The festival is recognised as a place where makers deliver an extraordinary range of workshops for all ages.
Workshops make up the largest part of our programme, offering our audience the opportunity to take part in high-quality making experiences and explore new skills and materials.
Whether coming with the family or on a solo adult trip, the programme is packed with opportunities for intergenerational making, discovering an artist’s practice, or contemporary takes on heritage skills.
We have three main ways to access workshops at the festival: ‘Drop-in’, ‘Sign-up on the day’ and ‘Book in advance’. Most of our family workshops are ‘Drop-in’, so don’t worry if you don’t get anything booked in advance!
Drop-in
These workshops are all free – just turn up and if there’s a spare chair, sit down and get stuck in! If there isn’t a spare chair yet, it should only be a short wait before one becomes available.
Sign up on the day
These are also free, but require you to head to the venue and sign up for a time slot. This allows artists to control materials and numbers, but means you don’t need to book through an online booking system in advance of your visit. Numbers are limited here, so it’s best to get to the venue earlier in the day to avoid disappointment.
Book in advance
These tickets will be made available on Eventbrite before the festival – some workshops have a charge to cover material costs, but workshops are always subsidised thanks to the funding we receive, to reduce the cost where we can. These workshops are really popular, and by the time the festival arrives, the tickets have usually sold out, so keep an eye on our newsletter and social media for ticket announcements.
Most of our workshops are completely free! A few workshops have a charge to cover material costs, but workshops are always subsidised thanks to the funding we receive, to reduce the cost where we can. In the few cases, there is a charge, this will be clear in the online programme and print brochure.
A few of our workshops do require booking in advance – these are often workshops which might involve a longer, more engaged process with a maker to get stuck in and learn a skill. These tickets will be made available on Eventbrite before the festival. However, most of the family workshops and content across the Festival is on a ‘just turn up’ basis, so don’t worry if you get nothing booked before you come, there’s still loads to do!
Sometimes in our marketing, we categorise things to help you understand what might be ideal for children, teens and adults. However, just because a workshop might be listed as ideal ‘for children and families’, it does not mean it couldn’t also be fab for an adult.
There is no upper age limit on anything other than Early Years content, which is aimed at under-5s, so if you want to give something a go, please do!
If there is an age restriction, this is usually for safety reasons due to the tools involved – an age such as ‘8+’ will be listed in the online programme, print brochure and be on printed signs by the workshop. If you’re ever unsure, just ask the artist.
Most workshops run 11 am-5 pm, right through the festival day. If a workshop doesn’t run all day or both days, we’ll make this clear in the online programme and print brochure.
If you pop by a workshop and there’s a sign saying ‘I’m on lunch’, artists are taking a quick break to rest and refuel. They’ll be back soon, and there should always be something else to do very close by.
If you fancy running a workshop at the festival, take a look at our ‘How we work’ page – that should give you all the information you need, with info on how to contact us.
We work closely with some of the most exciting and contemporary artists and makers locally and nationally to deliver our workshop programme.
Often, artists adapt their practice to suit the drop-in family-festival, or we offer opportunities for participants to take part in longer, more detailed workshop experiences.
Every step of the way, we consider how both the artist and audience can have the best experience.
You’ll also find content from some of our fantastic partners.
Blackburn College fills the STEAM and Creative Zone with workshops to get your hands working, minds whirring.
The Making Rooms is a hive of activity, and, over the years, organisations like the BBC, QEST, Lancashire Wildlife Trust, Blackburn BID, Blackburn Youth Zone and British Textile Biennial have delivered hands-on workshops for the whole family.