Hebden Bridge Handmade Parade

The Hebden Bridge Handmade Parade is back!  

For the fourteenth Hebden Bridge parade – and the first since 2022 – Handmade Productions invite you on a ramble through water, woods, and wilderness … the Calderdale Way.  Expect to see canal boats and the Duck Race; a tribe of wild garlic and dancing bluebells in the woodlands; a Silly Goose; jackdaw coiners on the hilltops; and a giant heart showing our love and affection for the Calder Valley.

Handmade have made spectacular art in communities for fifteen years – and their summer parade is one of Hebden Bridge’s finest traditions.

Open workshops for people to create their parade costume begin on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 June, 10.30am–1pm and 3–5.30pm, and continue the following weekend Saturday 14 June and Sunday 15 June (same times).  

Entry to the open workshops is by a suggested donation of £5 per person for the first session and £1 per person for further visits.

If you would like to learn to stilt walk, play in the Handmade Fantasy Street Band, or dance in the parade, there are special parade workshops.  No experience is necessary but under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.

For more information, please go to handmadeproductions.org.uk

Director and Creative Producer of Handmade Productions Clare Danon says: 

‘We are so excited to bring the Handmade Parade back to Hebden Bridge.  This year’s summer parade will celebrate our local nature and culture – bringing water, woods, and wilderness to the streets of Hebden Bridge.  Please come along to our open workshops with your creative flair and be a part of this very special community event.’

Parade

The Hebden Bridge Handmade Parade 2025 will be at 12 noon on Sunday 22 June, followed by a Picnic in Calder Holmes Park until 5pm.

Volunteering opportunities

If you would like to be involved, please come and volunteer.  We have lots of jobs that don’t need a big commitment but make a huge difference to the parade – for example, carrying small artwork, operating a puppet, pushing a wheeled structure, face painting, or staffing the information desk in the park.  Please email volunteer@handmadeparade.co.uk for more information.

This year’s Hebden Bridge Handmade Parade is supported by Arts Council England, Calderdale Council, and Hebden Royd Town Council.

For further information contact: Katherine Greenwood, Project Manager on projectmanager@handmadeproductions.org.uk