The picturesque Derbyshire town of New Mills is all set to celebrate its annual festival. The fortnight-long event, taking place in September, showcases music, theatre, and art from across the region. Standout events include a concert from local boys made good Dutch Uncles, and an artisan food market. However, the main attraction this year is an Art Trail, which aims to turn the entire town into a gallery. Over 70 local businesses are taking part, hosting artists’ work in their windows and on their premises. Highlights include two large-scale paintings by John Hyatt, the renowned artist and ‘punk professor’. The festival ends with ‘The Big Weekend’, which sees venues across the town open their doors to host arts and crafts markets, pop-up exhibitions, workshops, and demonstrations. The grand finale is a lantern procession, which attracts upwards of 10,000 visitors. It may seem quite a distance away, but New Mills is only about 30 minutes from central Manchester by car or train.
Fri 8 Sep – Thu 24 Sep, Various locations around New Mills, Derbyshire, times and prices vary, www.newmillsfestival.com
- Words:
- A. James Simpkin
- Published on:
- Sun 3 Sep 2017
