



Pulse
Friday, 21st November to Sunday, 23rd November 2027
Wintertide Festival CIC presents Pulse, a celebration of the energy, creativity and connections that make Hartlepool what it is.
Every place has its own rhythm. It lives in its streets and stories, its people, its traditions, its changing landscapes and the ideas shaping its future. Pulse invites us to feel, explore and reimagine the many forces that bring Hartlepool to life.
Bringing together artists, residents, communities and partners, Wintertide 2027 will transform the historic streets of the Headland through bold outdoor artworks, immersive performances and participatory experiences. Rooted in Hartlepool’s character and powered by the people who shape it, Pulse will celebrate the creativity, resilience and collective spirit that runs through the town.
As we build towards our next live festival, Pulse is both a theme and a call to action: to find new rhythms, make unexpected connections and recognise the creative energy that already exists within our communities. Together, we will create moments of wonder, spark curiosity and bring people together through shared experiences of art and culture.
Wintertide Festival 2025
Wintertide Festival once again burned brightly on Hartlepool’s Headland in November 2025, with a packed programme of art, music and performances along with workshops and an independent maker’s market.
One of the only grassroots residential festivals in the Tees Valley, Wintertide hosts an artistic programme that reflects and celebrates Hartlepool, its people, places, passions, heritage, and folklore. Wintertide aims to bring the historic streets of the Headland to life, which it achieves by welcoming over 15,000 people to the area every other year in this biennial festival of arts and culture.
Through our innovative and community-led events, we transform the Headland into a space for curiosity and creative exploration, ensuring that people across the region can access and enjoy the strong cultural offerings Hartlepool has to offer, and creating a legacy for arts in the region.
"Our theme in 2025 was Constellations; it was the perfect inspiration for an after-dark event and a beautiful symbol of Hartlepool coming together under one sky to celebrate. We worked incredibly hard to fundraise and are thrilled to showcase amazing artworks responding to the theme. We couldn't wait to welcome audiences and see the town light up once again!" - Emma Wheetman (co-director)

Wintertide Festival Launch Event: PULSE 2027
Thursday, 12 November 2026
We’re inviting existing and potential partners, funders, sponsors, artists and local creatives to share our ambitions for 2027, and explore how we can make the next Wintertide Festival even more ambitious, inclusive and impactful.
Stories
The Stories of Wintertide Festival
Thank You for Making Wintertide Festival Truly Extraordinary.
Wednesday, 26 November 2025
Wintertide Festival took place between Friday 21st November and Sunday 23rd November 2025, thanks to the support of local artists, grant funders, venues, traders and partners. An estimated audience of between 15,000 and 20,000 people took part in the activities on offer during this special weekend on Hartlepool Headland.
The Legend of Hercales: Exploring Belonging, Masculinity, and Connection
Thursday, 6 November 2025
This is Greek mythology like you've never seen it before, in a powerful new project by local group 'SIDEQUEST'. Exploring themes of belonging, masculinity and connection, by reimagining the legend of Heracles through Hartlepool’s own stories of pride, friendship and everyday strength - as familiar places become sites of modern myth.
Wintertide Festival 2025: One Month To Go
Friday, 24 October 2025
This year’s Wintertide Festival begins on Friday 21st November with a vast and vibrant community parade, a glowing constellation of light, music, and movement, inspired by ancient myths, celestial journeys, and dreams of the stars. This bleeds into our wider art trail, a collection of illuminated work from across the region, scattered across the Headland.
About Wintertide Festival
Wintertide Festival is an independent, biennial arts and culture festival that brings the historic streets of Hartlepool’s Headland to life. Rooted in place and shaped by the people who live there, it celebrates the town’s identity, heritage, folklore, creativity and ambition through an ambitious programme of outdoor art, music, performance, participation and independent makers.
In November 2025, Wintertide welcomed thousands of people to experience Constellations, a creative programme that brought people together beneath one sky. With more than 15,000 people drawn to the Headland during its biennial festival, Wintertide creates opportunities for residents and visitors alike to encounter extraordinary art in unexpected places, discover new perspectives and experience Hartlepool as a place of creativity and possibility.
