New Mills Festival line-up has it all

Running from September 9 to 25, the festival lineup features an eclectic mix of music, community events, family fun, screenings, gigs, talks walks and arts,.

New Mills Festival first launched in the 1990s with the aim of bringing together many groups and organisations in the town, sharing community, culture and arts. It is now an excitedly anticipated annual event held during the last two full weeks of September. Festival organisers created new approaches to draw the community together during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 but this year represents a return to the full New Mills Festival format, created by and for the community, by volunteers, businesses, artists, performers and creative thinkers.

The town is transformed into a vibrant hub of artistic endeavours, cultural happenings and family fun. As ever, New Mills Festival is about creating events to bring people together to learn something new, get creative or be entertained. This year the theme is “Places and Spaces”, exploring the town’s origins; inspired by the past and brought to life in the present. New Mills was part of the High Peak King’s Forest, its roots in rock, its Places and Spaces inhabited by forest animals and given form by the ancient and mighty trees.

Festival Volunteer Alison Johnson said: “It’s great to see so many different sights and sounds coming to the heart of New Mills this September to intrigue, excite and entertain both local residents and visitors to our lovely town”

New Mills Festival officially opens on September 10 and joins forces once more with New Mills Art Theatre to bring to town Black Umfolosi, an energetic and completely different style of musical entertainment. Black Umfolosi combine music and dance, both traditional and also derived from Southern African origins. Much more than a performing group, they’ll also be including local youngsters who’ll have the awesome experience of learning direct from them prior to the performance.

The centrepiece of New Mills Festival - the Lantern Procession (September 24) – is set to wow visitors, and work is already underway to explore and illustrate the theme of Places and Spaces, returning imaginations to a time when the High Peak would have been covered in forest.

In the true spirit of togetherness, the procession is illuminated by people. Public lantern workshops take place throughout the period of the festival and families and community groups bring their own amazing creations to be a part of the after dark parade. The lantern carriers wind their way through the gorge that runs beneath the town, passing fire sculptures, illuminations, and NEW for this year video projections created by internationally-renowned video projection artists Illuminos will join the display.

The Lantern Procession has come to form part of the recent rich history of the town. Launched in 2000 to celebrate the opening of the town’s iconic Millennium Walkway, the inaugural event, inspired and made to happen by local residents Nigel and Lisa Caldwell had a phenomenal 350 lanterns crossing the walkway. Recently 12,000 have taken part. Tickets for timed slots are important to manage the crowds, and sales for the early evening are already brisk.

A Street Party follows (for everyone), with street food, music, fire eaters, jugglers, stilt- walkers and more, starting at 5pm.

Home Farm New Mills is a community project which began in spring 2020, a time when community participation was desperately needed. Home Farm brought seeds of hope to New Mills as across town, local people planted heritage wheat in small plots in window boxes, front and back gardens. Together, the town harvested, milled and baked.

From those promising green shoots, Home Farm New Mills has continued to grow and to bring people together. New for this year, Home Farm New Mills has a resident theatre company, Unfinished Business for a week long residence as part of this year’s project. The programme has some intriguing events: Mush (September 14 and 15), Rest and Rise Again (September 16), The Bakery of Slow Ideas (September 17 and 18) and Harvest Home Supper (September 18). The Home Farm New Mills project has been made possible by support from The National Lottery Community Fund, Transition - Bounce Forward, Sustain Video, Foundation Derbyshire and Transition New Mills.

In addition, many previous popular events return to town, including the local History Society talk, Comedy at the Pride of the Peaks, the Made in New Mills craft fair, and a huge variety of concerts and gigs, with the exuberant Folk Night closing the Festival on September 25.

There’s a lot more information available on the New Mills Festival website – https://www.newmillsfestival.com and also in the paper brochure which is an excellent small publication to discover things to do every day of the Festival. The brochure is available free in many local shops and businesses in New Mills and the surrounding area.

New Mills Festival is organised by a committee, who give their skills, time and energy on an entirely voluntary basis to enrich our community life. Local volunteers give their time to rattle buckets, direct people, and lend a hand throughout the two weeks. The Festival relies on a fantastic mix of events from independent organisers, old and new to make up the thoroughly enjoyable programme, and on local people to bring it all to life.