Derbyshire Makes Cromford
Festival Day 11th April 11am – 4pm
Join us for a vibrant day of creativity, making and heritage across Cromford! Events are happening at Cromford Mills, Masson Mills and Aqueduct Cottage. Enjoy free arts and crafts workshops for adults and children, live music and dance, the Big Wheel Parade and heritage craft demonstrations including blacksmithing, printing press and spinning. Meet local community and arts groups, try a new skill, take a free Birdswood canal boat trip (limited places), enjoy canal art displays, riverside music and poetry workshops, a Forest School fun day, and special making sessions with behind-the-scenes complimentary access to Masson Mills Textile Museum.
đź“ŤCromford Mills
The main event site is at Cromford Mills. For help planning your visit, access information and more information click here.
| What’s on | Description | Booking |
|---|---|---|
| Art Wilding. Mosaic, felting and tile workshops | Help us make our new Art Wilding sculptures! Mosaics, tile painting and flower felting workshops. | Drop in |
| Meet community makers and have-a-go | Community groups, makers, stalls, demos and have-a-go activities with local creatives. Woodworking, canal boat painting, wax work, jewellery and more. | Drop in |
| Wheel of Fortune | Spin the wheel and hear your fortune! A co-creative installation designed with young people, Fleet Arts and Engineered Learning. | Drop in |
| Indian Street Food | Vegan and vegetarian street food with Diu Spice. | All day |
| The Murmuring Wheel | Traditional hand spinning display. | Drop in |
| Revolutions: Imagination Train | Mini worlds workshop – help create and add to our exhibition of imaginary worlds! Exhibition on May 24–25. | Drop in |
| Heritage Craft Demonstrations and Have-a-Go! | Blacksmithing, stone carving, needle punch, letterpress printing and more. Try something old but new to you! | Drop in |
| Parade – The Giant Wheel | The amazing Autin Dance performance featuring a 12-foot-tall Giant Wheel powered by five street artists leading a parade through Cromford Mills. | 11:30 and 14:00 |
| Drawn to Weave Workshop and Display | Make your own monoprints! A community celebration of our textile heritage. | Drop in |
| Live Music with John Gill | Folk and fun with live music performances. | All day |
| Black Pig Border Morris | Traditional dance displays. | 12:30 14:30 15:30 |
| MakeLand Immersive VR Experience | Virtual reality landscape experience with John Whall. | Drop in |
| Wheels of Change – Weaving Workshop | Intergenerational weaving workshop exploring Cromford’s textile heritage with Spiral Arts. | Book here |
| Arkwright Spinsters | Spinning wheels of the past in action! | Drop in |
| Birdswood Canal Boat Trips | Heritage canal trips aboard Birdswood. Free, but places are limited. | Book here |
| Open Day – St Mary’s Church | See the stunning wall paintings and meet the community at Arkwright’s church. | Drop in |
| Riverside Zone
Chill by the Derwent Music and movement workshops |
Family Activities all day! Nature cycles: Source natural materials and add to our growing community art piece with Michaela Garner Drawn together: Get stuck into a variety of circle fun with different materials and crafts with Hannah FowkesBig bubble club: See how big of a bubble you can make! Workshops: 12:15pm-12:45pm – Circle flows with Danni Lane. No experience required! Move to the flow of a circle and show off your spirals 1:15pm-1:45pm – Beats and rhythms with Arran Day. No experience required! Find your musical mojo, grab and instrument and write a song 2:15pm-2:45pm – Circle flows with Danni Lane 3:15pm-3:45pm – Drumming circles with Arran Day. No experience required! Grab a drum or find a natural instrument and let’s get playing 4:00pm Group jam with Danni Lane and Arran Day! No experience required! Grab an instrument or find your dancing flow to finish the day |
Drop in |
| Story Walks Riverside zone |
Story walks. Join Rachel Murray and Adverse Camber for a gentle meander around the mills filled with storytelling fun!
12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm |
Drop in |
| Lady of the Loom | Babbling Vagabonds A wandering storyteller with a backpack full of curious objects and tiny tales. | Drop in |
đź“ŤMasson Mills Textile Museum 11am- 4pm
| What’s on | Description | Booking |
|---|---|---|
|
Ada Lovelace & the Language of Weaving – Jacquard Workshop (Women Who Make)
11am-3pm
|
Explore the connection between Ada Lovelace and early computing through a hands-on Jacquard weaving workshop with Ruth & Bea of Fishbone and Sycamore. | Drop in |
|
Industrial Revolutions – Heritage Textile Technique Workshops
11am-3pm
|
Creative workshops using heritage textile techniques. Led by experienced local artists, workshops in needlecraft, Dorset & Shirtlace button making, weaving, macramé and felting. | Drop in |
| Masson Mills Textile Museum –
Free Access & Demonstrations
10am-4pm
|
Explore how inventors like Sir Richard Arkwright used systems of wheels and cogs to drive early textile machines, enabling large-scale manufacturing. These innovations led to the creation of the world’s first factories, which later formed the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.
Weaving demonstrations on heritage looms.
Experience the W&J Yates cross-compound steam engine in motion (usually only available on guided tours).
Explore the Weaving Shed, Doubling Room and Bobbin Room with complimentary access to selected areas of the museum.
|
Drop in |
đź“ŤAqueduct Cottage, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust 11am – 3pm
| What’s on | Description | Booking |
|---|---|---|
| Forest School Fun Day Bushcraft Art for All Ages
11am-3pm |
A hands-on family day exploring bushcraft-inspired creativity and outdoor making. Have a go at making expressive clay faces using natural materials, learn simple woodworking skills while crafting your own mallet, or create mini well dressings inspired by Derbyshire’s heritage. Along the way, join gentle nature-connection activities designed to spark curiosity, imagination and confidence outdoors. | Drop in |
Visit derbyshiremakes.co.uk to plan your visit to other countywide free festival events, and find out more.