Most of What a Wonderful World's events are at the festival's home venue, Alnwick Playhouse. Some other events are at Berwick-upon-Tweed and other venues across Northumberland. See full programme listed below.
We have an exciting mix of music, discussion and celebration of our Wonderful World to look forward to! JON BODEN will be our headline performer on 27th June. We advise you book your tickets quickly, as this event likely to sell out.
To keep up-to-date with further 2026 festival events as we announce them, you can keep checking this page regularly. Alternatively, follow us on Social Media or sign up to our mailing list.
Any questions about the 2026 festival, please ask via the Contact Us page.
You can submit your entry for Poems for the Planet HERE
Featuring a talk and Q&A session with Jon before his performance, chaired by Dr Adam Holden of Durham University, where you can hear and ask questions about Jon's views on climate change and the development of The Floodplain Trilogy.
In this specially devised show for What A Wonderful World Festival, the lead singer of Bellowhead presents The Floodplain Trilogy, a personal response to the climate crisis, weaving together contemporary reflections and musings with the sung narratives from his three groundbreaking solo albums, Songs from The Floodplain (2009), Afterglow (2017) and Last Mile Home (2021).
Climate change anxiety is at the heart of the trilogy, but among the darkness there are many moments of light and hope. The Floodplain Trilogy presents a vision of the future that brings together folk-infused ideas of community and weaves them into speculative stories of survival and rediscovery.
"Alone, Boden still has the energy of a twelve-piece band" (EDS Magazine)
Jon Boden has become the "stand out performer of his generation" (The Guardian) of traditional English folk artists, but one whose repertoire extends far beyond the boundaries of the genre.
Jon Boden is known for his performance in the Hollywood movie About Time: his YouTube audio of the track has over 9 million views and over 22 million plays on Spotify. He is the lead singer and main arranger of the progressive folk juggernaut Bellowhead, who have sold over a quarter of a million albums, had seven singles on the Radio 2 playlist and have sold out hundreds of venues throughout the land and beyond, including notably the Royal Albert Hall.
You can listen to Jon talking about his work on BBC Radio 3's The Essay
Saturday 27 Jun 2026
Talk and Q&A: 6:15pm
Concert: 7:30pm
Alnwick Playhouse Auditorium
£18 or £6 for U18s
Picture by Andy Muscroft
Local Sea Scouts use their talent and creativity to show us how young people want us to manage the planet's future.
Friday 26 June 2026, 7:00pm
Alnwick Playhouse Auditorium
[CANCELLED due to circumstances beyond our control]
Poets Paul Mein, Catherine Ayres and young poets, with music by Alistair Anderson.
There is also the opportunity for you to read a poem on the day. Details provided when you book a ticket.
Saturday 27 June 2026, 10:30am - 12:30pm
Hauxley Wildlife Discovery Centre
Suggested donation £3 (U18s free)
TASTER VIDEO HERE
How can we all have lower energy bills and warmer, healthier homes? Dr. Alan James, one of the UK’s leading energy innovators, tells how he transformed a derelict Northumbrian church into one of the UK's most energy-efficient homes, as featured on Guy Martin's House without Bills (Channel 4) and Derelict Rescue (Discovery). It is the first church-to-home conversion in the world to achieve Passivhaus certification; whilst also delivering absolute zero CO2 from energy use and a negative annual electricity bill. Hear the connection to the Geordie genius who first envisaged electricity from renewables 150 years ago, and Alan's vision for building hundreds of low-energy affordable homes in the North East.
Then join in the discussion about ecobuilds, retrofit, renewables and community energy with Alan and our panel:
Saturday 27 June 2026, 2:00pm - 4:30pm
Alnwick Playhouse Auditorium
£5 (or £2 for U18s)
Set on Scotland’s scenic West coast, this is the inspirational story of one fisherman’s skill and determination in converting his commercial fishing boat to solar and electric power. Over the course of almost a year, we see the challenges and struggles he faces, but his conviction to contribute to a carbon free future shines throughout. This film is subtitled.
