The festival that’s got everyone talking taters!
A family-friendly celebration featuring potato crafts, games, live music, delicious food, community activities and the famous Potato Dance. Bringing local people together to celebrate community, creativity and Britain’s favourite vegetable.
It Takes a Village is a mini festival exploring matrescence and the life-changing experience of becoming a parent.
For three joyful days in October, babies, toddlers and their families are invited to join us in Crosby Library to explore matrescence, motherhood, parenthood and all the new experiences that unfold when a new baby enters our lives. Hurly Burly Theatre Company return to the library for the premiere of their After Party Playlab, an interactive installation for babies and grown-ups to explore through live music, song, movement and play.
As well as the Playlab, around it we’re bringing together live music, shared reading, zine-making, somatic movement, a baby-friendly film screening at Plaza Cinema, conversations celebrating the unexpected elements of motherhood. For new parents, old parents, grandparents, carers, friends and the community around them, the festival aims to illuminate the joyful, hardcore, exhausting, kick-off of care and the messy, gritty, mosh pit of motherhood.
It takes a village to raise a child. Join us for three days celebrating everyone in that village.
We want It Takes a Village to be as accessible and welcoming as possible to everyone, no matter what your background is and what your family set up might look like. Part of this has been creating a dedicated quiet space with the help of artist Kirsty Barlow.
Kirsty’s artwork, Quiet Space, will be installed as part of the festival, using fabric draping to create a secluded, quiet, chilled out area for everyone visiting. This gentle pocket in the library is a chance to reset, breastfeed or just have a moment to yourself. Some of the fabrics used in the installation will also decorate the space to make the whole library feel soft and gentle amongst the punk parenthood activities!
Find the full festival programme and book your free place here.
Africa Oyé, the UK’s biggest celebration of African and Caribbean music and culture turns 35 next year and earlybird tickets are now on sale for the festival on 19th & 20th June 2027 in Liverpool.
The ‘jewel in Liverpool’s festival crown’ made a triumphant return to Sefton Park this summer – successfully transitioning from a historically free event to a ticketed festival – with over 25,000 people in attendance. Across the weekend, the field was a picture of joy and togetherness, with a vibrant and family-friendly atmosphere, bringing a renewed vigour for live music and unmatched energy from the Oyé community.
In 2027, audiences can expect an even more eclectic mix of music and culture from across Africa and the Diaspora, with international artists to emerging local talent playing live, a host of community performances and the return of Oyé’s DJ stage. Expect an action packed programme of family friendly workshops and activities in the Oyé Family Zone, as well as world cuisine, arts, crafts and so much more from over 90 stalls in the ‘Oyé Village’.
“Returning with a bang in 2026… it’s such a lively festival, very multicultural, intergenerational, and loads of families around, activities for the kids, loads of great food on offer, and just a really warm and welcoming atmosphere.” – BBC Radio 3, Music Planet
Earlybird prices see Liverpool City Region resident tickets start at just £12 with children’s tickets at £2.50 and Under 5s getting in free.
The Africa Oyé Festival will take place in Sefton Park, Liverpool on 19th and 20th June 2027.
Limited Earlybird tickets are on sale now via Ticket Quarter and africaoye.com
Get ready for a joyful, next-generation Céilí. Movema dance company, in league with live-band Saltcutters, lead an evening of dance and music born from their experiences as multiple-heritage artists, working with Irish traditional forms in Liverpool, made in response to the Liverpool Irish Festival’s theme, I am here.
In the spirit of the old meanings of ‘Céilí’, ‘neighbour’, ‘visit’ or ‘gathering’, Movema and Saltcutters invite you to come together with your neighbours to celebrate our shared humanity through group dances that connect us to others and celebrate our similarities and our differences. Expect dances and tunes from Ireland, England, Scotland and beyond. Guests will also hear the surprising stories of how music and dance travel, adapt, change and upend what we think we know about identity.
No experience is needed. No partner is required. Everyone’s welcome to dance any role. The evening’s calling is gender-free, so instead of ‘ladies and gents’ you might hear terms like ‘larks and robins’ or ‘ones and twos’. Dance whichever part feels right for you. Ideal for ages 16 and above.
Ticket price includes a hearty Irish stew with vegan and gluten-free options and a bar will be operating serving refreshments.
Proceeds will go towards supporting Movema’s charitable work with women, children and resettled communities in Liverpool.For more ways to support and donate to Movema’s work with women, children, families & communities visit https://movema.co.uk/support-movema/
If you have any access needs or concerns or want to know more before you come? Get in touch: info@movema.co.uk
Saturday, 17 October 2026
Anfield People’s Cinema (APC), the volunteer-run community cinema that has hosted free monthly film screenings across Anfield since January 2025, is launching its first-ever film festival this month: The Anfield People’s Cinema Festival, running from Thursday 24th to Sunday 27th September.
The four-day festival will bring six screenings to five different venues across Anfield, with every screening free to attend, accompanied by a free meal sourced from local businesses, and an optional donation at the end to support future programming.
The festival has been made possible by funding from Cinema For All and local councillors, and, in keeping with APC’s founding ethos , has been entirely programmed and designed by a team of around 20 local volunteers, with the organisation’s two lead coordinators supporting behind the scenes with logistics and admin. From day one, APC’s vision has been for its audience to take the lead in shaping its programme, building skills in curation, event production and community organising along the way. This festival is the clearest expression of that vision yet.
