Hirst Festival Celebrated Creativity, Community Spirit and Rounds Out a Successful Year for Mortal Fools

Hirst Festival: Creativity, Community Spirit and Celebration! 

• Hirst Festival united Ashington: 1,593 people enjoyed creative, festive family events.
• Boosting local talent: 12 freelancers, 10 businesses, and 34 volunteers supported the festival.
• Exciting 2026 ahead: Ashington based creative charity Mortal Fools is planning more free events and creative opportunities for the community.

From October to December, Mortal Fools brought creativity, sparkle, and festive fun to the heart of Ashington with Hirst Festival. Produced by the Ashington-based children’s creative charity in partnership with Hirst Welfare Centre, the free winter festival welcomed a total of 1,593 people across the events programme.

​The festival offered a warm and welcoming space for Ashington residents, families, young people, and visitors to come together, have fun, and get creative. Over the course of the programme, the community enjoyed a magical mix of events, including a themed silent disco, an enchanting outdoor light installation, a creative family day, a pop-up cinema, a creative wellbeing day for two local schools, artist-led workshops, and themed celebrations for Halloween and Christmas.

More than just a series of events, Hirst Festival became a celebration of creativity, connection, and community spirit, bringing people together and inspiring new experiences.

Families had a wonderful time-sharing memorable moments, one parent said, “Fantastic morning for family memories. Our children haven’t stopped smiling.” Others praised the festival as a highlight of the season: “This needs to be an annual event!” and “Would be lovely to see more of this in Ashington. My daughter loved it.” Attendees especially appreciated the chance for screen-free family time, with one noting, “Fantastic opportunity to spend time with children away from screens. The smiles on their faces were priceless.” This feedback reflected the joy and excitement the festival brought to the Ashington community.

Supporting local talent and the economy was also at the heart of the festival. The programme created paid work for 12 local freelancers and 10 local businesses, while providing opportunities for 34 local volunteers, whose enthusiasm and pride helped make the festival welcoming, inclusive, and enjoyable for all.

Mortal Fools Executive Director, Ellie Turner, reflected on the festival’s impact:

“Hirst Fest was a joyful celebration of Ashington’s creativity and community spirit. Our team loved meeting new faces and seeing people come together. The outdoor artwork was a beautiful way to welcome those who were new to Mortal Fools and invite them to feel part of something special. This is just the start; we’re excited to build on this momentum with more events that connect, inspire creativity, and share experiences with and for our community.”

Echoing the power of partnership, Hirst Welfare Community Engagement and Fundraising Officer, Helen Rae, said:

“We loved working with Mortal Fools on Hirst Festival. Together and we learnt so much through the collaboration. It was great to see Hirst Welfare filled with laughter, positivity, and the community coming together, and we can’t wait to do more together in the future.”

Looking ahead to 2026, Mortal Fools are rounding out an incredibly successful year as a charity and are already planning an exciting programme of free activities and creative opportunities for children, young people, families, and the wider Ashington community. Their year-round work will continue to champion creativity, connection, and community voice, building on the success of Hirst Festival.

After a fantastic festival and with an exciting year ahead, Helen Ferguson, Mortal Fools Creative Producer, said:
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“Following the success of Hirst Festival, we’re excited to be planning even more free events and activities in 2026. The Ashington community continues to inspire everything we do, and we can’t wait to create more memorable moments together.”

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About Hirst Festival
Hirst Festival was produced by Ashington-based creative children’s charity Mortal Fools in partnership with Hirst Welfare Centre and supported by Ashington Family Hub and Full Circle Food Project.

It was part of Northumberland County Council’s Animating Ashington Autumn/Winter Festival; a programme of cultural events across the town being funded by UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and North East Combined Authority, with the North East Combined Authority as lead authority.

​#UKSPF #FundedUKGovernment #NorthEastCA