Cullercoats Festival

05/06/2026

Meet our good friends Miggins Fiddle who will repeat their success of last year kicking off the fun in the Buffet Room of the Cullercoats Crescent Club at 11 am after the opening with Ray Laidlaw.

Gallagher, our Festival poet-in-residence, will be reading some of his poems, and may even write you a poem if you ask him nicely...

You can find Miggins Fiddle and friends in St George's Vicarage Garden at 3 pm playing toe-tapping tunes.

You might also be interested in the Phoenix Folk Ceilidhs on FRIDAY evening in St George’s Hall
6 pm families £3 (child) and £6 (adult)
8 pm everyone £7 (Bring your own refreshments)

and the Phoenix Chamber Folk Ensemble Annual Concert on SATURDAY evening in St George’s Church Cullercoats at 7 pm

Tickets for both events are at https://phoenixfolk.co.uk/tickets/

05/06/2026

We're please to welcome back Radio Northumberland to the Festival. As last year, they'll be in The Smugglers at the Queens Head, Cullercoats

Radio Northumberland is volunteer-run and community-focused (just like the Festival!). You can find it online at www.radionorthumberland.com, and on DAB+ across Northumberland and North Tyneside. As well as their specialism, community programming, they have a number of specialist shows including punk, electronic music, country and classic rock. You might even hear some figures from the Festival...

They are always looking for volunteers to present and help behind the scenes
Contact [email protected] for more info.

04/06/2026

We’d like to thank the organisations who have supported the Festival with funding this year. We can make even a little go a long way and we are very grateful for all support!

Choirs Together: the writing and production of Songscape, a love letter to the North East Coast, by Penny Kempson-Neumann sung by over 50 singers from around the region.
Supported by The Sarah Morgan Foundation
www.sarahmorganfoundation.org

Festival Tour app in Actionbound: created by students from Tyne Metropolitan College and their teachers, with a grant from the High Sheriff’s Fund via the Community Foundation North East
Our wonderful Dance Mini-Congress received funding from the Sir James Knott Trust, which seems beautifully appropriate given Cullercoats’ strong connection to Sir James Knott.

And our funding from The National Lottery Community Fund has helped us over both 2025 and 2026 festivals. Thanks to them and everyone who plays the lottery.

We’ve had sponsorship from Joanne Wishart - Artist and National Education Union this year, a big thank you to them.

04/06/2026

Did you know that in 1848, Cullercoats was "remarkable for being, perhaps, the smallest township and manor in England." We punch above our weight here!

Here's a celebratory poem from our poet-in-residence Harry Gallagher

🐚Cullercoats Bay – A Cautionary Tale🪸

Don’t come for a day
to Cullercoats Bay,
do yourself a favour
and steer well away
from the friendly locals,
from Bill’s fish & chips,
the sheer blue horizon
from the top of the cliffs.

Don’t listen to the tales
that drift off the waves,
rumbling through the belly
of the smugglers’ caves.
They’ll trip you and trap you
until one awful day
you’ll find yourself anchored
in Cullercoats Bay.

You’ll end up as hooked
as a catch of the day,
boring folk with the history
of the old waggonway.
As you drone on about Marconi
watch them smile and back away.

You’ll be halfway through
an unlovely oratory
all about the wonders
of the Dove Laboratory
when you come to your senses,
the daylight diminished,
the streets are all empty
and the metros have finished.

So don’t come for the day
to Cullercoats Bay –
march away in your boots
before they put down roots
or you’ll never get away
from Cullercoats Bay.

Harry Gallagher

04/06/2026

We're delighted to welcome The Creels for the first time to Cullercoats Festival on Saturday 13th June.

Come and see them at 5 pm in the Buffet Room of the Cullercoats Crescent Club !

Upcoming show at Cullercoats Festival Saturday 13th June.

03/06/2026

We'd like to send a big thank you to Joanne Wishart - Artist for her stalwart support of the Festival. Joanne is a Silver Sponsor this year and we couldn't do what we do without her in more ways than one!