The programme:
Full listings and free tickets are available via APC’s Linktree: linktr.ee/anfieldpeoplescinema
The festival launch comes as APC has been named a finalist for Emerging Community Cinema of the Year at the Cinema For All awards, recognition of the organisation’s rapid growth and impact since launching just 18 months ago.
About Anfield People’s Cinema
Anfield People’s Cinema is a volunteer-run community cinema based in Anfield, Liverpool. Since January 2025, it has hosted free monthly film screenings across the area, with a free meal provided at every event and an optional pay-what-you-can donation. APC is currently transitioning to a cooperative structure, with a long-term vision of building a permanent, community-owned cinema venue for Anfield.
This Autumn Equinox, the gardeners and cooks of the Grapes Community Food Garden welcome you to find your balance in our beautiful urban paradise! There’ll be garden tours, tasty food made from garden-grown produce, and delicious herbal teas.
We’re also hosting a mini harvest auction – to get our juices going for the Harvest Auction that evening! It’s also your chance too to see our Co-Labouring with Soil clay exhibition. Bring your friends and family for some gentle autumn lunchtime togetherness!
BlackFest returns for 2026 with an exciting line-up of artists and events, including 90s pop trailblazers Cleopatra, Ceramicist Nina Edge and Jamaican musician KingFast.
BlackFest is a grassroots Black Arts festival piloted and founded in 2018. The annual combined arts festival platforms, empowers and develops work by Black artists across community spaces and established venues running at the end of September. The programme includes music, theatre, film, visual arts spoken word and poetry across community spaces and established venues.
The L8 Activism Walking Tour invites you to take a stroll down the beautiful, tree-lined Victorian boulevard and explore the rich history of Liverpool 8 — the traditional home of the Black community since the mid-20th century. This tour traces the area’s development from its origins as a merchant-class neighbourhood in the mid-to-late 19th century, when Liverpool was considered the second city of the British Empire — its prominence largely built on the Transatlantic Slave Trade — through a period of economic decline, and finally to its resurgence as one of the most desirable places to live in 2025.
As the tour progresses, we cover the vibrant nightlife and culture of the 1950s and 60s and the Black and anti-racist activism that developed throughout the 1970s and early 1980s and which responded to local and international issues. We consider the discrimination faced by Liverpool’s Black community, which Lord Gifford in his enquiry into the causes of the 1981 uprisings, described as ‘uniquely horrific’ which brought worldwide media attention to the area. At the Rialto which, during the uprisings, was set ablaze, we view the area where battle lines were drawn and consider why certain buildings were targeted.
The L8 Activism Walking Tour culminates on the former site of the Liverpool 8 Law Center, an organisation which arose out of the ‘81 Uprisings and which played a key role in the support and empowerment of L8 and the Black communities and then onto empty plinth where William Huskinson once stood. Join us to find out what happened to him and much more history that you won’t find in books.
Starting point: Princes Park North Gates, L8 3TA
End point: Former site of Huskinson statue, Princes Road, L8 1TH
Testimonials
“The tour was excellent, really informative and guides were very well informed.”
“Fantastic. Would love more things like this.”
“Very good + interesting.”
*These are difficult times. We know some people may struggle to afford full price tickets. If you would like to attend this event but can’t afford to, please contact info@writingonthewall.org.uk. All queries will be treated in confidence.
After the success of Jim Stanton’s year-long Ulysses reading group, he returns with Sean O’Casey’s Dublin Trilogy. Three plays, three evenings, three chances to laugh at people having a terrible time! Across the series, Jim will guide readers through The Shadow of a Gunman (12 Oct), Juno and the Paycock (2 Nov) and The Plough and the Stars (9 Nov), exploring the plays’ harsh realism, sharp humour and unflinching portraits of working-class Dublin.
O’Casey’s relationship with Ireland’s nationalist audiences and the Abbey Theatre was famously volatile. Were his unsparing satires of tenement life an authentic working-class perspective, or caricature that played into anti-Irish tropes? Come and argue it out.
Shared reading builds connection, sharpens language skills and supports mental well-being. Please note: booking is a commitment to all three sessions with limited spaces available.
Image credit: Sean Casey © Mina Turn (1924), colourised in Dola AI.
7:30pm
This brand-new work from the award-winning Sonia Sabri Company aims to capture the feeling of ‘home’ through the intricate movements and melodies of dancer and musician. Just as plants come to life in the daylight but wither away in the dark, ‘NIDA’ explores how a true home can nourish us, how the loss of home might break us and how to find home wherever we find ourselves.
Weaving together Classical Indian Dance and Music forms, audiences are taken on a candlelit journey through wordless storytelling, beatboxing, mime and percussive dance. The music is inspired by Qawwali and Sufi music and features a santoor, a rare hypnotic Indian instrument with its roots traced back to Persia and Central Asia.
Sonia Sabri is multi-award winning and one of the foremost Kathak dancers of her generation. She is known for her precise, graceful technique, command of rhythm and repertoire, plus an enquiring approach to developing the art form. SSCo’s productions feature a seamless relationship between music and dance, refined over 15 years of artistic collaboration between Directors Sonia and Sarvar Sabri. Sonia was associate choreographer for The Opening Ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games and was appointed an MBE for her Services to Dance in the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours.
Artists
Sonia Sabri MBE – Artistic Director, Choreographer and Kathak Dance Artist.
Sarvar Sabri – Musical Director, Composer and Tabla Maestro.
Gulfam Sabri – Vocals, Santoor and Harmonium.
Pulkit Sharma – Duff and Chendra drums
Presented by Milap.
Funded by Arts Council England.