Festival Oldham

Oldham’s annual outdoor arts festival celebrating culture, community in Oldham.

Each year this exciting free festival showcases the very best local, regional and national street theatre, music, dance and visual arts across a variety of spaces in the town centre.

Festival Oldham returns!

Oldham town centre’s annual outdoor arts festival returns on Saturday 5 July 2025, 11am until 4pm.

Festival Oldham, the exciting annual event, will showcase the very best local, regional and national outdoor arts, street theatre, music, dance and visual arts – with this year’s theme of Global Threads, a fusion of music, dance, fashion and art throughout the globe

Visitors on the day will have a full afternoon of activity for all the family, plus it’s FREE so if you are looking for something to do with the kids, we’ve got you covered.

Oldham Music Service Summer Festival

This year we’ll be running alongside the Oldham Music Service Summer Festival (10am – 7pm), which will be bringing a whole host of incredible local musicians and musical performances to Oldham Town Centre as well.

Schedule for Festival Oldham – Saturday 5th July

Hilton Square

Mughal Miniatures: The Awakening – Sonia Sabri Company
11am, 1.15pm, 2.45pm

Join us at the royal court to meet the feisty queen and her attendants but everything is not as it seems; our well-behaved characters have grown tired of their restrictive frames. Watch as they break free and work out where they truly belong!
Mughal Miniatures has been supported by Without Walls and co-commissioned by Applause, Brighton Festival, Certain Blacks and Hat Fair.

Pop! – Vince Virr
11.15pm, 1.30pm, 3.15pm
Pop! Is a high energy dance duet inspired by the surprising and unknown changes that occur in adolescence.

Closer to my Dreams – Chad Taylor
11.45am and 2pm
Two young, Black brothers from the inner city of Manchester have dreams of becoming professional dancers.

Weaving together poetry, rap and hip hop choreography, we follow the brothers as they build friendships and relationships and try to succeed in the face of adversity.
Supported by Without Walls and commissioned by Certain Blacks. Produced by Switchflicker CIO.

Family Catwalk Extravaganza – Ghetto Fabulous
12.30pm and 3.30pm
Four dancers go head-to-head in a dance, fashion and lip sync competition where the audience decides the winner. Whether you have a passion to pose or just want to watch, come along and join in the fun by dressing up and helping crown the winner!
Supported by Without Walls. Produced by Switchflicker CIO

High Street

Turbo & Dai – Reckless Invention
11am, 12.30pm, 2pm
Word up! Remember fluorescent Lycra and shell suits? Just add a bit of bling to impress the punters- who no matter what age will reminisce to the classic 80’s tunes from their retro Ghetto blaster.

Bling’n’Ting – Swank
11.30am, 1pm, 2.30pm
These two ladettes sum up the ‘yoof’ culture of today and refusing to grow up. Come along and join their ‘Posse’ and then get down and let this gang initiate you with the special handshakes and some naff dance offs with a bit of parkour (if their knees can take it!).

Rambling On – Fair Play
12noon, 1.30pm, 3pm
Carrying rucksacks that swing open into small puppet sets, many other surprises and delights, our wanderers will amuse all with the general buffoonery of being lost, overloaded and without a clue, and then amaze and enthral with their innovative and unexpected puppetry, physical theatre and storytelling.

Parliament Square/High Street

Ollie & Millie – Oldham Theatre Workshop
11am, 1pm, 2.30pm
Oldham mascots Ollie and Millie are very excited for some festive fun! Come say hello to the famous owls and make sure you get your camera out for a sensational selfie.

Slo:Rida – Giddy Kippers
11.30am, 1.30pm, 3pm
He is on a mission to move around the world as slowly as possible on his solitary low-rider. In between naps, he meanders through the back of beyond distracted by every tree and taking ‘slothies’ with bewildered passers-by.

Miss Fortune – Oldham Theatre Workshop
12noon, 1.45pm, 3.30pm
A Fortune Teller So Bad… She’s Almost Brilliant! Prepare to have your future wildly misinterpreted by the world’s most hopeless mystic.

Lost Opera – Ashley Peevor
12.30pm, 2pm, 3.30pm
A Figure emerges. A huge bewildering beast that will twist through the townscape ready to perform with music issuing from its various shapes and curves as it moves along the streets.

Gallery Oldham / Oldham Library

The Birds – Frolicked
11.45am, 1.15pm, 2.45pm
A rare set of exotic birds have escaped captivity and have taken a liking to the local habitat. The “Rubious Harmonious” has unmistakable plumage, a surprisingly trusting disposition and a repertoire of bird song not to be missed!

Craft Activity – OPAG and Men Behaving Dadly
11am – 4pm
Join OPAG for a free fun craft activity for this years theme of Global Threads! They are also joined by Men Behaving Dadly who will be consulting on a wellbeing journal for dads with their big cardboard book!

Spindles Town Square Shopping Centre

Kids Club
12noon – 4pm
Spindles Town Square and Shopping Centre have added an extra Kids Club date to join the Festival Oldham Fun! Inside you will find the festive mascot, face painting, crafts and the Retro Arcade.

Old Town Hall

Doodle Jam – Scott Walker
11am – 4pm
Watch LIVE STREET-ART being created before your eyes. Doodle-Jam invites folk of all ages to step up and get creative. Participants can relax and enjoy vitalising, mindful colour-play.

Art Trail – Scott Walker
11am – 4pm
Collect your list of locations from the Doodle Jam to find all 10 letters of our the Art Trail. They spell out 2 words can you find them all and get back to Doodle Jam to see if you’re right!

Oldham Music Service – Summer Music Festival Programme

10am – 7pm
The Oldham Music Centre, Summer Music Festival 2025, will include performances from all of the regularly rehearsing groups at the Oldham Music Centre, some 30 different groups of varied genre. Between the performance spaces in the Parish Church, outdoor stage at the Town Hall and Billingtons, performances will run none stop throughout the whole of Saturday 5th July, often with more than one running at a time, such is the number of groups involved. There will always be something to see and hear and there will be music to suit all tastes from classical orchestral, traditional brass bands, rock and pop groups, choirs and songs from the musicals.

Main stage – Oldham Town Hall

10.00am – Junior Brass Band and Junior Wind Band
10.30am – Youth Wind Band
11.15am – Repercussions
12noon – Intermediate Wind Band
12.30pm – Natraj Dance Academy
1.00pm – Uke Two
1.30pm – Natraj Dance Academy
2.00pm – Youth Orchestra
2.45pm – Intermediate Brass Band
3.30pm – Adult Community Wind Band
4.15pm – Youth Brass Band
5.00pm – Gen Eggz
5.20pm – Uke 1
5.30pm – Electric Guitar Group 1
5.50pm – Adult Acoustic Guitars
6.00pm – Electric Guitar Group 2
6.20pm – Adult Acoustic Guitars
6.30pm – Electric Guitar Group 3

Oldham Parish Church
10am – OMC Adult Choir
10.30am – Late Start Wind Band
11.15am – Saxation and Adult Saxes
11.30am – Intemediate Choir
12.15pm – Vocal Recall
12.30pm – Strings Workshop
1pm – Starter Strings
1.15pm – Lyceum Strings
2pm – Acoustic Guitar Orchestra
2.45pm – Youth Wind Assemble
3.15pm – Oldham Youth Choir
4pm – Junior Choir

Billingtons
2pm – Musical Theatre Showcase (Invite only event)