Neighbourhood Creatives Arts Festival 2026

• 26th October 2026 - 31st October 2026 at Washwood Heath & Ward End

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OPEN ALL WEEK

Library of Ideas exhibition
10am – 4pm | Lakeside Café

Over the next year, Neighbourhood Creatives are looking to make the ME-WE-HERE Art Trail – a collection of artworks made with people living and working around Ward End Park.

Together with our three artists, Nilupa Yasmin, Rochi Rampal and Maral Mamaghanizadeh, local partners and residents, we’ve begun to put together a Library of Ideas for what this trail might be. This is inspired by what has been said, what we have seen, and what has been made with the community so far.

We’re inviting you to come along to the Lakeside Café at the Dolphin Women’s Centre during the festival week to visit the Library of Ideas exhibition and learn more about the trail, its route and how you can be part of bringing it to life! Across the week there will be opportunities to meet our artists and take part in a range of drop-in creative activities inspired by the ideas.

Please note there is no requirement to book a ticket – just turn up and join in!

MONDAY 26th OCTOBER

The Great Big Bug Show
11.30am & 2.30pm | Ward End Library | 45 mins
Suitable for ages 4 – 11

Which beetle has a blaster on its bottom? Which many-legged minibeast took the first ever steps on land? Which eight-legged hunter has fangs as big as a cheetah’s claws?

Join poet Simon Mole and musician Gecko for a family show full of poems, raps and songs all about your favourite bugs (and some you haven’t heard of yet!). A fun and interactive invitation to explore the secret world beneath our feet. As well as being brilliantly beautiful, delightfully disgusting and wonderfully weird, the show is an inspirational call to action to appreciate the smaller creatures in our world. Expect Minibeasts and Massive Beats. Every tune is an earworm – even the ones about woodlice! There will be a meet & greet with Simon and Gecko after the show.

Community Lunch
12 – 2pm | Lakeside Café
Open to everyone

Join the Neighbourhood Creatives team for a free bowl of soup, hot drink and a chat as we open the festival and our Library of Ideas exhibition together. Hear from our three ME-WE-HERE artists about what the ideas are and take a walk around the route where the trail will be!

TUESDAY 27th OCTOBER

OakMobile
10am – 4pm | Ward End Park House (in front) | Show every 10 mins
Suitable for all ages

Step inside the mysterious silver OakMobile from Talking Birds, to meet the Storyteller, whose friend The Robin needs your help to get the world back in balance! Nature-themed, multi-sensory storytelling. Ramp accessible.

Please note there is no requirement to book for this performance, there is a show every 10 mins for groups of up to 7 people.

Download a visual / easy read document for OakMobile

CastAway
11.30am & 2.30pm | Ward End Park Car Park (the courts) | 30 mins
Suitable for all ages

From beneath a mountain of waste, the Keeper of the Waterways awakens. Change is coming. CastAway by Highly Sprung is a breathtaking outdoor performance that confronts our throwaway culture and its impact on waterways.

Featuring an all-female cast and a unique gyroscopic flying machine, this aerial theatre experience immerses audiences in an underwater world where performers soar 26 feet above ground. Inspired by the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, CastAway offers a powerful, compassionate vision for change—challenging us all to reflect on sustainability, climate change, and the choices we make.

Content Warning: Some aggressive behaviour (suggestive of bullying) between two characters at points in the first 15 minutes.

Download an easy read document for CastAway

WEDNESDAY 28th OCTOBER

Lori – A World of Lullabies
11am & 2.30pm | Ward End Library | 40 mins
Suitable for ages 2-6

Step into the magical world of Lori. A playful, interactive performance for younger children and families, using storytelling, dance and music.

Inspired by Sampad’s book of multi-lingual lullabies, families can now enjoy this live experience. Lori (Lullaby in Hindi) uses South Asian music and dance to transport you into a world of imagination. It is the perfect way for young children to explore and enrich their understanding of the world. This unique experience will entrance and engage, enhancing creative thinking through play, movement, music and language.

Presented by Sampad South Asian Arts & Heritage.

Introduction to Bharatanatyam Dancing
12pm | Ward End Library | 30 mins
Suitable for all ages

Come and see some of the vivid movements of the Indian Classical dance style Bharatanatyam. Learn how to tell a story through simple dance moves and hand gestures (Mudras) and try some for yourself! No previous dance experience is required. Come along to try something new, burn off some energy and learn about a cultural art form.

THURSDAY 29th OCTOBER

Masterchef Mo and the Missing Cake
11am & 2pm | Ward End Library | 30 mins
Suitable for ages 3-7

Written and directed by Oliver Hymans. Words by Totally Telling Tales.

On your marks, get set, BAKE! World-famous chef Mo has lost the recipe for their most scrumptious cake. Join us on this adventure to help find the missing ingredients. With delightful puppets, magic tricks and games, time is running out to bake it till you make it!

A fun, interactive puppet show presented by Little Angel Theatre.

Puppet Making – Masterchef Mo
11.45am & 2.45pm | Ward End Library | 1 hour
Suitable for ages 5-7

Join Little Angel Theatre to make your very own puppet inspired by Masterchef Mo and the Missing Cake, to take home and play with. This family workshop will be led by an experienced facilitator, teaching you how to make your very own chef puppet! This is the perfect way to entertain creative brains who like to design and make.

FRIDAY 30th OCTOBER

We’ll be taking a short break and won’t be hosting any public performances or activities on this day. We’ll be back on Saturday for a final day of festival fun!

