Encounter Festival’s free Preston day ends in fireworks

Eight stilt-walkers in oversized Horrockses-inspired dresses will help lead Preston into the evening at Encounter Festival 2026. The all-ages event takes place across Preston city centre on Saturday, 19 September, with activities beginning at 11am and the final fireworks scheduled for 9pm. Most of the programme is free, although tickets are required for the Two Cities, One Symphony concert.

Presented by Preston City Council, the festival will use the Flag Market, The Harris, The Guild Hall and Moor Park as settings for outdoor theatre, live music, installations and family activities. The programme published by Visit Lancashire divides the day between afternoon performances and an evening Torchlight Procession through the city.

The Flag Market becomes an open-air stage

Performances and installations will run at the Flag Market from noon until 5pm. Artizani and Tender Foot Theatre will present the immersive Hydropunk, while Levantes Dance Theatre brings its outdoor production HUG to the festival.

Ramshacklicious will perform Mr & Mr Burn, and visitors will be able to explore the interactive sound installation Noisy Noise Noise. The Ugly Bugs Wingding by Enter Edem adds a collection of unusual creatures to the afternoon programme.

Arachnobot, created by Tim Davies Design, is due to roam through the city centre during the day and into the evening. The official opening will also feature the Preston Town Crier, although the published programme does not give a separate time for that ceremony.

Portraits, magic and music inside The Harris

The Harris will host free activities from noon to 5pm, with one part of its programme starting earlier. The Preston Portrait Challenge begins at 11am and includes opportunities to watch artists producing portraits in The Studio.

Magician Russ Brown is scheduled to give walkabout performances between 1pm and 4pm. Encounter Voices will perform from 2pm.

The building will also open Horrockses Fashions: Everyday Glamour & the Art of British Ready-to-Wear on the day of the festival. The exhibition examines how the Lancashire company combined couture influences with printed cotton fabrics.

That history feeds directly into Horrockses on Stilts, the festival’s principal 2026 commission. Preston-based Wolf Entertainments & Events, led by Joshua Holden, has created oversized Horrockses-style dresses for eight stilt-walkers who will take part in the Torchlight Procession.

A ticketed orchestral concert precedes the procession

The Two Cities, One Symphony Live Concert begins at 6pm in The Guild Lounge at the Guild Hall. It brings together Preston Symphony Orchestra and the Youth Symphony Orchestra of the City of Recklinghausen to mark 70 years of the twinning partnership between Preston and Recklinghausen.

Musicians of different ages will perform a varied orchestral programme. This is the principal exception to the festival’s free-entry offer: concert tickets must be purchased, but the supplied information does not state their price.

Festival-goers can also use the break between the afternoon and evening programmes to visit restaurants in the city centre. Animate, in the Harris Quarter, is participating with food and drink offers, while its leisure activities include bowling.

The torchlight route runs from Moor Park to the Guild Hall

The Torchlight Procession starts at 7.15pm in Moor Park. It will travel down Deepdale Road and Church Street before finishing outside the Guild Hall.

Stilt-walkers, drummers, Morris dancers, carnival troupes, uniformed groups, musicians and puppets are listed for the procession. The illuminated Arthur Wharton puppet will return alongside Brazen, the all-female brass band created as an Encounter Festival commission in 2024.

The procession is due to culminate with fireworks at 9pm. The published information identifies the route but does not specify parking, public transport or accessibility arrangements; most festival activities are free, while advance tickets are required for the 6pm orchestral concert.

Source: Visit Lancashire Blog