First edition · The Forum, Norwich · October 2027
Thread Festival Norwich
A celebration of creativity with textiles, yarn and threads.
Opens 13 October 2027
Free to walk into, makers from across the East of England bring textiles, yarn and thread to The Forum for one festival under one roof.
Norwich has always been a city of worsted, wool and trade. Thread is a festival for the people who still make, mend, print, weave, quilt and push fabric into art.
Hosted at The Forum in the centre of Norwich, this is a free-to-attend event dedicated to sparking creativity across the county. A three day festival full of art worth experiencing, with the people who made it.
What we’re planning
Juried exhibition
An open call judged by makers – cloth, yarn, stitch and modern mixed media, hung together in one room.
Maker stands
A floor of makers, suppliers and art groups from across the East of England, showing and selling their work.
Workshops & talks
Hands-on sessions and conversations about fibre, pattern and process. Some events will be ticketed.
Want to show your work?
There are two ways to take part: enter the juried exhibition or book a stand on the maker floor. Both open in January 2027 – join the email newsletter and we will send you the details the day they land.
Applications open January 2027
Free to attend · non-profit
Thread is run as a non-profit and is free to walk into. Any money it makes goes back into next year's festival and into paying the people who make it happen.
Where and when
Thread Festival’s home will be at The Forum – the glass-fronted building in the middle of Norwich, a few steps from the market and the lanes. One building, one roof, a whole festival within it.
Thread Festival will run from 13—15 October 2027. The full programme of events will launch in January – join our email newsletter to be the first to find out more.
The Forum · Millennium Plain, Norwich NR2 1TF
Who’s behind it
Thread Festival is being organised by a small independent team of curators, makers and producers in Norfolk, run as a non-profit.
Thread Festival Newsletter
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