Light Up Lancaster

28/10/2026

✨🔬 WHAT’S ON TOMORROW (Thursday)AT EXPLORE WEEK? 🌙🎨

Tomorrow, Thursday 29 October, Explore Week brings another day of FREE, hands-on creativity, art, light and science to The Storey in Lancaster!

Here’s what’s waiting for you:

🔧 Gadgets, Gizmos and Thingamajigs – get curious, explore and play with Lancaster Makerspace.

🌈 Glow-in-the-Dark Flags – design your own flag and watch it glow under UV light with Artscool.

🌙 Drawn to the Moon – make glowing paper moths and add your own graffiti to a giant handmade moon with artist Rachel Allsop.

🐉 Chinese Shadow Puppet Papercutting – discover the art of papercutting and create your own shadow puppets with Lancaster University’s Confucius Institute.

🤖 AI Investigators: Spot the Bot – put your detective skills to the test and see if you can tell what’s real and what’s AI!

🎨 Face painting – add a splash of colour with specialist makeup students from Lancaster and Morecambe College.

💃 Don’t miss: Ludus Dance’s Raving With Power workshop, with games, dancing and lots of lights, running from 10am–12pm at The Storey.

🕙 Workshops generally take place between 10am–12pm and 2pm–4pm with a couple of exceptions. It’s FREE and drop-in, so no need to book!

All the workshops above take place at The Storey, Lancaster

Plus! There are some Shadow Puppetry Workshops over at the Judges’ Lodgings, Thu 29 and Fri 30 October, 11am – 1pm and 2pm – 4pm

Bring the family, get creative and discover something new! 💡

👉 See the full programme: https://www.lightuplancaster.co.uk/explore-week-2/

28/10/2026

🕯️Light up a Life🕯️

Preston Ireland Bowker Funeral Directors warmly invites you to visit them on Thursday 5th and Friday 6th of November for a special moment of reflection, remembrance and light.

As you explore Lancaster’s beautiful light exhibitions, why not take a little time out of your evening to remember someone special who is no longer with us?

Between 6pm and 8pm, they’ll be lighting up their driveway with candles, each one shining in memory of a loved one. You’re invited to light a candle for someone dear to you and leave a heartfelt message on their Memory Tree — a special place to share a thought, a treasured memory or a few words from the heart. ❤️

Whether you’re remembering a family member, a friend or someone who has touched your life, you’ll be warmly welcomed. Come along, take a quiet moment, share a memory and join others in celebrating the love that lives on.

☕ Free hot drinks will be available, offering a little warmth as everyone comes together in remembrance.

🕯️Light up a Life🕯️

As part of Light Up Lancaster, we warmly invite you to visit us on Thursday 5th and Friday 6th of November for a special moment of reflection, remembrance and light.

As you explore Lancaster’s beautiful light exhibitions, why not take a little time out of your evening to remember someone special who is no longer with us?

Between 6pm and 8pm, we’ll be lighting up our driveway with candles, each one shining in memory of a loved one. You’re invited to light a candle for someone dear to you and leave a heartfelt message on our Memory Tree — a special place to share a thought, a treasured memory or a few words from the heart. ❤️

Whether you’re remembering a family member, a friend or someone who has touched your life, you’ll be warmly welcomed. Come along, take a quiet moment, share a memory and join others in celebrating the love that lives on.

☕ Free hot drinks will be available, offering a little warmth as we come together in remembrance.

28/10/2026

🤫 Pssst... we’ve got a secret. One of this year’s Light Up Lancaster artworks is hidden away in a secret location. We’re not telling you where it is just yet... but here are a few picture clues...You’re looking for a garden, but perhaps not one you’ve noticed before...

Think you know where it is? Don’t give the game away just yet! 🤫

When you find it, 'Apples & Pears – Working Lives Below Stairs' by Rachel Riggs will lead you into a magical garden of sculptures, shadows, sounds and hidden stories.

🍎🍐 Can you discover the secret location?

27/10/2026

What will you discover this Wednesday? Explore Week continues at The Storey with another packed day of FREE half-term fun!

💃 Rave with Ludus Dance in their Raving With Power workshops (10am - 12pm). Children must be accompanied (up to 2 children per adult).
🐦 Weave your own light-up willow bird lantern with Mudfolk
⚙️ Explore, discover and play with Gadgets, Gizmos and Thingamajigs from Lancaster Makerspace
☀️ Build and drive a mini solar-powered LEGO car with Lancaster University
🫀 Take a look inside the human body with Under Your Skin
🏥 Imagine what the hospitals of the future could look like
🎨 Plus face painting, geometric mobile making and DIY activity tables.

