What's on this week: 20-26 October

The sixth edition of Brussels Fashion Days, Belgium's largest fashion gathering, features leading designers' fashion shows, a student show, a pop-up store carrying 30 labels, beauty bars, fashion coach, creative workshops, model casting call, meet-and-greet sessions with designers, dinners, parties and more.

The Fashion and Lace Museum (formerly Costume and Lace Museum) is reopening this Saturday with a rethought lace display, a new section called Textile Box, and a show featuring the work of Belgian designer Jean-Paul Lespagnard. Saturday will be full of activities and surprises to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the museum. The new layout will enable the museum to display more of their remarkable collection.

As they say in French, jamais deux sans trois - here is a third fashion event this weekend. On Friday and Saturday it’s MAD Brussels’ Fashion Sales, two days during which you can discover or rediscover 40 talented Belgian designers and buy their pieces on sale. At MAD Brussels’ headquarters on New Grainmarket. Even without the sale, the new headquarters is worth checking out.

Brussels has another craft beer festival after Swafff! in Schaerbeek and the Bxl Beer Fest. This time it's the Brussels Beer Project that is hosting its inaugural Wanderlust festival featuring 120 beers from small breweries around the world. Belgian beers are represented by the likes of Totem - voted best brewery in 2015 by the influential site Ratebeer - and Ermitage micro-brewery, which has just set up near the Gare du Midi. Guest brewers from abroad include the US's Left Hand Brewing, the UK's Weird Beard, and Berlin brewery BRLO. Others come from Iceland, Sweden, France, the Netherlands and Spain.
20 October 17.00-23.00, 21 October 15.00-02.00, Quay 01, Avenue du Port 1, Brussels, free

Celebrate the famous Indian festival of lights at the Bollywood Diwali Bash on Friday evening. India’s most important festival of the year is being marked in Brussels by an all-night party with Indian food, music, DJs and dancing. Dinner reservations are full, but bookings possible for entrance to the party and VIP tables. Reservations: 0496.69.17.65, nikkigarcha@hotmail.com.
20 October, 19.00-4.00, Claridge Events, Chaussée de Louvain 24B, €10 entrance

The Musée d’Ixelles has two new shows before it closes for extensive renovations. First, there’s the first retrospective of the work of photographer Robert Doisneau who is famous for his 1950 photo of a kiss in the streets of Paris (Le baiser de L’hôtel de ville). The show is in three parts: black and white photos he took before and after the second world war - these are photos (like The Kiss) that he staged to present his version of reality - colour photos he took in Palm Springs in 1960 for Fortune Magazine, and photos he took between 1945 and 1971 in the studios of artists of the period: Picasso, Braque, Utrillo, Giacometti, and Brancusi. The other show opening this weekend is Hop! an exhibition specially created for children aged six to 12. Starting with 20 works from the museum’s permanent collection, this show is curated to give children a front row seat and adults a new way of seeing art.

The Brussels Canal Run was created to help bolster the image of the canal district, an area that is changing so rapidly that bolstering may no longer really be necessary. The race on Saturday has a new circuit this year with four different lengths (1km for kids, 4km, 9km and 13km). There will be prizes for the first three runners of each distance. Pre-registration recommended.

Originally from Australia, the Ocean Film Festival is a call to explore, respect, protect and enjoy the oceans. The Ocean Film Festival Belgium includes a selection of films of different lengths and styles about the oceanic environment, marine creatures, ocean-related sports, coastal cultures and ocean lovers.
20–21 October, Wolubilis.

The Marquis de Wavrin was a Belgian aristocrat who, during the 1920s and 30s, at the height of European colonialism when there was mostly contempt for indigenous cultures, went to South America with a desire to learn about these very different cultures including the Shuar, the famous head shrinkers. He shot more than 6,000 metres of film and produced two films from a fraction of his footage, footage which then languished, forgotten in the vaults of Cinematek. Now, Grace Winter and Luc Plantier have created a documentary from the material entitled Marquis de Wavrin: From Manor House to Jungle which will be getting a sneak preview (including an after screening drink with the filmmakers) at Bozar on 23 October, 20.00.

RITCS Café presents its “Pick of the Fringe” from the famous Edinburgh festival this autumn and they kick things off with the multi-award winning Adam Bloom of Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Mock the Week, not to mention numerous festivals around the world including five appearances at Just for Laughs in Montreal.
RITCS Café, 24 October

As part of its nine special Sundays celebrating the reopening of the Plant Palace, the Botanical garden in Meise is offering all sorts of activities this Sunday. You can learn how to cultivate mushrooms at home, discover Congolese beers made with mango, banana or coconut, listen to the melodious sounds of the handpan and children can take part in workshops in such things as learning how to make a yurt.

If you’re vegan or thinking about being vegan you can find out all about it at the first Veggie World Brussels this weekend at Tour & Taxis. Chefs, cooking demonstrations, talks, tastings and vegan products.

Tenor Paul Phoenix, former member of the sextet The King’s Singers, is giving a recital next Thursday at Holy Trinity Brussels, where he will perform a selection of pieces that have marked his singing career. The Brussels Madrigal Singers, conducted by Julius Stenzel, and the Ensemble Vocal de Bruxelles, a male-voice choir conducted by Philippe Fernandez, will open the concert with a selection of items from their current repertoire.
26 October 20.00, Holy Trinity Brussels, Rue Capitaine Crespel 29, Ixelles