Winscombe Festival of Arts and Nature 2026

Aim

Bringing the village together to enjoy music, creative activities. Deepening our connection to nature and each other through the arts.

Last year, in only 3 months, two local Mums (Tomasin and Rose) organised and delivered a FREE festival for Winscombe. We wanted to create a community event that brought people together over a shared love of nature, creativity, music, good food and friendship.

We had live music, storytelling, an amazing drag queen; we gave away free curry for 300+ people, and free workshops in flower crown and mask making, singing, pebble decorating, and circus skills. We had a village parade where everyone showed off their creativity in homemade masks and puppets, and everyone ate delicious cakes donated by the community in our community cafe. The bar was run by local brewers Fat Head Brewery.

 It was a brilliant day, and the culmination and celebration of months of festival arts workshops in the community and a pop-up community choir - we worked in Care homes with people living with Dementia, a local Nursery, created a pop-up art club for Home Ed families, ran workshops in asylum seekers residential homes across North Somerset - as well as the strawberry Line Mural project, where we worked alongside schools and local people to make something amazing, for all to enjoy.

We did all this through Crowdfunding and sponsorship, as the Arts Council turned us down for a grant - but we still managed to raise 10k!

Once again, The Arts Council and this year also The National Lottery have turned us down for  grants. It's so disappointing, as we know how much support there is out there for the work we do in the community, and how celebration and creativity, and coming together to protect nature is something we can all get behind!

For the pre-festival activities we have been awarded 2 grants -  £2600 by The Impact Alliance, to run the 'Butterfly Oasis project', where we have given away 200m2 of wildflower meadow seeds to the communities of Winscombe, Banwell, Sandford and Churchill. This includes funding for local talks, and butterfly themed craft activities in the run up to the festival - and The Somerset Community Foundation have awarded us £2000 to run a large installation project, which will be unveiled at the festival. This piece of art will be co-created alongside Winscombe, Sandford and Banwell Primary School and Churchill Academy, as well as suggestions from the public through a public consultation.

We now need to raise £5000 for the festival itself - this will pay for:

£1300 - Stretch Tent Hire

£150 - Hay Bales

£300 - Sound technician

£600 - Production Manager to oversee the day and support Tomasin and Rose in the run-up so they don't explode!

£1900 - For Circus performers, musicians, artists and workshop leaders to make the day amazing and deliver free, high quality creative experiences for the village and surrounds

£500 - insurance

£250 - Marketing print/banners/social media content

Now, more than ever, we need to come together over our shared values: friendship, family, our love of the natural world and our care for each other. and our home, here in the Mendips. 

We want to keep this festival free, as culture and celebration should be available to everyone, of every age and background. Please give what you can, and help make Winscombe Festival an amazing event for everyone. 

Thank you.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 13th July 2026 at 12:00pm