As one of the Tees Valley’s distinctive grassroots festivals, Wintertide champions artists, nurtures local talent and builds connections between communities, culture and place. By transforming familiar streets and public spaces into places of curiosity, imagination and shared experience, the festival creates lasting memories and strengthens the cultural life of Hartlepool.
Wintertide is more than a festival. It is a collective act of imagination, bringing a place to life through the creativity of its people.
Programme Highlights
Wintertide Festival
Event
The Parade
21 November 2025
As night falls, Wintertide’s Opening Parade ignites the streets with glowing constellations of light, music, and movement. Inspired by ancient myths, celestial journeys, and dreams of the stars, our community gathers to weave a radiant story of unity and wonder, transforming Hartlepool’s Headland.
Friday, 21st November
The Parade
Town Square, Headland
As night falls, Wintertide’s Opening Parade ignites the streets with glowing constellations of light, music, and movement. Inspired by ancient myths, celestial journeys, and dreams of the stars, our community gathers to weave a radiant story of unity and wonder, transforming Hartlepool’s Headland.
River of Hope
Heugh Battery Museum
River of Hope brings the sights, sounds, and stories of the River Tees to life. This powerful audio-visual installation explores rivers, myths, and environmental change. It brings together the voices and visions of over 600 young people from 16 schools across the Tees Valley.
The Simon James Earthship
Town Square, Hartlepool
In 1977, the twin Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft were launched, and they are still exploring interstellar space where nothing from Earth has flown before. It was like a time capsule for extraterrestrials, and this workshop is your chance to send a message on the same journey through space.
Lads, Lads, Lads, 12 Trials of a Hartlepool Heracles
Location Awaiting Confirmation
Myth meets the modern North Sea in this powerful new project by SIDEQUEST. Reimagining the legend of Heracles through Hartlepool’s own stories of pride, friendship and everyday strength, familiar places become sites of modern myth. From boxing gyms to piers and car parks.
Murphy's Funfair
Headland Water Pump
Step right up and experience the magic of Murphy’s Funfair, a much-loved highlight of Wintertide Festival! Bringing colour, laughter and excitement to the Headland, the fair lights up the High Street with a nostalgic mix of traditional rides, thrilling attractions and family favourites.
Expressions United by Lily Rose Cockfield
Bath Terrace
Pupils from High Tunstall College of Science have come together to create vibrant, large-scale murals inspired by our Constellations theme. Each reflects personal stories, dreams and connections, combining individuality into a bold, unified vision.
Saturday, 22nd November
Art Trail
Art Trail
Art Trail
Workshop
The Simon James Earthship
Town Square, Hartlepool
In 1977, the twin Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft were launched, and they are still exploring interstellar space where nothing from Earth has flown before. It was like a time capsule for extraterrestrials, and this workshop is your chance to send a message on the same journey through space.
Art Trail
Stories from the Headland: An Audio Trail of Stories
Hartlepool Borough Hall
Step into the streets of Hartlepool Headland and hear the voices of the people who call it home. As part of Wintertide Festival, artist Ben Phillips has worked with locals to capture their memories, myths and everyday stories, creating an immersive audio journey through the place we call home.
Workshop
Stitching the Stars: Constellation Sewing Workshop
Hartlepool Borough Hall
Constellations have long guided sailors across the seas and inspired poets and artists to dream among the stars. In this hands-on workshop with textile artist Holly Capstick, you’ll create your own night-sky-inspired artwork — a beautiful 6-inch textile hoop piece that’s truly one of a kind.
Music
Start Making Sense: Tribute to Talking Heads
Sandwell Chare, Hartlepool
To launch the Young Producers Project, following our opening parade, we'll start the Festival's music programme off with a bang! Start Making Sense is a passionate, high-energy Talking Heads tribute band made up of ten dedicated young musicians with an average age of just 18.
Art Trail
Event
Murphy's Funfair
Headland Water Pump
Step right up and experience the magic of Murphy’s Funfair, a much-loved highlight of Wintertide Festival! Bringing colour, laughter and excitement to the Headland, the fair lights up the High Street with a nostalgic mix of traditional rides, thrilling attractions and family favourites.