Joanne's lovely gallery is on St George's Road just along from the Library and round the corner from Cullercoats Primary School. She's created the most beautiful mask for our Mask Trail. The trail is on right now until Festival Day.

Joanne is helping us judge the masks at our Mask Gathering at 2 pm near the playpark. Bring your mask, there are prizes for children and adults!

Her boys will also be performing on the beach with the North Tyneside Steelband Juniors (12 noon and 2 pm) - how wonderful! 🎶

Joanne assures us the gallery will be open throughout the festival. I love that you can have her cheerful local-inspired art not just on the wall but on the items that we use everyday like jewellery, mugs and tea-towels.

03/06/2026

Our Mask Trail is up and running! How many can you visit?

Two steps:
1. Download the FREE ActionBound app https://en.actionbound.com/download/
2. Scan the QR code in the app or search for Cullercoats Mask Trail in the app

On Festival day we'll be using the same free App, ActionBound, to help you navigate around the Festival with an adventure trail that takes you around Cullercoats and the Festival site. Information about what's on everywhere PLUS quirky discoveries, quizzes and poems.

The Adventure Trail and Festival Location Tour has been created by a lovely team of students from the Foundation Learning Department of Tyne Metropolitan College. Thank you so much to Katy and her students and expert facilitator Liz Cable, games for learning and community guru.

03/06/2026

There's plenty of poetry at Cullercoats Festival this year! Including the welcome return of Poetry and Comedy with Dawn and Maureen and friends from Wallsend.

🕛3.30 pm
📍 Cullercoats Crescent Club Buffet Room

They tell us: "Our theme will be positivity and will include animal poetry, to provide an uplifting afternoon to the audience. We have several gifted poets from our creative writing group at Wallsend Memorial Hall."

They will be followed by Pauline Plummer, a lyrical poet who promises us some Cullercoats poems.
🕛4.30 pm

And we mustn't miss, earlier in the day (11 am), our very own poet-in-residence, Harry Gallagher. Look out for more poems from Harry in the lead-up to the Festival.

02/06/2026

So much dance at the Festival this year - and there are many FREE tasters and classes. Booking is now open (but not essential)!

All the workshops are suitable for beginners as well as those with some experience. Children and under 16s are welcome but must be accompanied by an adult. (Who doesn’t have to dance!)

📍At Cullercoats Methodist Church, Broadway
(Head inland from the fountain!)

💃Major Hall💃
11 am | Capoeira: A dance and martial art with Capoeira Senzala Newcastle upon Tyne A dance, a martial art and a game - fast paced movement - give it a try!
12 noon | Cuban Salsa: Dance with Jo
1 pm | Salsa Rueda: Dance with Jo
2 pm | Hoodoo Blues
3 pm | Argentine Tango: with Tango-on-Tyne Newcastle Tango
4 pm | Social Dance

🩰Minor Hall🩰
11 am | Tap: with Maureen Slater School Of Dance - Slaters Stars
12 noon | Capoeira with berimbao instruments: with Capoeira Senzala: a dance, a martial art and a game - fast paced movement.
1 pm | Ceilidh Steps: with Fiona
2 pm | Ballet: with Slaters Stars
3 pm | Egyptian Belly Dance: with Clare

So many people in previous years have told us they found a dance that they liked and carried on with the classes. Perfect for finding out which style of dance suits you for free!

Places are likely to be available on the day, so you can just turn up: we recommend you book in advance if possible.
https://forms.gle/oRpqTKo7UpNcxV9a6

Photo credits: Lesley Griffin, Emma Solomon Photography

02/06/2026

Our knowledgeable friend Frank Taylor will again be bringing his fascinating collection of historic lifeboat photos to display on Festival Day, Saturday 13th June.

Frank tells me he has photographs of all the Cullercoats lifeboats right back to 1852 and pictures of bad weather rescues, He's very happy to chat about them - just ask!

You can find him inside The Smugglers at the Queens Head, Cullercoats
10.30am - 2.30 pm

He's the man to speak to if you want to know anything about the lifeboats in Cullercoats, and much of the history of the village.

Photo credit Emma Solomon Photography