Followed by a short film and Q&A, looking at a lobster conservation initiative on the Northumberland Coast presented by Mark Southerton from the Northumberland Inshore Fisheries & Conservation Authority.
Saturday 27th June 2026, 11.00am
Alnwick Playhouse Studio
£5 (or £2 for U18s)
Thanks to our partners Greener Berwick for hosting this event.
Bring your broken items to our Repair Cafe and we'll see if we can mend them. Includes: blade-sharpening; darning; sewing repairs; general electrical repairs; mechanical repairs; woodworking; toy repairs; PC software help.
Saturday 27 June 2026, 10:00am - 1:00pm
Salvation Army Church Hall, Berwick-upon-Tweed
FREE drop-in
How do animals keep themselves safe and warm in their homes? Together we'll read some stories, then make a bug hotel to take home with you. Be an environmental scientist by telling us who moves into your bug hotel!
For children aged 5-8, with accompanying responsible adult.
This event will be held at both Alnwick and Berwick. Please book for the correct event!
MAKING & STORIES: HOMES FOR BUGS & BIRDS @ ALNWICK:
Saturday 27 June 2026, 10:00am - 11:00am
Alnwick Playhouse Library
FREE but booking essential
MAKING & STORIES: HOMES FOR BUGS & BIRDS @ BERWICK
Saturday 27 June 2026, 10:30am - 11:30am
FREE but booking essential
It's Green Fingers' first day at school, and so far nobody has spotted his bright green hands. But then... GOO! GUNK! GLOOP! What a mess! Why are they suddenly misbehaving? It doesn't help that heinous headmaster Mr Marigold despises anything dirty... but is something magical going on? Maybe the answers can be found in the mysterious school garden? Nominated for a BBC POPCORN NEW WRITING AWARD, this Dahl-esque treat from FLADAM (Flo Poskitt & Adam Sowter) and Ben Tansey, has been delighting audiences around the country including a joyous run at GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL 2024. Packed full of catchy songs, puppetry and laughs-a-plenty, Green Fingers is a show for anyone that's ever felt a bit different.
Directed by Kate Veysey. Set design by Alan Plews.
★★★★★ 'the most amazing, hilarious musical comedy duo' (BBC Radio)
★★★★★ ‘Mervyn Stutter’s Pick of the Fringe’
This show will be performed at both Alnwick and Berwick. Please book for the correct show!
GREEN FINGERS @ ALNWICK:
Sunday 28 June 2026, 11:00am - 12:00 noon
Alnwick Playhouse Studio
£5 (or £2 for U18s)
GREEN FINGERS @ BERWICK:
Saturday 27 June 2026, 3:00pm - 4pm
£13.50 (or £10.00 for U18s) plus small booking fee
Thanks to our partners Greener Berwick for hosting this event.
Find out what Greener Berwick does on this short walking tour. See how herbs, vegetables, fruit, nuts and edible flowers that can be used by the community are grown and how they also attract pollinators. The tour ends with coffee at the Repair Café, where we try to mend anything we can. We'll tell you about the pollution monitoring we do in the River Tweed.
Full joining instructions will be emailed after booking.
Saturday 27 June 2026, 10:15am - 11:30am
Berwick-upon-Tweed
FREE but booking essential
Come and sing for the planet! Expertly led by renowned choir leader and music educator Alison Rushby, join the festival's "scratch" choir. Together we'll learn some songs and traditional chants from a variety of styles, genres and cultures, but all celebrating the glories of our earth and nature. Then, in the afternoon, we'll share what we've learned by performing them in a concert. All levels of experience welcome. Notation will be provided, but if you prefer to learn by listening and copying, that is fine too.
