Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
National Festival of Making: 4th & 5th July
The National Festival of Making returns to Blackburn town centre on Saturday 4th & Sunday 5th July for a family-friendly weekend packed with exhibitions, live performances, hands-on workshops, film screenings, makers markets, street food and lots more.
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
Drop In
Art in Manufacturing: Abigail Hampsey + Artisan Food Producers
Abigail Hampsey is a multidisciplinary artist, painter, and baker based in the North of England. Through this commission, Hampsey is working with artisan food producers and within her Lancaster-based bakery and studio. New film, sculpture and painting, will trace rituals of production and preservation, from breadmaking to beekeeping, positioning these as acts of cultural and sociological preservation.
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
Booking Required
Model Making with Aardman
Learn the art of model making in these fun workshops with Aardman – creators of Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep.
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Foil Decoration with Mush Studio
Inspired by the vibrancy of South Asian adornment, design your own motifs and patterns to create a hanging decoration.
Sat 4th July
Booking Required
Conversations in Creativity: Johnny Vegas with Graham Duff
Join us for a special afternoon with actor, writer, comedian and artist Johnny Vegas in conversation with Graham Duff.
Reel Cinema
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Tinkertown
Tinkertown is back! Wood-working meets den-building in this drop-in workshop for children. Grab the tools provided by the team and set to work tinkering, building and creating!
Cathedral Gardens
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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VR Swings – Volo: Dreams of Flight
Back by popular demand! The VR Swings return to the festival after their debut in 2023. Don’t miss out on Studio Go Go’s thrilling virtual reality swing adventures.
Cathedral Square
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Kitchen Tables
Enter Kitchen Tables, a space to spotlight the making that happens at home. Our kitchen tables are not just dining spaces - they’re places we make, we work, we gather and more. Here you’ll find a selection of workshops all connected to the many uses of our dining spaces, and what they mean to us.
Cathedral Square
Sat 4th July
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Makers Market by Hopeful & Glorious
With more traders than ever before, independent makers gather at Blackburn Cathedral for the National Festival of Making’s Maker’s Market, handpicked by expert design and craft curators Hopeful & Glorious.
Blackburn Cathedral
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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We Are Alloys
Hetain Patel returns to the Festival with an ambitious new commission spanning moving image, painting and performance, exploring British Asian futurism, family, and myth-making, alongside performances of his acclaimed work Mathroo Basha.
Cotton Exchange
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Make a Mini Bog in a Jar
Join Lancashire Wildlife Trust, Lancashire Peat Partnership and Blackburn BID to create your own micro-ecosystem inspired by the structure of the peat bog on Darwen Moor.
Cathedral Square
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Art in Manufacturing: Alina Akbar + Automobile Manufacturing Sector
Alina Akbar is a Manchester-based visual artist and storyteller working across film, photography, and spatial installation. Through her Art in Manufacturing commission, Akbar is working with local car manufacturing and motor vehicle industries, framing behind-the-shutters garages as contemporary artisans operating within the visual language of luxury and aspiration in working-class contexts.
Sat 4th July
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Block Letter Painting with elettr
Explore the flat brush painting technique with signwriter Ellie Heywood by creating your own block letters.
Cathedral Square
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Quite Unfit for Females by About Time Dance Company
Quite Unfit for Females is a tribute to the Dick, Kerr Ladies football team - a pioneering women's team from Preston formed from a munitions factory workforce. The performance tells the story of the team’s defiance when the FA announced a ban on women’s football in 1921.
King William Street
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Pattern + Pulse with Uncultured Creatives
Head to the Uncultured Creatives studio where you’ll find paper weaving and music making, inspired by the connections between Jacquard textile technologies, synthesisers, pixels and electronic music.
14-16 Lord Street West
Sun 5th July
Booking Required
Rave Culture: A New Era Screening
At Reel Cinema, catch the feature-length screening of Rave Culture: A New Era, an electrifying journey into the heart of the rave revolution, with roots in 80’s Blackburn.
Reel Cinema
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Studio TIP Circular Free-Play
Play, invent and assemble, using materials sourced from factories locally! Discover the hidden life of materials in manufacturing, how they feel, and connect and become something new.
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
Booking Required
Leather Workshops with Diamond Awl
Diamond Awl Leather Workshop share their expert craftsmanship in the art of leatherworking with these bookable taster sessions.
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Art in Manufacturing: Matter at hand + Darwen Terracotta
Matter at hand is the design practice of Lewis Jones, working across architecture, material science, and hands-on construction. Continuing his two year residency, Jones will be exhibiting new installation work created with Darwen Terracotta, plus participatory experiences exploring place, community, land and architecture as part of new project partnership between National Festival of Making and The Super Slow Way.
Sat 4th July
Booking Required
Puppet Making for Adults with Tat Vision
Spend a morning crafting cardboard puppets with papier-mâché pop artist and performer Tat Vision. Adults only!
The Drummer's Arms
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Practise makes Pigeons
Explore Sheffield-based artist "Mr Ben's" first ever solo exhibition and residency "Practise makes Pigeons" at Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery.
Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery
Sun 5th July
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Mbira Taizé with Millicent Chapanda
Listen as Millicent Chapanda leads a celebratory performance, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe.
Cathedral Square
Sun 5th July
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Adventure Arts
Join the Adventure Arts team and create your own sock monster who can even accompany you on an adventure walk!
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
Booking Required
Screen Lancashire
This year’s National Festival of Making will host a special Screen Lancashire programme exploring film, place, storytelling and regional identity through international screenings, talks and participatory activity across the festival weekend.
Reel Cinema
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Bewonderment Machine
Both a magical journey for small children and a kinetic public sculpture, The Bewonderment Machine is an artist-built carousel, powered by a bicycle.
Cathedral Square
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Ian’s Print Rally
Come and join in with the National Festival of Making’s Print Rally, created by Ian Halawi and supported by Fred Aldous! Look out for print stations dotted around town and collect a series of two-colour prints to fill up your zine.
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Graeme Brown Woodcraft
Use a range of simple tools to create your own beautiful set of buttons using foraged wood collected by Graeme.
Cathedral Square
Sat 4th July
Booking Required
Mera Lyari: Screening + Q&A with Director Abu Aleeha
Join Director Abu Alleha for a screening of Mera Lyari, which tells the inspiring story of two girls striving to become professional footballers. The screening will be followed by a Q+A with Abu Aleeha.
Reel Cinema
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
Booking Required
Flower Crown Making with Yuliia Ivanova
Create a flower crown inspired by Ukrainian traditions. Using colourful artificial flowers and natural textures, you’ll design a unique wreath to take home.
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
Drop In
E-waste Scavenging with Noisy Toys
Un-Making: like making, but the other way around… Join e-waste scavengers Noisy Toys as they dismantle and rebuild waste tech into something new!
Cathedral Gardens
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Taste Lancashire Food Producers Market
Find out why Lancashire is the tastiest county when you meet and buy direct from local producers at the food and drink market.
King William Street
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Art in Manufacturing: Penelope Payne + Haworth Art Gallery
Penelope Payne’s artistic practice explores social history,with a focus on female narratives and the often overlooked or unrecorded histories of the working-class and ‘women’s work’. In response to time spent with Haworth Art Gallery, Payne is developing new work exploring the historic domestic setting as a lens for examining how personal stories, social structures, and inherited values shape one another over time.
Sat 4th July
Booking Required
Sgraffito Plate Workshop with Mr Ben
Explore the ceramic decorative technique of 'sgraffito' and create a bespoke earthenware plate with carved indigo motifs.
Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Folk Mobiles with Karolina Merska of Folka
Inspired by traditional Polish folk crafts - pająki chandeliers and wycinanki (papercuts) - Karolina will teach you how to create a unique colourful mobile using ribbons and paper.
Cathedral Square
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Mushroom Growing and Fungi Drawing
Head to Kitchen Tables where you’ll find Stockport Fungi who will be sharing their extensive knowledge and creativity around mushrooms! Have a go at growing your own on Saturday, or get up close and draw the detail on Sunday.
Cathedral Square
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Corn Dolly Making with Vic Jay
Corn dollies are an ancient, rural straw craft, traditionally made from the last sheaf of wheat at harvest time. In this workshop, you’ll learn to make a ‘harvest knot’ variety, using a traditional plaiting technique.
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
Drop In
Punjabi Roots
Watch vibrant, high-energy dance performances accompanied by the powerful rhythms of live Dhol drumming that will get your heart pounding and your feet moving. A dynamic and colourful spectacle not to be missed!
King William Street
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Table for the Nation
A 13 meter table made from ancient, fossilised oak is in residency at Blackburn Cathedral as part of their Centenary celebrations.
Blackburn Cathedral
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Riso Collage Portrait Studio
Create a collage portrait then watch your design be live printed on the Riso machine, transforming your artwork into a distinctive two-colour print.
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Meaningful Merch with Gay Bennett of Lived in Repairs
Swap out mass-made festival merch for something handmade. In this drop-in workshop you’ll learn Sashiko — a traditional Japanese hand-stitching technique — and create your own keepsake to take home.
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
Booking Required
Pieces of Us: Cubist Faces in Mosaic with Qemamu Mosaics
Create a mosaic portrait inspired by the bold, abstract style of Picasso’s Cubism. Expect vibrant tiles and a gallery of beautifully unexpected faces by the end of the workshop.
Cotton Exchange
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
Drop In
The Super Slow Way
Super Slow Way will join the festival with activity linking the town centre and Audley Community Park which they continue to develop alongside local residents into a welcoming green space. Expect barge rides, bridge building and a host of creative workshops using natural materials.
Sat & Sun
Drop In
Shaping Ideas: A Ceramics workshop and exhibition
Step into 'Shaping Ideas' and explore the possibilities of working with clay in this hands-on ceramics workshop and exhibition with The University of Lancashire.
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
Drop In
Banner making with Sam Selley
Create your own mini fabric banner adorned with felt, patterned fabrics or even detailed embroidery.
Cathedral Square
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
Booking Required
Tassel Making with Jenny Steele
Using a range of colourful, sustainably sourced yarns, learn the heritage craft of tassel making as you create tassels to take home.
