The Mid-Winter Hullabaloo returns for 2027!
Cleator Moor - Friday 5 February
Egremont - Saturday 6 February
6-8.30pm
Hullabaloo Parade Making workshops from 3.30-4.30pm
Handpicked Productions is delighted to announce that The Mid-Winter Hullabaloo will return in February 2027, following a hugely successful first year that brought 851 people together across West Cumbria.
Thanks to new funding from Arts Council England, Cleator Moor Town Council and ISH Handpicked Productions is once again bringing together artists, schools, choirs and local communities to create a very special mid-winter celebration - one that takes inspiration from traditions of the past and gives them a new life for today.
The first Mid-Winter Hullabaloo took place in January 2026. Across the project, 851 people took part, with 150 people attending the performances, as communities came together to explore the idea of creating a new winter tradition.
At the heart of the project was the idea of finding the Hullabaloo - not a place, but a feeling. A feeling of coming together, making, singing, performing and being part of a celebration during the darkest months of the year.
Now the Hullabaloo is back.
Over the coming months, Handpicked Productions will work with local schools, choirs, families and community groups to shape and develop the next Mid-Winter Hullabaloo, which will take place in February 2027 in Cleator Moor on Friday 5 and Egremont on Saturday 6 February.
The aim is simple: to create something that belongs to the community - a new tradition with familiar roots, something to bring hope and warmth to the darkest months. It’s something for people to look forward to and celebrate after Christmas.
Families and the wider community can get involved and help create this year’s opening Hullabaloo parade by attending one the creating workshops, the first one will be On Saturday 28 November at the Cleator Moor Christmas Light Switch on with further ones planned at Egremont and Moresby in the new year.
Tickets are priced £8 per person or £30 for a family of four which includes the opening parade, food and performance.
With thanks to Arts Council, Cleator Moor Town Council and ISH for their financial support that enable tickets to be subsidised making it accessible to as many people as possible.
Creative Team
Director: Frederic Wake-Walker
Composer: Anna Pool
Writer: Emma McGordon
Designer: Janice Murray
Produced by: Anne Timpson
Design and Marketing: Debbie Graham
The Mid-Winter Hullabaloo is an outstanding example of community-led cultural production, combining
artistic quality with deep local engagement. It successfully establishes a new tradition of creative making in a region where cultural infrastructure has historically been under-invested. It demonstrates that Handpicked Productions are not only delivering events but are building the cultural infrastructure through which communities can come together.
At a time when many rural communities face declining cultural provision, Hullabaloo offers a replicable
model of long-term, artist-led community development. Its significance lies not simply in the annual event but in the relationships, creative skills and cultural confidence developed throughout the year. The programme demonstrates how sustained investment in co-created cultural practice can strengthen local identity and contribute to long-term cultural resilience.
Dr Paul Stewart & Prof Sarah Perks
Evaluators for The Mid-Winter Hullabaloo
Funded by
Supported by
Friends of Egremont Castle