Sunday 28th June 2026, 10:00am
Alnwick Playhouse Auditorium
FREE but booking essential
Local singers share their favourite songs that celebrate how wonderful the world is. Featuring choirs from across Northumberland, including Amble's Harbour Lights, Berwick's Golden Square Singers and the What a Wonderful World Festival "scratch" choir, led by Alison Rushby.
Sunday 28th June 2026, 2:30pm
Alnwick Playhouse Auditorium
£5 (or £2 for U18s)
Berwick's 11th annual celebration of its green spaces. A chance to see some usually hidden private gardens and learn about the town's public and community green places. Explore the town by following the trail, including the summer exhibition at the Granary Gallery. Fundraising event to support Castle Vale, Coronation and Flagstaff Parks.
Sunday 28th June 2026, 10:00am - 4:00pm
Various locations across Berwick
FREE
TASTER VIDEO HERE
Thanks to our partners Hepple Wilds for hosting this event.
Following the success of 2025's workshop with Rose Ferraby, we are back at the Hepple Estate again for another immersive art experience. The day promises to give people an unique insight into the amazing history and ecology of the land at Hepple. The workshop will explore the landscape in creative ways, looking at how people have lived and worked here for thousands of years, and what we can learn about future landscape change. This is building on ongoing work at the site as part of the UKRI funded ‘Rewilding’ Later Prehistory Project at Oxford Archaeology. During the workshop we’ll be thinking about stories of place at the wilding here at Hepple. The day will include a locally sourced lunch and guests will be experimenting with new ways of imagining landscapes and creating their own artwork inspired by Hepple. You’ll be led through various drawing exercises out in the landscape and then developing these into a collage later in the day. All materials will be supplied and no experience is necessary.
Rose Ferraby is an archaeologist and artist, creating artworks that capture the
landscape through history, culture and ecology. Rose has worked across the world and has also created a number of programmes for BBC Radio 3 and 4. From 12th June – 12th July you can see Rose’s artwork in an exhibition at The Old
Schoolhouse in Alnmouth.
Richard Thompson is Hepple’s ecologist and has a deep knowledge and
understanding of this landscape. Having grown up locally, he has his own cultural history in the landscape, which feeds his thorough understanding of the landscape.
Full joining instructions will be emailed after booking.
Monday 29 June 2026, 10:00am - 4:00pm
£25 (Over 18s only)
Step into an enchanted world where myth, nature and art entwine. In Wild Folk: Tales from the Stones, award-winning writer Jackie Morris (The Lost Words) and stained-glass artist Tamsin Abbott conjure luminous fables inspired by Britain’s ancient landscapes. Meet selkies, silver trout and the black fox as big as a wolf – spirits that move between worlds and remind us of our deep connection to the wild.
Join Jackie and Tamsin for an afternoon of storytelling, conversation and imagery as they explore creativity, friendship, and the timeless magic that links stone, tree, fox and star.
Saturday 7 March 2026, 2.30pm
Alnwick Playhouse Studio
THIS EVENT HAS PASSED! SORRY YOU MISSED IT!
Do you dream of a warm, eco-friendly home that's cheap to run? Chris and Mac have recently finished a Passivhaus Low Energy Building Standard bungalow in central Alnwick. Come and see what ASHP (air source heat pump), MVHR (mechanical ventilation and heat recovery), in-roof solar panels and batteries plus EV charger and UPS (uninterruptible power supply for power cuts) look like and how they perform.
Can natural (hemp) insulation match up to oil-based foam products? Is triple glazing worth it? Where should I start? Why did we rebuild rather than retrofit? We will try to answer all your questions and give honest feedback. Our aim was to be self-sufficient in electricity for 10 months of the year, and also able to charge the car for 8 months from our own power. Have we done it?
Joining instructions will be sent with tickets. The bungalow is 5 minutes walk from Alnwick Playhouse and is wheelchair-accessible.
Saturday 13 Jun 2026, 11am – 1pm
Sunday 21 Jun 2026, 11am – 1pm
Central Alnwick
THIS EVENT HAS PASSED! SORRY YOU MISSED IT!
