Gold and Silver from 800-2000 which will take place from May 30th to July 12th in Goldsmith's Hall and a photography exhibition that will highlight Alberto Venzago's trip to Jungfrau, Switzerland from June 23rd to July 10th.

There are also some events that would be perfect for children. The Conversations in a Railway Carriage is set within a railway carriage and a group of actors tell both true and fictional stories to young children about railway journeys. Another kid-friendly performance is the Bandhni Beats; in this event primary school students will perform a set of dances formed from Bharatanatyam and Bhangra dancing.

There will be some film screenings during the summer, one of which will be a free short film competition. There will be quite a few film events that will require tickets, but many of them look very interesting. The City of London Festival will have an event titled, An Introduction to Bollywood Cinema. This event will have an Asian film expert named Cary Sawhney who will talk about the origins and themes of Bollywood. After he speaks there might be a documentary about Bollywood, which should prove to be both entertaining and educational.

To book tickets to any of the exhibitions, events, or performances, you can visit www.colf.com and click on the "book now" tab. From there, you will see a list of events that still have seats available. You can click on whatever event you wish to attend and the specific price for seats in that event will show up along with a chart of available seating. Tickets aren't very expensive and if you choose to do group bookings, that option is available if you call Group Sales for the City of London Festival. That phone number to call will appear at the bottom of the page for the specific even you choose.

As a child, I grew up in England and I always loved going to the City of London Festival with my mother. London is such an exciting place to be and there is just so much to see, learn, and participate in. If you have children, I would recommend taking them to some of the exhibitions for children, a trip to London is always a fun one. And if your child gets bored with the festival you can always visit a museum, get something to eat, or go to a play. My favorite childhood memories are of London in the summer. And if you don't have children, I would definitely recommend going to the festival. The lectures and exhibitions alone will be interesting enough to give you a reason for visiting the city of London.