The Feel Good Family Picnic events return this week to Rochdale, Middleton, Littleborough and Heywood (Tuesday, 29 July 2025 to Friday, 1 August 2025).
Beautiful parks and public spaces are being transformed into a spectacle of free theatre, puppetry, circus, dance, storytelling, live music, sports and more.
Visitors to the free family events sponsored by automotive dealer Premier Kia will be experiencing over 20 different attractions each day, including live performances, theatre, music, sports and shows for children of all ages.
You can also pick up a printed programme when you arrive, to plan your day.
Don’t worry about the unpredictable summer weather – many attractions will be in covered marquees.
Frolicked Outdoor Theatre present their imaginative new show ‘The Alchemist’ - a light-hearted, magical, slightly-slapstick puppet show for all ages.
The Alchemist, a gentle and magical performance that's captivated audiences young and old across the UK.
‘Stop Toi’ is a concert featuring 2 jugglers and a drummer with a crazy playlist, mixing smooth jazz with garage rock, throwing balls, twisting rings and performing crazy stunts.
Also new for 2025 is Tea Club. Celebrating Britain’s passion for tea and all things vintage. Trixie and Tilly are 2 eccentric tea ladies, who serve their fine leaf drink from their special musical trolley – dancing to their favourite gramophone records, they swirl and stir along their way, entertaining you as they go.
For the first time there will be a ‘Youth Zone’ featuring a range of activities including a special edition of the Teenage Market, with a variety of stalls and performances. The Teenage Market gives local young traders and performers aged between 13 and 25 years old a chance to showcase their creative products and talents.
Thingumajig Theatre will present 2 shows full of surprises, fun, music and heart-warming stories – The Story of the Scary Noise and The Magic Samovar.
Hope the Hedgehog, a larger-than-life puppet crafted from recycled materials, will be appearing to delight and inspire all ages.
In Damocles, audiences become both witness and actor, experimenting with tools of co-ordination and shared decision-making.
Look out for Damoclès, a participatory performance by Cirque Inextremiste exploring risk, trust, and collective co-operation.
Tit for Tat Circus present 2 shows - ‘Now I become D/Deaf’ is a visual spectacle, featuring a clown turning his own hearing loss into something extraordinary, tackling cultural boundaries and personal identity with moments of chaos, sincerity, interconnectivity and utter nonsense, showing a world where the loudest actions are lost in translation and the tiniest look becomes deafening. Their second performance - ‘A Knight Away’ features Sir Kuss and his loyal (if somewhat grumbling) squire on their well-deserved time off, with games, comedy and stupidity in equal measure.
At 2pm each day a stunning carnival will travel around the parks led by international carnival arts company Global Grooves, reflecting this year’s theme of ‘co-operation,’ covering the arts, culture, communities, togetherness and the power of shared experiences.
Music will be provided by Feel Good Family Picnic favourites Flat Cap Brass, who play fun and friendly arrangements of popular nineties and noughties pop.
The Street Where I Live is a captivating story for younger children and their families.
Rochdale’s M6 Theatre Company present their popular play ‘The Street Where I Live’ - a captivating story for younger children and their families, exploring the warmth and diversity of a unique community, capturing the friendships, adventures and surprises that take place there. Each child will receive a free story book to take home, enabling them to revisit the story as often as they like.
‘Something for everyone’
Visitors will be able to try a range of popular sports and games with staff from Your Trust.
Cartwheel Arts host craft workshops, inviting you to get creative by making bees and birds from repurposed and reused materials, reflecting the events commitment to environmental responsibility. A fun, hands-on activity that celebrates art, nature, and the shared stories that make Rochdale special.
Skylight Circus will be performing another range of spectacular feats including ariel tricks, stilt walking, juggling and clowning, with everyone invited to learn the skills led by professional circus artists
Once again Feel Good Family Picnic organisers want the event to reduce its impact on the environment as well as showing visitors ways to reduce your carbon footprint, save energy and be kinder to our planet so they’ll be sustainable activities to see and try including upcycling, health and wellbeing, nature based craft activities and water saving tips. You’re encouraged to take your picnic waste home, and bring a water bottle as free refills will be available all day.
You’re very welcome to bring a picnic, but good value food and drink will also be available for sale.
The Feel Good Family Picnic will open 12pm to 4pm at Rochdale Town Hall Square on Tuesday, 29 July 2025, Limefield Playing Fields in Middleton on Wednesday, 30 July 2025, before moving to Littleborough’s Hare Hill Park on Thursday, 31 July 2025. The final stop will be Queen’s Park in Heywood on Friday, 1 August 2025.
The event is accessible to wheelchair users.
Councillor Sue Smith, cabinet member for communities and co-operation at Rochdale Borough Council, said:
“The Feel Good Family Picnic is magical days out in beautiful settings, all free and the perfect opportunity to entertain and educate children of all ages during the holidays, there really is something for everyone.”
The event is staged by the council in partnership with Without Walls, a consortium of festivals and arts organisations bringing fantastic outdoor arts to people in towns and cities across England. As well as sponsorship from automotive dealer Premier Kia it is supported through the government’s Shared Prosperity Fund and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).
The Feel Good Family Picnic is part of a spectacular line up of festivals, live performances, exhibitions and art during Rochdale’s year as Greater Manchester Town of Culture 2025–26. The title, awarded by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, celebrates the town’s rich history, creativity, talent and diverse arts scene. Find out more about Rochdale’s year as Greater Manchester Town of Culture
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