Published Monday 24 January 2022 at 14:09
Blackburn is making way for the award-winning weekend festival to return for its fourth edition on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th June 2022.
National Festival of Making are getting ready to deliver their best festival yet this Summer, drawing visitors to Blackburn town centre with an array of making workshops, theatre and musical performances, community projects, installations, local food producers and more.
Festival organisers are looking forward to creating opportunities for communities to come together and enjoy shared experiences as we move forward beyond the pandemic.
Crowds of over 40,000 are expected to flock to Blackburn, bringing a fantastic buzz about the borough and boosting the economy for our local businesses.
Due to Covid-19, the festival weekend’s in 2020 and 2021 were unfortunately unable to go ahead.
During this time, organisers developed a new programme of work to continue bringing creative and cultural experiences to our borough, including the public poetry project, Of Earth & Sky, in collaboration with Luke Jerram and local poets, and an inflatable installation in Corporation Park, by international makers Architects of Air.
Cllr Damion Talbot, Executive Member for Leisure and Culture at Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council:
“It’s brilliant to see the dates for the 2022 National Festival of Making announced – what a great way to kick off the year.
“As has been the case for many events throughout the pandemic, the past couple of years has unfortunately seen the cancellation of the Festival – so to welcome it back to Blackburn for a fourth time is absolutely fantastic.
“National Festival of Making creates a massive buzz across our borough, attracting visitors from wide and far, boosting our town’s tourism profile and supporting local businesses.
“Between Darwen Live, Summer Fest, Restricted Rocks, the Queen’s Jubilee and this award-winning Festival, it’s going to be the best summer yet for Blackburn with Darwen.”
As we move into 2022 and beyond, the National Festival of Making will continue to develop and deliver a year-round programme alongside the festival weekend, bringing creative opportunities, artist development, and MAKING to audiences.
Lauren Zawadzki, Festival Director, said:
“After two years of being unable to hold live experiences, the whole festival team is absolutely delighted to be preparing to deliver what will be the fourth, National Festival of Making weekend in June 2022.
“We’ve been working closely with artists, communities and partners throughout the pandemic, making sure we continued to deliver high-quality cultural work however there is nothing more uplifting than live experiences.
After so long, June is now firmly in our sights and we’ll look forward to spending the festival weekend celebrating making with audiences old and new.”
Whether you’re curious about craft; design; heritage; science, technology or art – the National Festival of Making looks forward to welcoming you back in June 2022.
Put the date in your calendar and let’s get ready to MAKE!
Follow the up-to-date programme and festival announcements at www.festivalofmaking.co.uk