Thanks to our partners in College Valley for hosting this event.
Join us for a hands-on family adventure in College Valley, packed with discovery, exploration, and fun in the great outdoors. Families will take part in a river-dipping session to investigate aquatic invertebrates and uncover the fascinating mini-beasts that reveal the hidden health of the river ecosystem. From there, enjoy a gentle walk through the valley that steps back in history, bringing the landscape’s past to life through stories and shared exploration. Designed for families to learn together, this joyful day combines nature, science, and heritage in an engaging, memorable experience.
Recommended age of children: 5 to 12 years.
Full joining instructions will be emailed after booking.
Saturday 20 June 2026, 10:00am - 2:00pm
Kirknewton Village Hall Car Park
THIS EVENT HAS PASSED! SORRY YOU MISSED IT!
Thanks to our partners in College Valley for hosting this event.
Explore College Valley's peatlands, enjoy their wildflife, understand their restoration, and learn how they are a vital tool to tackle climate change. Help ecologists with their valuable research in ecology and climate resilience on this guided walk, a collaboration between Northumberland Peat Partnership and College Valley.
Adults over 18 only. Maximum 12 people per session.
Sunday 21 June 2026, 1.30pm to 4pm
THIS EVENT HAS PASSED! SORRY YOU MISSED IT!
Thanks to our partners in College Valley for hosting this event.
Step into the remarkable landscape of College Valley for an immersive Forage & Art experience led by the expert Cramlington Forager. On this guided walk, you’ll slow down and tune into the hidden abundance of wild foods growing all around you. Learn to identify edible plants with confidence, explore their nutritional and traditional uses, and practise responsible harvesting before tasting seasonal wild flavours.
Then, guided by an artist, translate your experience of the beautiful College Valley into a work of art to take home.
Full joining instructions will be emailed after booking.
Thursday 25 June 2026, 10:00am - 2:00pm
Kirknewton Village Hall Car Park
THIS EVENT HAS PASSED! SORRY YOU MISSED IT!
Thanks to our partners Coquetdale Creatives and Rothbury CAN for hosting this event.
Join Katrina Porteous (shortlisted for the TS Eliot prize) for an evening of poetry and music alongside Merrie Snell, Andrew Charleton, James Tait and Maddy’s Crowd.
Thursday 25 June 2026, 7:00pm
THIS EVENT HAS PASSED! SORRY YOU MISSED IT!
Here are some video clips from the event:
"Dave the Driver" by James Tait
"Antarctica without its ice" by Katrina Porteous
Picture by Tony Griffiths
Make your own lantern
Working with artist Anna Corbett, come and make art with natural materials. Anna will guide you to make your own lantern from willow twigs and paper. Children under 16 must be accompanied by a responsible adult. This workshop works best for adults and older children (11+)
Saturday 14 Jun 2026, 3pm - 5pm
Wednesday 24 Jun 2026, 10am – 12 noon
Alnwick Playhouse Studio
THIS EVENT HAS PASSED! SORRY YOU MISSED IT!
The performers, writers and speakers and many others who have donated their time and talents to create this festival.
FESTIVAL PARTNERS Alnwick Playhouse, Alnwick Markets, Alnwick Storyfest, Friends of the Earth Alnwick Area, Greener Berwick, Bill Grisdale Design, Hepple Wilds, Northumberland Wildlife Trust, Playhouse Youth Theatre, 1st Alnmouth Sea Scouts, Northumberland Libraries, College Valley, Rothbury CAN, The Straw Yard, RepurposefulCIC and Northumberland Music.
FUNDERS in cash and in kind, including the Barbour Foundation, the Hadrian Trust, Hepple Estates, the Joicey Trust, the Percy Family Trust at the Community Foundation
Our ORGANISING TEAM and TRUSTEES, with additional help from Anna Corbett, Samantha Hobrough, Bill Grisdale and Alison Rushby.
This project/event was made possible by #NationalLottery players.