Explore Week is all FREE at The Storey, Lancaster every day until Fri 30 Oct
Just drop in, no need to book, 10am - 12pm and 2pm - 4pm!

27/10/2026

Why I Walk
By: Ash Murphy
Developed in partnership with Lancashire Youth Challenge and Global Link
Original Soundtrack by: Ash Murphy with contributions from Liam Cook
View this installation at The Gregson Centre in the Olive Bar... Follow the foot prints! 👣👣👣
5th – 7th Nov, 5pm – 10pm

An immersive installation created by Ash Murphy, Lancashire Youth Challenge and Global Link, bringing together stories of migration, movement and belonging from people whose journeys have taken them across communities, countries and continents.

Through recorded voices, projected imagery and an original musical score, illuminated suitcases become vessels for individual stories, experiences and memories. Each offers a different perspective on why people move – whether through choice, opportunity, curiosity, necessity or the search for safety and belonging.

At its heart is a simple question: Why I Walk?

26/10/2026

🐷 Oink if you're ready for Light Up Lancaster...
A herd of glowing pigs is taking over the festival! ✨🐖

Pig Farm is playful, eye-catching and impossible to ignore. Expect a glowing herd, plenty of photo opportunities, and an artwork that mixes humour with bigger questions about the world around us.

Come and meet the pigs in Dalton Square
5pm - 10pm, Thu, Fri, Sat, 5-7 Nov
By: Ladislav Sutnar: ARTshifters (Czech Republic)

26/10/2026

💡We're shining a light on our venues and locations... Light Up Lancaster is special because no two locations are the same. From grand historic buildings and hidden courtyards to leafy gardens, courtyards and squares, the canal, and intimate indoor spaces, each venue brings its own atmosphere to the festival. Together they create a trail of discovery, inviting you to explore familiar places in a whole new light.

Lancaster Castle Lancaster Priory The Storey Friends of the Storey Gardens, Lancaster Friends of the Judges' Lodgings, Lancaster SQ Digital Moorlands Church, Lancaster The Dukes, Lancaster The Gregson Centre Williamson Park The White Cross Pub The Water Witch

25/10/2026

Explore Week begins tomorrow (Monday 26 October)!
Join us at The Storey 10am - 12pm or 2pm - 4pm to:

🌟 Create your own Imaginary Light Landscape with artist Alan Morris
🖍️ Experiment with Drawing with Shadows and help build a collaborative artwork
🎈 Decorate and illuminate a Hot Air Balloon Lantern with Creative Ewe
🚗 Build and race Solar-Powered Lego Cars with Lancaster University's Physics Department
🎭 Get transformed with Face Painting by Lancaster & Morecambe College students

25/10/2026

Ever wondered what cybersecurity looks like through the eyes of an artist?

This year, Light Up Lancaster is teaming up with CyberFocus, a pioneering programme led by Lancaster University that connects cutting-edge cyber research with the real world. Through two specially commissioned artworks, Duplication and Zero Knowledge, artists and cyber researchers have joined forces to transform complex digital ideas into thought-provoking public experiences.

Expect surprising perspectives, creative interpretations, and new ways of thinking about the technology that shapes our everyday lives.

Find out more about CyberFocus:
https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/cybersecurity/cyber-focus/

The Light Up Lancaster artworks Duplication and Zero Knowledge have been supported by the PBIAA CyberFocus project, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) [Grant No.EP/Z536052/1].

25/10/2026

Today we'd like to say thank you to some more of our Supporters!

The White Cross Pub is one of Lancaster’s most distinctive pubs, occupying a unique waterside setting alongside the Lancaster Canal. Renowned for its welcoming atmosphere, quality food and drink, and outdoor waterside seating, it attracts both visitors and local residents throughout the year.

Its historic location and picturesque canal views make it a popular destination for dining, socialising and enjoying one of Lancaster’s most characterful neighbourhoods.

The Water Witch is an award-winning canal-side pub and restaurant located on Lancaster’s historic waterfront. Set alongside the Lancaster Canal, it is renowned for its welcoming atmosphere, quality food and drink, and strong connection to the local community. Popular with residents and visitors alike, the venue combines heritage character with contemporary hospitality in one of the city’s most distinctive settings.

Printing Plus is a Lancaster-based print and design company providing a wide range of services for businesses, public organisations and community groups. From large-format banners, signage and exhibition graphics to leaflets, brochures and promotional materials, the company supports clients with both creative design and high-quality print production, helping organisations communicate effectively both locally and nationally.

Thank you for all your hard work and support in Lighting Up Lancaster!