Derbyshire Makes | Festival

Derbyshire Makes Festival 2026

A free festival across Derbyshire, celebrating making in all its forms.

April to May 2026

Spring 2026 saw Derbyshire Makes Festival return for its second year, bringing people together across the county to discover, make, share and celebrate.

Over six weeks, town centres, heritage sites and community spaces became stages for creativity, with thousands of people taking part in workshops, performances, exhibitions, talks and hands-on activities.

At the heart of the festival were six distinctive hub festival days, each inspired by the local stories, heritage and creativity that make Derbyshire such a special place. Together they created a countywide celebration of making in all its forms.

The 2026 festival visited six hub locations across Derbyshire:

• Cromford – Saturday 11 April
• Chesterfield – Saturday 18 April
• Swadlincote – Saturday 25 April
• Heanor – Saturday 2 May
• Glossop – Saturday 9 May
• Bolsover – Saturday 16 May

From heritage crafts and contemporary art to community celebrations and large-scale performances, the festival showcased the many ways people make, create and connect across Derbyshire. Each hub programme was shaped by local partners, artists and communities, creating six unique celebrations under one countywide festival.

An outdoor street performance shows a performer operating a quirky mechanical contraption on wheels while another performer leaps beside it, with an audience gathered around watching.
THINGAMABOB by Matt Pang Photo Ashley Bird
Val and the Community Living Room
Val and the Community Living Room
A street performer walks inside a large human-powered wheel while being guided along a town street, with a crowd watching the spectacle.
PARADE by Autin Dance Theatre. Photo Jenny Harper
A stylised digital sculpture resembling flowing flames stands on a pedestal in a bright, animated landscape with green grass, yellow-leaved trees, and butterflies.
Digital Sculpture Collaboration w Elaine Lim Newton Credit John Whall
Side view of a large bus parked on cobbles in front of a red brick building. A man is walking past the bus. The bus is yellow gold with the words Derbyshire Makes in red at the front and icons in different colours including a blue bobbin, red square shape and a green bottle bank
The Makory. Photo Richard Tymon
Overhead shot of a wooden table with handmade wooden boats, string, and a white sheet of paper with the words Cromford Mills written in a circle
Photo Richard Tymon
Young girl with long dark hair stands in a town square in front of a large wooden sign that reads, MAKE, and white marquees. She is holding a wooden bird box.
Photo Richard Tymon
Boy making a cardboard building leans down to apply a tool to the surface
The Makory. Photo Richard Tymon
An outdoor street performance shows a performer operating a quirky mechanical contraption on wheels while another performer leaps beside it, with an audience gathered around watching.
THINGAMABOB by Matt Pang Photo Ashley Bird
Val and the Community Living Room
Val and the Community Living Room
A street performer walks inside a large human-powered wheel while being guided along a town street, with a crowd watching the spectacle.
PARADE by Autin Dance Theatre. Photo Jenny Harper
A stylised digital sculpture resembling flowing flames stands on a pedestal in a bright, animated landscape with green grass, yellow-leaved trees, and butterflies.
Digital Sculpture Collaboration w Elaine Lim Newton Credit John Whall
Side view of a large bus parked on cobbles in front of a red brick building. A man is walking past the bus. The bus is yellow gold with the words Derbyshire Makes in red at the front and icons in different colours including a blue bobbin, red square shape and a green bottle bank
The Makory. Photo Richard Tymon
Overhead shot of a wooden table with handmade wooden boats, string, and a white sheet of paper with the words Cromford Mills written in a circle
Photo Richard Tymon
Young girl with long dark hair stands in a town square in front of a large wooden sign that reads, MAKE, and white marquees. She is holding a wooden bird box.
Photo Richard Tymon
Boy making a cardboard building leans down to apply a tool to the surface
The Makory. Photo Richard Tymon

2026 Festival highlights

Festival Hub Showcase Performances

Four specially commissioned showcase performances travelled across the festival, appearing at hub locations throughout Derbyshire and bringing moments of surprise, creativity and participation to audiences of all ages.

Parade – The Giant Wheel was a spectacular moving performance featuring a 12-foot Giant Wheel powered by dance artists, travelling through the streets with live music and a community cast of local performers. Created by Autin Dance Theatre, the work blended storytelling, physical theatre and large-scale design to create a striking visual spectacle.

Thingamabob Show was a joyful solo street show built around an ingenious handcrafted, self-exoding contraption. Combining circus, clowning and mechanical mayhem, the performance celebrated invention and comic timing as a chain reaction of playful engineering unfolded. Created and performed by Matt Pang, the show delighted audiences across the festival.

MakeLAND invited visitors into a virtual world where Derbyshire’s makers and the landscapes that shape them came vividly to life. This immersive VR experience explored the imagination, skill and deep connection that defines creativity across the county. Created by artist John Whall, it encouraged audiences not just to watch, but to explore and co-create.

Val and Friends Community Living Room offered a welcoming home-from-home experience filled with brews, bants and good neighbourly vibes. Created by Maison Foo in collaboration with Make/Shift and Listening Shelf Audio, the installation brought people together through conversation, creativity and shared experiences.

DM 2026 Programme and Map

Click and download the PDF

2025 Festival highlights

Derbyshire Makes Festival unfolded across six local Hubs over five weeks from Friday 28 March to Sunday 27 April 2025. In Chesterfield, Heanor, Cromford, Glossop, Bolsover and Swadlincote, there were artist talks, craft-based demonstrations and making opportunities, as well as exhibitions, performances and more.

Glossop’s central square was transformed into a giant playground, Heanor encouraged neighbours to share their knowledge in the Big Community Skills Swap in Heanor. Each Hub location was programmed by local cultural partners, with activities informed by the stories and history unique to the area. And threading its way between these locations was the mobile workshop and gallery The Makory.

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