Thousands of people are expected at Barrow’s Festival of Colours – back by popular demand this year.
This fourth free annual celebration of spring traditions from across the world, plus those closer to home, takes place inside and outside Barrow Town Hall and at the Forum on Saturday, March 22.
The Festival of Colours gives the people of Barrow and beyond the chance to enjoy cultural experiences from Asia, Africa, and Europe with the event finale – the colour-throwing Holi – being particularly popular.
“The Festival of Colours is now a regular fixture in Barrow’s events calendar, and gives Barrovians and visitors an opportunity to enjoy a festival like no other as we celebrate the arrival of spring,” said BarrowFull’s artistic director, Daniel Tyler-McTighe.
“Each year, our small team get together with our community advisors and other local people to develop the festival, come up with fresh ideas and programme a vibrant experience for all to enjoy.”
After the success of the Japanese music performances last year, BarrowFull have invited A Thousand Cranes theatre company to Barrow, who will combine Japanese dance and original music with karate sparring, sword flights, and live taiko drumming.
Energetic, joyful music from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana will get people dancing as marimba band Otto & The Mutapa Calling share the rich culture and stories of Southern Africa through pulsating rhythms and captivating beats.
Walkabout Dhol drummers will have feet tapping and there’s the opportunity to join a Bollywood dancing workshop with returning Festival of Colours dancer Abhinandana Kodanda.
Closer to home, the British spring tradition of maypole dancing will be represented with Folk Dance Remixed with plenty of audience participation. There are also chances to have a go at ceilidh dancing; catch a high-energy show from experienced hula hoopist Angie Mack, and watch local drumming group Boom Dang.
Liverpool Philharmonic are involved in the festival for the first time this year with a conducting workshop for all ages in the town hall’s banqueting hall at 10.30am before the festival begins in earnest at 11am.
The carnival costume try-on, which was so popular last year, has its own dedicated space for 2025 upstairs in the town hall, where you can pose for photos wearing fabulously outlandish creations.
Free workshops in the Forum include block printing, green man plaques, head-dress creating, origami, clay sculpting, tambourine making and a felting station. A face painter and henna artist will also offer bookable paid sessions.
Once again, the festival will close with the highly anticipated Holi colour-throwing extravaganza, a popular finale to the daytime events covering participants, and the town square, with rainbow coloured powder at 4.30pm.
Later in the evening, audiences can return to dance the night away at Barrow’s Spring Fling from 7pm as Scottish band Ceithir take to the stage of the Banqueting Hall with a fun ceilidh session for people of all ages and abilities.
Similar to folk dancing, line dancing and country dancing, there’s nothing complicated about the moves and anyone can have a go as Ceithir perform a repertoire of music from traditional Scottish reels to jazz and rock.
The Festival of Colours is produced in partnership with the Forum.