Workshop
Music
Workshop
Little Silver Kiln Workshops
Hartlepool Borough Hall
We’re thrilled to welcome Carley from The Little Silver Kiln back to Wintertide for a dazzling, hands-on silversmithing experience! Guided by Carley’s expert touch, you’ll create your own cosmic-inspired jewellery, capturing the shimmer of starlight and the mystery of the night sky.
Workshop
Art Trail
Lads, Lads, Lads, 12 Trials of a Hartlepool Heracles
Location Awaiting Confirmation
Myth meets the modern North Sea in this powerful new project by SIDEQUEST. Reimagining the legend of Heracles through Hartlepool’s own stories of pride, friendship and everyday strength, familiar places become sites of modern myth. From boxing gyms to piers and car parks.
Event
Event
History Walk with Roger Codner
Hartlepool Baptist Church
Join Roger Codner, a local historian known for his Hartlepool Mail photo feature, as he takes you around the heritage places across the Headland. This free, 40-minute walking tour starts and ends at the Headland Baptist Church, where you can get a warm drink from their cafe.
Art Trail
Expressions United by Lily Rose Cockfield
Bath Terrace
Pupils from High Tunstall College of Science have come together to create vibrant, large-scale murals inspired by our Constellations theme. Each reflects personal stories, dreams and connections, combining individuality into a bold, unified vision.
Art Trail
Art Trail
Workshop
Market
Event
Aries Moon Astrology Reading at The Art House @18
18 Beaconsfield Street
Your individual birth chart is as unique as your fingerprint. It is a personal cosmic blueprint that reveals your personality, purpose, and path in life.
Come visit us at Art at 18 and discover what the stars have in store for you!
Event
Sunday, 23rd November
Art Trail
Market
Art Trail
Event
Procession
Town Square, Headland
Come together and be part of Wintertide’s glowing constellation! As night falls, our community will move as one - a procession of light, creativity, and togetherness. Step into the story, bring your star and help us form a living constellation that celebrates the power of connection and imagination.
Music
Art Trail
Art Trail
Stories from the Headland: An Audio Trail of Stories
Hartlepool Borough Hall
Step into the streets of Hartlepool Headland and hear the voices of the people who call it home. As part of Wintertide Festival, artist Ben Phillips has worked with locals to capture their memories, myths and everyday stories, creating an immersive audio journey through the place we call home.
Workshop
Little Silver Kiln Workshops
Hartlepool Borough Hall
We’re thrilled to welcome Carley from The Little Silver Kiln back to Wintertide for a dazzling, hands-on silversmithing experience! Guided by Carley’s expert touch, you’ll create your own cosmic-inspired jewellery, capturing the shimmer of starlight and the mystery of the night sky.
Workshop
Workshop
The Simon James Earthship
Town Square, Hartlepool
In 1977, the twin Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft were launched, and they are still exploring interstellar space where nothing from Earth has flown before. It was like a time capsule for extraterrestrials, and this workshop is your chance to send a message on the same journey through space.
Art Trail
Lads, Lads, Lads, 12 Trials of a Hartlepool Heracles
Location Awaiting Confirmation
Myth meets the modern North Sea in this powerful new project by SIDEQUEST. Reimagining the legend of Heracles through Hartlepool’s own stories of pride, friendship and everyday strength, familiar places become sites of modern myth. From boxing gyms to piers and car parks.
Workshop
Workshop
Event
Murphy's Funfair
Headland Water Pump
Step right up and experience the magic of Murphy’s Funfair, a much-loved highlight of Wintertide Festival! Bringing colour, laughter and excitement to the Headland, the fair lights up the High Street with a nostalgic mix of traditional rides, thrilling attractions and family favourites.
Art Trail
Art Trail
Event
Aries Moon Astrology Reading at The Art House @18
18 Beaconsfield Street
Your individual birth chart is as unique as your fingerprint. It is a personal cosmic blueprint that reveals your personality, purpose, and path in life.
Come visit us at Art at 18 and discover what the stars have in store for you!
Art Trail
Art Trail
Expressions United by Lily Rose Cockfield
Bath Terrace
Pupils from High Tunstall College of Science have come together to create vibrant, large-scale murals inspired by our Constellations theme. Each reflects personal stories, dreams and connections, combining individuality into a bold, unified vision.










