Sat 4th July
Drop In
Blackburn & Darwen Community Band
Enjoy a lively performance of music from pop, film and musicals by Blackburn Community Band. With over 30 enthusiastic young musicians, there's something for everyone to enjoy.
King William Street
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Flights of Fancy
Make fantastical cardboard bird hats and puppets, and show them off in a fun mini parade!
The Bureau Centre for the Arts
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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STEAM Zone with Blackburn College
STEAM is everywhere – from what we make, to how we travel, to how we live. Here, you’ll find a wide range of workshops designed to get your hands working and your mind whirring.
King William Street
Sat 4th July
Cotton Kings Feature Film – Open Auditions
Calling all aspiring actors and local talent! The award winning Bashford Twins are holding open auditions for an upcoming feature film; Cotton Kings.
Sat 4th July
Booking Required
Tat Vision’s ‘The Prison Puppet Show!’
Join a hardened criminal character as he retells his prison life through found and handmade puppets A fast, silly, and absurd puppet show full of laughs and mischief. Adults only!
The Drummer's Arms
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Splodge-a-matic Spin Painting Machine
Pedal powered spin art. Make your own painted masterpiece at a bespoke vintage fairground attraction-turned-art machine. Everyone welcome, scream if you want it to go faster!
Museum Street
Sat 4th July
Booking Required
Creative Writing workshop with Bernadette Russell
Exploring the theme of ‘Our (Extra)ordinary Lives’ you will find the tools and prompts to start telling your tale.
The Drummer's Arms
Sat 4th July
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Rang Qawwal Group
Enjoy the sounds of traditional instruments played by eight performers specialising in the Qawwali - a form of devotional music.
Cathedral Square
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Playing with Words – a Dada typography workshop
Join artist Mia Bashir in a poster making workshop inspired by the radical art movement Dadaism.
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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New Blackburn Ballads with Douglas & Moss
Write a new song telling your story! Following the rich heritage of the working-class Victorian writers of Blackburn, this workshop is open to anyone who would like to contribute stories, words, melodies and ideas.
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
Drop In
Flags of Hope
Design, print and stitch your own piece of community bunting in the Caravanalogue – a quirky retro touring caravan packed with analogue and hand-powered creative tools.
Museum Street
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
Drop In
Heritage Crafts
Did you know there are some crafts at risk of becoming extinct in the UK? Heritage Crafts will be taking over a space in Blackburn to highlight their ‘Red List of Endangered Crafts’, featuring expert Makers all focussed on keeping these skills alive.
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Spice mixing with SOUTHINDIAN4ME
Dive into the variety and versatility of spices within South Indian cooking by creating your own masala spice mixes to take home.
Cathedral Square
Sat 4th July
Booking Required
366 Days of Kindness
Enjoy a part stand up, part storytelling performance by author Bernadette Russell, reflecting on her mission to ‘be kind to a stranger every single day for a year’.
The Drummer's Arms
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
Drop In
The Making Rooms Fab Lab
Popping up in different areas of the Festival whilst their building undergoes renovations, expect to find drop-in workshops connected to all their ‘labs’ - from textiles to eco, plastics, ceramics and more.
9 Town Hall Street, King William Street
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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South Asian Embroidery with Kiran Sidiki
A space to unwind, reflect and walk into the traditional practice of Muka: Metallic thread embroidery from Sindh, Pakistan.
Cathedral Square
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Mariia Petrovska
Listen to contemporary and Ukrainian folk music played on the Bandura, a traditional string instrument.
Cathedral Square
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
Drop In
Explore South Asian Truck Art with Zareena Bano
Truck art is a unique and intricate form of expression that transforms everyday vehicles into moving masterpieces. Decorate your own mini truck-shaped plaque inspired by the iconic tradition.
Cathedral Square
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Creative Skills Workshops with Blackburn College
Enjoy a range of hands-on creative activities across a variety of disciplines in this interactive workshop space led by Blackburn College!
Museum Street
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Not only a Street Party
Head down to Church Street to find a host of emerging creatives, support a circular economy, be immersed in a pop-up marketplace, and experience live music from local artists co-curated with Blackburn Gigs.
Church Street
Sun 5th July
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A performance by Douglas & Moss
Douglas and Moss perform new songs created in their songwriting workshops, as well as music from their forthcoming album, 'Path Over Pendle'.
Sun 5th July
Drop In
Fun Palaces Makers Workshop at the Bureau
Find out how Fun Palaces bring communities together through creativity, skills-sharing and local action. Explore ideas, meet others and discover how you could get involved.
The Bureau Centre for the Arts
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Ebru Marbling with Arts 2 Heal
Experience the traditional Turkish practice of Ebru marbling, where colours float and dance on water to create unique patterns. Watch live demonstrations and use natural pigments, brushes and styluses to create your own pieces.
Cathedral Square
Sat 4th & Sun 5th July
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Melodrome Stage
Don't miss the Melodrome Stage at Cathedral Square with live music and performances from local and national musicians throughout the day.
Cathedral Square