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Worstead Festival 2021

Update from Trustees, 19th March 2021

It is with great sadness that the Trustees have made the decision to cancel the Worstead Festival due to take place 24th & 25th July 2021.

This last year has been extremely difficult for us all and we all really wanted the festival to happen.

Following the government’s current guidance, it is unlikely that a decision to proceed will made before 21st June at the earliest. This would give insufficient time to complete arrangements to safely deliver the festival.

The aim of the festival has always been to help local charities. With that in mind, the trustees have decided to allocate some of the costs budgeted to organise this year’s festival towards grants for our local good causes.

Jane Bond

Chair, The Worstead Village Festival

Back to normal in 2022!

Worstead Festival 2022 will be a packed weekend of entertainment for all the family!

Worstead Festival is a celebration of rural life, farming, and the crafts, produce and heritage of Worstead and North Norfolk. The festival was founded in 1965 to raise money to save the village church which was falling into disrepair. The festival is still run entirely by volunteers, and all profits raised are donated to local charitable causes through the Worstead Village Festival Charity grant fund. 

Alongside stalls, street food, music and bars, the festival showcases farming and rural attractions, lots of fun activities for children, craft stalls, chef demos, main arena displays, vintage farming and military vehicles, and lots lots more. 

Friday – Road Run & Barbecue – 7pm to 9pm
Saturday – 10am to 6pm
Sunday  – 10am to 6pm

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Some highlights of the Worstead Festival 2019:

Please explore the website to find out more!

What’s On

What's On?

The weekend offers a packed programme of entertainment for all the family!

Attractions
Old favourites including heavy horses and the Starting Handle Club’s vintage farm machinery. Full details here.

Main Arena
We have a packed program of entertainment in the main festival arena -  medieval knights, vintage tractors, falconry, gundogs... check out the full list here.

St Mary the Virgin Church
St Mary's church welcomes visitors to the Worstead Festival. The church is full of activity over the course of the weekend! Full details here.

Made in Worstead
A display of work by artisans, craftspeople, and artists who live and work in Worstead.... full details here.

Grown in Norfolk
Worstead Festival's new produce show is on Saturday. Show what you can grow or what you can make - photography, vegetables, fruit, flowers, home produce, craft and fun. Full details here.

Music
Check out the bands playing on the Mill Hill Lorry Stage from midday each day here.

Worstead Festival ART Exhibition
The Worstead Festival ART Exhibition returns to the village hall - find out more about the artists and exhibits here.

Food & Drink

Farmers Market

Our Farmers Market promotes all that's good and special in Norfolk food and drink. We have award-winning producers, stallholders and chef master-classes in the Farmers Market marquee kitchen theatre over the weekend.

Chef Demos
Join us in the Farmers Market marquee kitchen theatre throughout the weekend for cookery demonstrations from some of Norfolk's top chefs. Timetable and chef details are here.

Artisan Producers
The marquee hosts artisan food producers, suppliers and growers, who keep coming back with their fantastic bread, cheese, gin, chutneys and jams, teas, cakes and pastries, fresh veg and more! See our fabulous producers here.

Food & Bars
Food & drink to fuel your festival! We have bars in the main field by the village  hall, and in Mill Hill. There are food vendors near the Best of Norfolk Food & Drink Marquee, and dotted throughout  the festival site.  Full details here.

Your Visit

Your Visit

Opening Times & Entrance Fee

Worstead Festival is open 10am - 6pm on Saturday & Sunday

Entrance is just £6.  Under 12's are FREE.  Worstead doesn't have an ATM in the village - but you can get cashback at The White Lady pub.

Parking is free. There is a tractor shuttle service for lifts on a trailer running regularly from car park and the station. See below for directions.

We are Dog Friendly, but please keep them on a lead and clean up after them!

Camping is not possible on the site, but there are plenty of campsites, holiday parks, self-catering places, and hotels & B&Bs nearby.

By Train
Worstead is on the Bittern Line that runs from Norwich to Cromer & Sheringham. The train timetable is available here. During the festival, all trains on the Bittern line will be stopping at Worstead. There is a tractor shuttle service for lifts on a trailer running from the station.

By Car
Worstead is just between the A149 (Cromer to Great Yarmouth) and the B1150 (Norwich to North Walsham). From the A149 or B1150 follow the signs to Worstead. Once you're in the village, follow the signs to the Car Park (which is on Honing Row). There is a tractor shuttle service running lifts on a trailer regularly from the car park to the main festival site, or it is less than five minute's walk. Postcode for Sat Nav: NR28 9SD.

By Plane
Worstead is just half an hour from Norwich Airport. Check here for details of where you can fly from. If you've got your own plane, you can fly in to Northrepps International.

Getting here

The Charity

The Worstead Village Festival Charity

Charity no. 1137770

Company no. 6946197

Mission

To support local organisations and groups for all ages and abilities through giving grants towards their capital projects from money raised through an annual two-day summer festival
 

School children, a community choir and its audiences, an archives group dedicated to charting the history of a Norfolk town and a group working towards updating play equipment were among those to benefit from the latest handouts from the Worstead Festival charity.

The charity has a long history of helping groups and organisations both in its villages and in neighbouring parishes. The effort that goes into the festival over the course of the entire year is worthwhile when we get to give these grants to groups who are doing so much good for their communities.

“The very generous donation (£2,500) has enabled us to start putting plans together to bring about the new play park in the new year. The donation means a lot of all members of the committee and we would all like to personally thank everyone involved with organising such a well-loved and well-supported festival.”
Matthew Smith, North Walsham Play

“Thanks to the awesome Worstead Festival committee for donating £500 to our group, The North Walsham and District Community Archive, to help with our work archiving the area’s history. This will help enormously. We plan to buy storage equipment for keeping our massive collection of photos and documents safely stored, both digitally and physically, and also a new portable scanner to aid in digitising photos ‘on location’.”
Wayne Beauchamp, North Walsham & District Community Archive

Grant Applications

Worstead Village Festival Charity welcomes grant applications from eligible groups.

The deadline for grants in 30th September.

Applications should be made in writing, stating the full details of what the grant is for, exactly who is applying and who would benefit. A full breakdown of costs should be provided and quotations for purchases or goods being procured externally.

The grant form can be downloaded here.

Please download our grant policy here.

The application may be submitted by emailing office@worsteadfestival.org.

Groups the Worstead Festival has supported.

  • Worstead parish church
  • Sloley parish church
  • Swanton Abbott parish church
  • Westwick parish church
  • Tunstead parish church
  • North Walsham parish church
  • Worstead Village Hall
  • Schools, nurseries and Friends groups in Worstead, North Walsham, Dilham and Swanton Abbott
  • Various village projects and celebratory events, including the Queen’s Silver and Golden jubilees
  • North Walsham Swiming Pool Fund
  • The Choir Worstead
  • Worstead Parent, Toddler and Baby Group
  • Youth Club
  • Worstead Fellowship
  • North Walsham CAB
  • Nelson’s Journey
  • The Benjamin Foundation
  • Worstead Daycare Centre
  • Cancer research fund
  • Norfolk and Norwich Hospital units
  • Guild of Weavers and Dyers
  • The WI
  • Worstead Station
  • Worstead Cricket Club
  • North Walsham Rugby Club
  • Children’s football teams locally
  • Worstead Carpet Bowls Club
  • Skate parks in North Walsham and Stalham
  • Youth groups including ATC and Scouts