SATURDAY 31st OCTOBER

Neighbourhood Creations
10 – 4pm | Lakeside Café, The Unity Hubb, The WASH & Ward End Wellbeing Centre

Drop in throughout the day to see what our artists and participant groups have been up to over the week and the artworks they’ve made together, walk the route through the park and come and have a look at the Library of Ideas exhibition!

Please note there is no requirement to book a ticket – just turn up and join in!

What’s in your Fantastical World?
12pm | Ward End Library | 60 mins
Suitable for ages 5+

In this session, the company of Noori and her Fantastical World will use mask and puppetry to spark curiosity and wonder through craft and making. Meet the inhabitants of Noori’s world as they work and play with you in the colourful, vibrant scenery.

You will be making your own part of Noori’s world in this workshop alongside our strange and exciting creatures who will celebrate friendship, connection and community in this engaging and interactive craft workshop.

Come with us to enter the magical world of Noori and discover more about the magic and light that lives in all of us.

Noori and her Fantastical World
2.30pm | Ward End Library | 50 mins
Suitable for ages 5+

Noori and her Fantastical World is a brand-new family dance theatre production by Sonia Sabri Company, the leading South Asian dance and music company in the UK. today. A little girl called Noori lives alone with her dad. Despite all the love and care from him, Noori misses her mum.

Then she opens her front door to discover a magical world filled with beautiful creatures on a mission to help her navigate her feelings, through comfort, guidance and acceptance. Noori brings together puppetry, mask-work and movement to explore finding the light within ourselves.

CommuniTEA
3 – 4pm | Lakeside Café

Join the Neighbourhood Creatives team as we round off the festival week with free refreshments and a chat about all the fun we’ve had over the week and how you can continue getting involved with the project!

Please note there is no requirement to book a ticket – just turn up and join in!

On the previous tab, you’ll see a day-by-day programme of all the performances and activities taking place across the festival.

We’ll also be co-hosting a week-long programme with four different organisations: Curl Girl Productions, The Unity Hubb, The WASH and Ward End Wellbeing Centre.

Each of them will work with an artist over the course of the week to make something new with residents and local groups – whether that’s a piece of artwork, bringing new life to a green space or putting on a show! On Saturday 31st you can come and see what they’ve been up to – and get involved yourself!

To find out more email us on [email protected] – or if you know a young person aged 8-11 who’d like to get involved in putting on their own ‘Play in a Week’ with Curl Girl Productions – scroll down to find out more.

Tales from Changa Manga – A Play in a Week!
Presented by Curl Girl Productions

28th – 31st October
Ward End Fire Station & Ward End Wellbeing Centre
Suitable for ages 8-11

“Long ago, deep in the thick trails of the Changa Manga forest, incredible stories were waiting to be told…”

Step into the magic of theatre with this high-energy, week-long programme!

Led by experienced industry professionals, children will unleash their inner performers to bring wild jungle legends to life. Exploring themes of kindness and cultural heritage, participants will build sets, make costumes, learn music, and take on a speaking part. The week wraps up with a special sharing for family and friends on Saturday 31^st October, where every child will be presented with a certificate as a mark of their achievement.

To reserve a place(s) on the programme, please book a ticket via Ticket Tailor for each child who will be taking part – we will then follow up with you directly on email to collect necessary registration information (including any access requirements) to confirm your space(s).

KEY INFORMATION

The programme will be taking place during the Neighbourhood Creatives Arts Festival week on the following dates, at these locations:

Ward End Fire Station Community Room

• Wednesday 28th October | 10am – 4.30pm
• Thursday 29th October | 10am -1pm

Ward End Wellbeing Centre

• Friday 30th October | 11am-2pm
• Saturday 31st October | 10am-1pm (with family & friends sharing at 12.30pm)

There are 15 places available, on a first come, first served basis.

It is FREE to take part in the programme.

No previous experience necessary but a desire to actively participate.

Please note that participants are expected to attend every session. Parents and carers do not need to stay during the programme – participants can be dropped off at 9.55am and collected at the end of each session.

All facilitators are DBS checked and have completed safeguarding training.

What to expect?

• High-energy drama games
• Character creation
• Storytelling and world building
• Scene making and rehearsal
• Performance at the end of the day
• Making new friends
• LOTS of fun!

What to bring?
Drama is hungry and thirsty work! Please bring:

• Water bottle
• Snacks – VEGETARIAN & NO NUTS or products containing traces of nut
• Please bring lunch for the 10am-4.30pm session on Wednesday 28th October.

Family Sharing

Family and friends are invited to join us at the end of the week on Saturday 31st October 2026 at 12.30pm at Ward End Wellbeing Centre for a fun informal sharing of the work created, and a ceremony where all participants will receive a certificate for their involvement. Please confirm attendance at the beginning of the week.

If you have any questions about the programme, please email [email protected]

Find out more about Curl Girl Productions.

We will have Neighbourhood Creatives team members on hand at the Library of Ideas exhibition at the Lakeside Café during the week, where you can ask us a question, find out what’s going on or book a ticket on the day (subject to availability) and grab a snack!

For information on accessing the festival, please download our ‘Getting Around the Festival’ guide, which covers venues and facilities and everything you need to plan your visit. British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters will be on hand throughout the week. They will be at all the performances and can be at any of the activities or at the Library of Ideas exhibition on request.

If you have any questions or require an interpreter for a particular activity, please email [email protected]

Please note: All children and young people under 16 should be accompanied by an adult when attending any of our performances and activities (apart from Play in a Week). Photography and filming may be taking place during the festival. If you have any questions, please speak to a member of the team.