Old Town Arts Festival returning this Summer

The Old Town Festival returns in Summer with a new name - Old Town Arts Festival.

While maintaining its familiar locations and successful format, this year’s festival will place a stronger emphasis on the arts, expanding creative programming and inviting the community to take part in new workshops and interactive experiences.

The festival will once again start with Family Fun Day at the Town Gardens on 1 June, feature a full week of fringe events across various venues, and culminate with a street party on Wood Street on 8 June.

The festival is already attracting strong support, with The Kings sponsoring the event and the continued collaboration with South Swindon Parish Council.

“We wanted to reflect the festival’s growing role as a platform for creative expression, while keeping the elements that people know and love,” said Kris Talikowski, Chairman of the Old Town Business Association.

“By renaming it the Old Town Arts Festival, we are making it clear that we’re here to champion local arts, invite new voices, and encourage broader community involvement.”

One of the key highlights of this year’s festival is Kate Claxton’s 'Grow a Story' project, an interactive storytelling collaboration that encourages local children to co-create an illustrated story inspired by the flora and fauna of Swindon's Town Gardens.

Facilitated by award-winning children’s author Kate Claxton of Really Rather Wild, with support from the Old Town Business Association, the project will bring together young imaginations to shape a unique story trail displayed throughout the park.

As part of this initiative, Kate will also be visiting local schools, engaging young minds in storytelling and illustration workshops that celebrate creativity and the natural world.

Other festival features include live painting by Open Studios, to promote the upcoming events, where artists will capture the beauty of Town Gardens; music and dance performances at the Bandstand and the Bowl; nature workshops by Swindon in Bloom, and a range of creative workshops open to all ages by Deepti Aurora, Sue Bardwell, and Hazel Paine from Swindon Artventures.

New for 2025, the festival is striving to reduce the number of waste with the support of Plastic Free Swindon.

Ben Bell from Plastic Free Swindon said: “Plastic Free Swindon are delighted to be collaborating with Old Town Festival this year.

"We aim for the event at Town Gardens on 1 June to be as litter-free as possible, and we plan to achieve this by implementing a reusable cup scheme, introducing incentives for reuse; collaborating with stall holders; providing recycling and compost bins; displaying clear signs; engaging with the public and also through educational workshops and talks.

"Together, we can enjoy a fantastic festival while protecting the environment. Join us in making Old Town Festival a more sustainable, plastic-free celebration!"

Kris Talikowski said: “This year we are taking a step forward and in the future want to make all our events as sustainable as possible."

Ruth from Plastic Free Swindon highlighted a quote from environmentalist Jonathan Porritt: “The future will be green, or not at all.”

The Old Town Arts Festival welcomes artists, performers, photographers and volunteers who want to be part of this exciting community celebration. To get involved, visit www.thisisoldtown.com or email [email protected]