This March, Covent Garden celebrates International Women’s Day, Mother’s Day and Earth Hour. Ahead of retailers and outdoor restaurants reopening on 12th April, the estate will continue to provide unique digital content for fans at home with new online recipes and masterclasses from The Oystermen, Darjeeling Express and By Chloe. Covent Garden will support International Women’s Day, paying tribute to iconic leading ladies of the estate from Jane Austen, a resident of Henrietta Street, to some of the best female entrepreneurs in the world including Darjeeling Express’ Asma Khan, ex Claridges pastry chef Kimberly Lin of Floozie Cookies, Charlotte Tilbury, Monica Vinader, florist Fiona Fleur and more.
Covent Garden will celebrate the area’s leading female figures this International Women’s Day (8th March). The Royal Opera House will host a panel discussion talking about inequality in the arts industry, led by The Guardian’s Chief Theatre Critic Arifa Akbar, while thrill-seekers will enjoy the empowering stories of adventure and mountain sports equipment retailer Ellis Brigham who will host a live conversation with Emily Woodhouse and Jenny Tough on the highs and lows of solo adventuring. In addition to thought provoking discussions, Fiona Fleur will create a bespoke dried floral bouquet named The Femme exclusively for the date and will host The Female Perspective, a digital webinar with five female business owners as guest speakers discussing important topics such as the joys and challenges of navigating their work-life balance.
Also supporting International Women’s Day, Ladurée will partner with Women’s Aid, the national charity working to end domestic abuse against women and children. Those who purchase the Ladurée x Women’s Aid box online can donate £1 per box to Women’s Aid and the Covent Garden store will give 10% of sales of products purchased between 5th to 8th March to Women’s Aid. Across the estate, brands will donate proceeds from selected items to charity including L’Occitane who will donate £2 per Hand Cream Trio sold to a women’s empowerment charity and Radley who will launch their ‘Woman of Spirit’ campaign to amplify the voices of inspiring women with special guest Camilla Thurlow. Charlotte Tilbury will showcase its collaboration with Women for Women International with a pledge to donate £1 million and The Alkemistry will donate £5 of every sale to a female empowerment charity.
Those who prefer to wait just a few weeks to take Mum for a date in Covent Garden can purchase gift vouchers for restaurants including Balthazar, Cora Pearl, Petersham Nurseries, The Ivy Market Grill, Frenchie, Cinnamon Bazaar, Sticks ‘N Sushi, and The Frog. For an unforgettable at home dining experience, The Oystermen’s Seafood & Sake Experience will run from 10th - 20th March, promising to deliver an incredible feast paired with three wonderful Sakes. Covent Garden will bring the dining out experience to eating in for Mother’s Day with Darjeeling Express’ seven course menu for two, Cinnamon Bazaar’s four course Indian feast, Floral by LIMA’s special Peruvian box or The Frog’s HAME by Adam Handling fine dining box with dishes including Lobster wagyu and truffle roasted chicken. Those missing indulging in sweet treats on the Piazza can purchase a Hotel Chocolat chocolate hamper or one of Petersham Nurseries’ hampers with creams and caramels, bubbles and more. For the tea drinking Mum, Mariage Freres will offer special tea sets, with over 1,000 tea blends and extensive tea paraphernalia.
Home cooks looking to whip up something delicious can visit Covent Garden’s website where recipes for the whole family can be found from Head Chefs at The Oystermen, Darjeeling Express and By Chloe. Those looking to whip up breakfast on Mother’s Day can try By Chloe’s oat banana pancakes, or for dinner inspiration, Asma Khan’s Paneer Pulao is a must-try dish. The Oystermen will also show everyone how to shuck oysters perfectly.
Ahead of Covent Garden’s retailers reopening on Monday 12th April, shoppers in search of Mother’s Day gifts can continue to book virtual appointments at Covent Garden’s Ganni, BA&SH, Burberry and more, or click and collect gifts at stores including American Vintage, Kick Game and Dior. The personal shopping team at Ganni are hosting virtual appointments, while The Alkemistry has a WhatsApp service with next day click and collect on offer. BA&SH is hosting virtual appointments twice a week, Burberry is open for virtual appointments throughout each week and Galeria Melissa is also hosting WhatsApp shopping sessions. For skincare and beauty gifts, Penhaligon’s is offering one to one fragrance consultations, Tom Ford is offering beauty consultations and Deciem is hosting virtual skincare consultation sessions. L’Occitane is offering free one-on-one sessions with an expert to help everyone find a skincare routine that suits them and those who shop online at Molton Brown can purchase a limited edition gift set and request complimentary gift wrapping. Plus, florist Fiona Fleur continues to deliver bespoke dried floral arrangements across London and Ladurée will offer special Mother’s Day gift sets featuring macarons, cake, pink champagne and more.
As part of Covent Garden’s vision to make the estate a greener and more sustainable destination, Covent Garden will celebrate Earth Hour from 8:30pm to 9:30pm on Saturday 27th March and will switch lights off across the estate including the Market Building and Floral Street. Covent Garden stores including Ganni, L’Occitane, Galeria Melissa and A.P.C. have recycling schemes to help extend the life cycle of clothes and those wanting to shop more sustainably can browse Radley’s Responsible range. New to the estate, Covent Garden has welcomed urban mobility company Spokesafe to Long Acre to offer cyclists a secure space to park bikes, alongside E-bikes chargers, lockers, a repair station and multiple air pumps.
