GFest, or gayWise LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender) Festival, is back for 2008 during 10-28 November, offering a variety of events from drama workshops, art exhibitions and discussions, and lots of them are free!

Find out more about GFest 2008, see the calender, download the 36 page technicolour programme brochure, email or call them on 020 8889 9555.

A round up of GFest free events in November 2008 (events are listed with their location):

Theatre, Creative writing, Musical and Dramatherapy workshops
Bernie Grant Arts Centre, Town Hall Approach Rd,(Off High Road - Tottenham), London N15 4RX See map
11, 12, 17 & 19 November.

Participation is free, but booking is required. To book your place in the following events, email or call 0208 8899555.

Tuesday 11 November - 7 to 9pm: Theatre workshop with Barcy Cogdale
Barcy Cogdale, Artistic Director of the award winning Lesbian Theatre Company, Ruby Tuesday Productions will be running a "one off" theatre workshop exploring "stories" of the individual. Open to everyone because everyone has a story to tell.

Wednesday 12 November 7 to 9pm: Creative Writing workshop with Claire Benjamin
Claire Benjamin takes you through a journey that focuses on using ideas from personal experience or creating fictional ideas to write. The participants will explore formatting a script, gathering and planning ideas, and 'try out' the drafts with group feedback. Claire Benjamin teaches script writing and drama in further and adult education. She has been a writer for The Pink Paper and written, performed and directed pieces of theatre. Participant requirement: Bring your own writing pads.

Monday 17 November, 7 to 9pm: Musical Theatre workshop with Simon Stephens
Simon Stephens, workshop leader and GFest 07 artist, will take the participants through musical theatre narratives as part of group interactive workshop. Simon, a trained actor, also teaches at the BRIT school of performing arts and has worked extensively in London & Edinburgh - performing & delivering drama workshops. Simon is also artistic director of theatre company Imaginary Forces.

Wednesday 19 November, 7 to 9pm: Dramatherapy workshop with Haydn Forde & Maurice Ord
Haydn Forde & Maurice Ord, workshop co-facilitators use exercises to prepare for the main body of the session - an improvised enactment of a fairy tale/myth and arrive to therapeutic experience for the participants. Both Haydn & Maurice hold masters from Central School of Speech and Drama and have extensively worked and collaborated in LGBT themes through drama.

Visual Arts Exhibition
McKenzie Pavilion Gallery Space, Finsbury Park, N4 2NQ See map
10-28 November, 12pm-6pm daily (10 November is the private view, invitation only)

Photographs, oil paintings and more including Central St Martins graduate Nigel Grimmer with Places I Call Home. The other artists are Christopher Lucas Furminger, Gena Ivanov, Joerg Brunsendorf, Robert Offord, Rob Crosse, Richard Brattan, Daniela Huhurez, Ann Foster, Matthew Stradling, Beldan Sezen, Helen Churchill, Alex Mirutziu, Robin Kiteley, David Shenton, Kerstin Honeit and Simon Phillips. Find out more about the art exhibited.

How to get there

The nearest overland train station is Finsbury Park.
Nearest tube stations are Finsbury Park and Manor House.
If travelling by bus the 4, 19, 29, 106, 153, 210, 236, 253, 254, 259, W3 and W7 all serve the area.

Informal discussions (performances and screenings are not free and are shown at other times)
Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, Tower Hamlets, E1 6LA See Map
13 & 14 November, 6.30pm-7.30pm

13 Nov - Informal discussion with Topher Campbell: A noted programmer, director of films, television and theatre with an extensive experience of LGBT arts, Topher to lead the session. Just turn up, no booking required.

14 Nov - Informal discussion with Pratibha Parmar: award winning Filmmaker, Director, who runs a production company 'Kali Films' and a GFest selection panel member to lead the session. Just turn up, no booking required.

How to get there
The nearest overland train station is Liverpool Street.
Nearest tube stations are Liverpool Street and Old Street.
If travelling by bus, the 8, 11, 23, 26, 35, 42, 47, 48, 78, 100, 133, 149, 153, 205, 214, 242, 271, 344 and 388 serve Liverpool Street.

LGTB Arts Debate
University Of The Arts London, 3rd floor, 65 Davies Street, W1K 5DA See map
18 November, 6.30pm-9.30pm

Speakers from the Arts & Diversity field talk discuss: How effective the arts have been in raising sexual orientation issues & help tackle them through educating target audiences? Can arts education help to address the issues? You can have your say in the Q&A that follows. Just turn up, no booking required.

How to get there
Overland train stations are quite far.
The closest tube station is located on Bond Street.
If travelling by bus the 3, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 23, 25, 55, 73, 88, 94, 98, 113, 137, 139, 159, 176, 189, 390, 453 and C2.

Hats & Masks theme party (free to those with any GFest ticket tab)
Glass Bar, Euston Gardens, 190 Euston Road, NW1 2EF See Map
22 November, 9.30pm-late

Dress up! And don't forget your ticket tab (which presumably means at some point you have to go to a paid event).

How to get there
The closest train stations are Euston and Kings Cross.
The closest tube station is located at Euston.
If Travelling by bus the 10, 18, 30, 59, 68, 73, 91, 168, 205, 253, 290 and 476 all serve Euston.

For more information on GFest 2008, see the introduction at the top of this page.

How to get there, general

The events are in various locations in London, see individual event.

Plan your visit to London with Transport for London's Journey Planner, whether you are walking, cycling or using the public transport system.

The London Children's Film Festival is upon us again and you can join in some of the fun for free in the Barbican from Saturday 22nd to Sunday 30th November 2008.

It's the fourth year of the London Children's Film Festival and there are various school and family events all over the city including The Electric Cinema, Greenwich Picturehouse, Phoenix Cinema, Rich Mix, Rio Cinema, Ritzy Cinema and Stratford Picturehouse East.

Not everything in the festival is free but Drop-In Zone films, events and activities at the Barbican are. Open to all ages.

Programme (of free events!) in the Barbican Centre

Sat 22 Nov: 10am-4pm
Animate London: The Pixelise the Population Project - This festival needs you! The LCFF is running a mass pixelisation project, aiming to animate as many Londoners as possible to create an animation starring you! The Pixelise the Population Project will take just a few minutes to participate in so drop in and have a go. See the results played back on the big screen at the end of the festival.

Sun 23 Nov: 10am-4pm
Crafts Corner - Why not go to one of the African themed films, then have a go at real African Crafts? Inspired by the festival's films there will be lots of opportunities for you to get creative. (Available throughout the festival)

Sat 29 Nov: 10am - 4pm
Flipbooks - Star as a character in your own flipbook.
Film Wardrobe - Try on film costumes and have your picture taken as a star.

Sunday 30 November: 10am-3pm
Free Screens - Sit back in a beanbag, relax and enjoy short films especially for children and by children.
Tune In - Inspired by the exhibition Frequency and Volume make your own vegetable radio and use your body as a radio transmitter in the Curve Gallery. 

Find out more about the London Children's Film Festival (for free events put 'free' in the search engine).

How to get there

The closest tube stations are located at Farringdon and Barbican.

If travelling by bus the 55, 63 and 243 serve Farringdon and the 4, 55, 56, 100, 153 and 243 all serve Barbican.

To help you plan your visit, visit Transport for London's Journey Planner, whether you're walking, cycling, driving, using the tube or buses, Journey Planner will provide the fastest, most efficient route.