Holmfirth Arts Festival’s big free weekend fills the town centre with art, music, theatre

Holmfirth Arts Festival’s Big Free Weekend takes place across Holmfirth town centre on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 June. Families and people of all ages can enjoy live music, outdoor theatre, walks, talks, crafting sessions for children, and so much more. Every event is free of charge, and accessible for all.

This year's Festival is inspired by the beautiful Holme Valley landscape, its heritage, and a need to care for our environment. It will be a vibrant multi-arts weekend that celebrates the communities, local creatives as well as professional artists from further afield.

On Saturday 14 June, there is fun with bubbles by Fairy Bubbles, Heritage Stories, a Bollywood Dance Along, Pop Up Opera, activities for all the family in the Creative Activity Gazebo music from Valley Beats and Vocal Expressions Ladies Choir, culminating in the spectacular pageant which weaves together stories from the 7 townships of the Graveship of Holme.

The fun continues on Sunday 15 June with three street theatre shows: a brand-new show called Accelerate by Highly Sprung Performance; Hanging by a Thread by a DIY theatre company of disabled artists, and Wilbur is battling his giant slug in Seed by Pif Paf. There is more live music from Banda Na Rua and Nicola Mills and Fairy Bubbles is back for a second day of fun.

New to the Big Weekend programme this year is the Eco Expo with Yorkshire-based artists, activists, and scientists presenting a range of models, interactive artworks, and performances in an exploration of climate sustainability. In addition, local artists have teamed up with schools and communities to create River of Art, a community co-created art trail along the banks of the River Holme in the Town Centre..

Holmfirth itself is a highly creative town with multiple choirs and choral societies, brass bands and many performing and visual artists. It is also a festival town, with a Festival every 6-8 weeks! Contributing to the vibrant creative scene is Holmfirth Arts Festival which was formed in 2007 with the aim of creating a platform for performers and musicians. At the time, it was felt that the Arts Festival would offer something different to the other festivals such as the Holmfirth Art Week which is a marketplace for visual arts, Holmfirth Festival of Folk and the Holmfirth Film Festival.

Festival director Bev Adams said: “The Big Free Weekend is important for profiling local talent as well as putting Holmfirth on the map for world class street performance. Saturday culminates in a pageant, inspired by our heritage, which local schools and community groups have been making over the previous weeks and months. On Sunday, we will delight audiences with an eclectic mix of live professional performances, inspired by the environment… and thanks to funding from Arts Council England, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and others … it’s all free!”

Holmfirth Arts Festival continues past the Big Free Weekend with a programme of ticketed events including an Accessible Amble, live music from Rachel Modest and Opera for the People, and much more including the ever-popular comedy show in September – this year featuring Marcus Brigstocke. The full ticketed lineup can be found on the Holmfirth Arts