Hanley to Host Free Big Feast Arts Festival

Key Points

• Appetite’s free Big Feast festival is back in Hanley city centre on 28 and 29 August.
• Performances will be held in various locations such as the Town Hall, Smithfield, Fountain Square, Bethesda Gardens, Albion Square, Parliament Square and Row, Lower Piccadilly, the Potteries Centre, the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery and Hanley Bus Station.
• The artists are “nationally and internationally acclaimed” and will play alongside local artists.
• Stoke-on-Trent Poet Laureate Steven K. Beattie, Young Poet Laureate Cameron Hart, Staffordshire Poet Laureate Scarlett Ward and Young Poet Laureate Pearl Knight-Dutton each line up as poets.
• Backed by BBC Introducing, Heidi is one of the musical acts, and Liam Hulmes is a guy with high-energy live looping performances.
• The stand-up comedian, Henry Michael, an NHS doctor, will be performing.
• The Piccadilly Stage will be performed by Circus In A Box’s Eve Elle on Friday and Saturday.
• Music will come alive with Staffordshire Deaflinks’ Silent Choir
• Tam-Tam Club will be performing West African drumming.
• Bharatanatyam dance, Bollywood fusion, performances by Priya Sundar and her students, and free henna by Cherrie will be available at the Sensasian zone, which will be open only on Saturday.
• During the festival, there will be world-class talent as well as local talent, says Appetite Director Emily Labhart.

Hanley (Britain Today News) August 22, 2026: A huge free outdoor arts festival is set to take over Hanley city centre this month, with families invited to enjoy two days of live music, dance, poetry and comedy across a range of venues in the heart of the city. Appetite’s Big Feast festival will return on 28 and 29 August, bringing together local performers and internationally acclaimed artists at sites including the town hall, Smithfield, Fountain Square, Bethesda Gardens, Albion Square, Parliament Square and Row, Lower Piccadilly, the Potteries Centre, the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, Drop City Books and Hanley Bus Station, organisers have confirmed.

What Is The Big Feast Festival And Why Is It Coming To Hanley?

The Big Feast is a free, community-focused outdoor arts festival organised by Appetite, bringing performers of all kinds together across Hanley’s public spaces. Organisers say the event is designed to make the arts accessible to families and residents by staging performances in familiar, everyday locations rather than a single ticketed venue. The festival forms part of a wider push to bring cultural activity into the city centre and put Stoke-on-Trent’s own creative community in the spotlight alongside performers from further afield.

Where In Hanley Will The Performances Take Place?

Organisers have confirmed that performances will be spread across a wide network of locations in Hanley, ensuring visitors can wander between venues throughout the two days. Sites include the town hall, Smithfield, Fountain Square, Bethesda Gardens, Albion Square, Parliament Square and Row, Lower Piccadilly, the Potteries Centre, the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, Drop City Books and Hanley Bus Station. Spreading the festival across so many venues means audiences can catch performances while going about their usual visit to the city centre, rather than needing to commit to a single festival site.

When Is The Big Feast Festival Taking Place?

The festival will run across two days, Thursday 28 August and Friday 29 August. Organisers say local performers will be joined by “nationally and internationally acclaimed” artists across the two dates, with different acts and zones activated on different days, including a Saturday-only feature area.

Who Are The Poets Performing At The Big Feast?

Poetry will play a central role in this year’s Big Feast, with a strong local presence on the bill. Stoke-on-Trent Poet Laureate Steven K. Beattie and Young Poet Laureate Cameron Hart are among those confirmed to perform. They will be joined by Staffordshire Poet Laureate Scarlett Ward and Young Poet Laureate Pearl Knight-Dutton, giving visitors the chance to hear from both the city’s and the county’s leading spoken-word voices in one weekend.

What Music Acts Are Performing At The Big Feast?

Music fans attending the festival will be able to enjoy a performance from Heidi, an artist who has previously been supported by BBC Introducing. She will be joined on the bill by Liam Hulmes, who brings his high-energy live looping performances to the stage. Live looping allows a solo performer to build up layered, full-band sounds in real time, giving audiences a dynamic, one-person show.

Is There Comedy And Circus Entertainment At The Big Feast?

Alongside music and poetry, the festival will also feature stand-up comedy from Henry Michael, who works as an NHS doctor alongside his comedy career. Circus performance will also feature prominently, with Stoke-on-Trent-based Circus In A Box’s Eve Elle hosting the Piccadilly Stage on Friday and Saturday respectively, offering a family-friendly mix of skill and spectacle across both days of the festival.

How Will The Big Feast Celebrate Deaf Culture And Sign Language?

One of the more distinctive elements of this year’s programme is a performance from Staffordshire’s dDeaflinks’ Silent Choir. The choir sees d/Deaf performers bring music to life through British Sign Language, offering a visually expressive interpretation of music that is designed to be inclusive for both hearing and d/Deaf audiences. Organisers have highlighted the performance as one of the festival’s most moving features.

What International And World Music Performances Will Feature?

Global sounds will also be part of the Big Feast line-up, with Tam-Tam Club showcasing energetic West African drumming as part of the weekend’s entertainment. The performance is expected to bring a strong rhythmic energy to its venue, reflecting the festival’s broader ambition to represent a wide range of cultural traditions within the programme.

What Is Happening At The Sensasian Zone On Saturday?

A dedicated Sensasian zone will run on Saturday only, bringing a showcase of South Asian performance and culture to the festival. The zone will feature the Dharshanodiyaa School of Bharatanatyam performing a vibrant classical dance-Bollywood fusion, alongside classical dance performances from Priya Sundar and her students. Visitors to the zone will also be able to receive free hand-drawn natural henna tattoos from Henna by Cherrie, adding an interactive, hands-on element to the day’s programme.

What Has Appetite Said About This Year’s Big Feast?

Appetite Director Emily Labhart has spoken about the significance of this year’s festival, emphasising the balance between showcasing international talent and celebrating the city’s own performers. She said:

“As well as bringing world-class artists to Stoke-on-Trent, Appetite is proud to showcase so many brilliant local performers at The Big Feast. This festival belongs to the city, and it means a lot that audiences can discover so much outstanding talent from their own communities while enjoying everything that makes The Big Feast such a special event.”

Her comments reflect a wider theme running through this year’s line-up, which brings together internationally recognised names such as Heidi and BBC Introducing-backed acts alongside home-grown talent including Stoke-on-Trent’s own Poet Laureate and Circus In A Box.
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How Can Families Get Involved With The Big Feast?

As a free event, the Big Feast is designed to be accessible to families across Stoke-on-Trent and the wider region without the need for tickets. With performances spread across well-known city centre locations such as the Potteries Centre, the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery and Hanley Bus Station, organisers say visitors will be able to move between venues over the two days, sampling everything from poetry and comedy to circus, dance and drumming. The mix of free entertainment, inclusive performances such as the Silent Choir, and interactive elements like the henna tattoos in the Sensasian zone is intended to give something for every member of the family across the festival weekend.

With acts ranging from nationally recognised musicians to the city’s own poets laureate, the Big Feast is shaping up to be one of Hanley’s most varied cultural events of the year, reinforcing Appetite’s stated ambition to put the city’s own community talent centre stage alongside performers from further afield.