Burnley Words Festival

27/05/2026

A brand new Spoken Word event starts tonight at The Salon (160 St James Street)!

Join BLURT on the last Wednesday of the month for an informal gathering with like-minded people, share new work, test ideas, meet, talk and discuss in a relaxed and supportive space.

For first timers and those with a bit of experience.
Sign up on the night or just come and watch.
All welcome.

May 27, 2026 - April 26, 2028 @ 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm - Open mic evenings at the Salon, featuring poetry and spoken word. Join us on the last Wednesday of the month for an informal gathering with like-minded people, share new work, test ideas, meet, talk and discuss in a relaxed and supportive space. F...

17/04/2026

Join us this World Book Night at Burnley Library for a relaxed evening celebrating the joy of reading ✨

We’ll be unveiling two brand new portable murals commissioned by Burnley Words Festival, inspired by Burnley’s Favourite Books, alongside an exhibition of creative responses from local writers.

Expect a warm, community feel with time to chat, connect, and enjoy a handful of short live readings throughout the evening.

📚 23rd April
🕖 From 7pm (readings from 7.30pm)
🎟️ Free tickets – book online: https://www.ticketsource.com/burnley-words/world-book-night-burnleys-favourite-book/e-jzzjma

You’re very welcome to bring a favourite book with you, and invite friends and family along too.

We’d love to see you there.

21/03/2026

Our annual Family Fun Day with is back!
Join us for a day of dance, storytelling, workshops and more! Explore the building in new ways, try your hand at something a little different, and most importantly have fun!

Activities will run throughout the day, and all are free to attend. There is no need to book, but you can sign up on the Mechanics Website for a full timetable. Some activities will be limited in capacity, and will be done on a first-come come first serve basis on the day.

This is a free event, and we hope to keep it that way, but if you want to help us secure funding for future Family Fun Days, and are willing and able to, you can choose to ‘donate in advance’ by booking £3 tickets.

Group bookings and holiday clubs are always welcome, please let us know in advance of your arrival.

10/03/2026

Live Acoustic Music This Sunday at

Ease into your Sunday with relaxed live music from local musician , performing a gentle mix of covers and original songs.

Pop into Rhode Island Coffee, grab a drink, and enjoy an afternoon of easy listening.

🗓 Sunday
⏰ 2pm – 4pm
🎟 Free entry (just purchase a drink, or a cake… or both!)

📸 photo credit

10/02/2026

Posting on behalf of our friends at Down Town! Do you have any world book day costumes that are no longer needed? Or a fancy dress cupboard fit to bursting? Maybe just an item of clothing that you no longer want but could easily be a key piece of wardrobe for a fictional character? I’m looking at you, yes you, with the 8 matching stripy tops… don’t you think one of them could go to a budding pirate?

06/02/2026

We are finalists in the Burnley Culture Awards! We are so proud to be nominated for the Outstanding Cultural Event award and the Culture For All Award. Both categories include some incredible organisations and people, and it’s an honour to be listed among them. Plus our Producer Stephie is up for the Creative Excellence Award! We can’t wait to celebrate all the amazing work that has gone on across Burnley in the last two years! Congratulations to all the nominees, the panel have a very difficult job ahead of them!

05/02/2026

We are incredibly excited and honoured to be nominated for two Burnley Culture Awards, in the Culture for All category, and Outstanding Cultural Event. And our Creative Producer, Stephie is nominated for the Creative Excellence Award.

It’s fantastic to see such an amazing list of organisations and people creating exciting cultural opportunities in Burnley!

Culture Burnley Burnley Leisure & Culture

The finalists have been revealed for this year’s Culture Burnley Awards

28/01/2026

We’re busy getting ready for our Poetry Exhibition at which launches this Sunday! With 25 poems in total from local writers, all displayed in beautifully illustrated borders by ! The exhibition will be up through out February!

22/01/2026

This is the final part of Men Of Burnley, a short film made in Burnley by Casson & Friends, , commissioned by us.

We'd like to thank all of the community groups, organisations and venues that helped create this film, and of course, everyone at Casson & Friends. This film was directed by Tim Casson, performed & co-created by Matthew Winston & Deepraj Singh, with music by Paul Rogerson, and Film & Editing by Alisa Boanta

In this section, you’ll hear a recording taken directly from one of the conversations that took part during the week the group spentt in the community. The dance in this final part is inspired by the emotions and reflections from everything in Part 1 & 2.

If you’d like to watch the film in full, you can do so on our website:
https://burnleywordsfestival.co.uk/men-in-burnley/

Culture Burnley Discover Burnley Creative Lancashire The Royal Dyche 5 Ways Boxing Academy

21/01/2026

We’re back with Part 2 of Men in Burnley, a short film made right here in the town by Casson & Friends.

Earlier this year, the artists spent time in Burnley talking to men of all ages about everyday life, what they do, and what being a man in Burnley looks like today. Everything in the film comes directly from those conversations.

In this section, you’ll see the performers responding to recordings of those conversations as they speak, listening closely so the movement and words truly reflect the people they spoke to.

If you missed it, you can catch Part 1 in yesterday's post.

Like all parts of the film, it’s free to watch and free to share. If it resonates, please pass it on or tag someone who might want to see it.

If you’ve been affected by anything in the film, a list of mental health and support organisations is available on our website. https://burnleywordsfestival.co.uk/men-in-burnley/

Part 3 coming soon.

Culture Burnley Discover Burnley Burnley Mechanics Theatre