People’s Powerhouse will bring its This Is The North convention to Scarborough on Tuesday 15 September 2026, transforming the town’s historic Spa into a meeting place for people working to create a North that is great for everyone.
Described as “a love letter to, by, with and for Scarborough”, the event will feature three Acts, 21 workshops and more than 50 speakers and facilitators. The programme will run from 9am until 9pm in the Victorian grand hall overlooking the South Bay.
For four centuries, people have travelled to Scarborough to “take the waters”. The convention borrows from that tradition to ask a contemporary question: if connection, culture and collective power are the medicine communities need, what would a healthier, fairer and more inclusive North look like?
The setting is central to that theme. Scarborough Spa stands on the seafront where the town’s story as Britain’s original seaside resort began, making it a symbolic home for a programme inspired by deep wells and healing waters.
Unlike a traditional conference, This Is The North will give participants space to shape part of the day themselves. From 1.30pm to 3pm, the “Scarborough Siesta” will pause the scheduled programme and invite guests to choose how they spend 90 minutes.
Options will include Legislative Theatre with Eve Holt and Sam Dixon; a sea swim led by Cathy Foreman and Scarborough Sea Pool CIC; and a coastal walk with Sam Allum and Molly Campion of The Outdoor Partnership.
Participants will also be able to join Streetgames with John Downes and Ian Hepplewhite, take part in a cultural workshop, meet other guests or simply relax beside the sea.
A selection of free Scarborough Spa Games—including dominoes, Jenga, cornhole, noughts and crosses and Connect 4—will be available throughout the break.
The flexible afternoon reflects the wider ambition of the convention: to create an event with people, rather than simply presenting a programme to them. It places conversation, creativity, play and wellbeing alongside workshops and formal discussion as essential ingredients of collective change.
By bringing voices from across the North together in Scarborough, People’s Powerhouse aims to explore the ideas, relationships and shared action needed to help communities thrive.
This Is The North – Convention 2026 takes place from 9am to 9pm on Tuesday 15 September 2026 at Scarborough Spa, Scarborough.