Festival of Making to return for 2023 with £2million boost

The Festival of Making is coming back to Blackburn for 2023 and is not to be missed.

The festival is set to share £2m of new Arts Council England funding for the borough over the next three years, with promises to be even bigger and better than before.

The festival has everything from making workshops to impressive art installations, theatre and musical performances, makers markets, delicious street food, talks, tours and more.

The Festival of Making is returning this July (Image: Blackburn with Darwen Council)

The event draws in tens of thousands of people each year, with visitors travelling from far and wide to be part of the action and this year it’ll run over the weekend of July 8 and 9.

Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, Cllr Phil Riley, said: “Blackburn with Darwen is a real hot bed of culture and creativity.

“The National Festival of Making is a big deal and we’re incredibly proud to host it here in our borough and play an integral part as strategic partner too.

“The Festival celebrates the unique making heritage of our borough, creating a distinctive sense of place while boosting our town’s tourism profile and supporting local businesses – it’s fantastic.”

The Festival of Making is returning this July (Image: Newsquest)

It was named an Arts Council National Portfolio Holder alongside Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery, Cultrapedia and the British Textile Biennial, which will also return in 2023 – running for a month from September 29.

Chair of the Festival of Making Board of Directors, Jamie Holman, said: “We’ve collectively witnessed the enormous growth of Blackburn’s local cultural ecology in recent years, and that is now even further enhanced with strategic and significant Arts Council investment.

“I’m beyond excited to see how our ambitions can now be realised over the next three years.”