Save the dates for Lancaster and Morecambe’s biggest festivals

Lancaster City Council has launched an action-packed programme of events providing an at-a-glance guide to exciting things to see and do in the Lancaster district in 2019.

Spring sees Litfest celebrating its 40th birthday with a programme of events on selected dates over 3 weeks in March.  A month later, the Midland Hotel in Morecambe will be staging its first 1930s Weekend whilst others might fancy heading into the Lune Valley again for the ever popular Wray Scarecrow Festival where they’ll find weird, wacky and wonderful scarecrow creations taking over the village.

May kicks off with Lancaster Food Festival during early May Bank holiday weekend at Lancaster Leisure Park and Highest Point Festival will return to Williamson Park, promising to be even bigger and brighter than its first successful outing last year.

During the spring bank holiday, lovers of ska and punk will want to head down to the Trimpell Club in Morecambe for the Nice & Sleazy Festival where a whole host of bands are lined up to perform across a number of days.  Over the same weekend, the Ribble Vehicle Preservation Trust will be holding their Vintage Bus Display and Running Day at various locations in Morecambe.

Summer brings with it a packed programme for families including Dino Day in Lancaster City Centre and Down by the Riverside Festival; a unique festival set on the banks of the River Wyre which delivers all the usual festival goodies with 3 live music stages, DJs, outdoor theatre, craft ales, foods from around the world, funfairs, activities and camping and glamping.

Halton’s Millfest debuts in the Lune Valley village in June and July will see a tempting set of events taking place in Morecambe including Morecambe Music Festival and Morecambe Fringe with Morecambe Carnival adding a massive splash of colour to Morecambe Promenade in August.  Nearby Heysham Village will be preparing itself for another invasion in July with its annual Viking Festival.

During August bank holiday, Morecambe’s awarding winning Vintage by the Sea will bring the school summer holidays to a fitting end followed by Heritage Open Days in September which boasts to be the nation’s largest heritage and culture festival as venues across the district open their doors for free.

Autumn welcomes the return of Festa Italia in Lancaster in September for a whole host of Italian themed fun, and Lancaster Music Festival makes a very welcome return to the city in October entertaining audiences with hundreds of performances at more than 50 venues.

November will be the month to wrap up warm and enjoy the delights of the two day Light Up Lancaster Festival whilst over in Morecambe, More Music will be celebrating its local community with the West End Lantern Festival which includes a magical lantern procession.

Coun Darren Clifford, cabinet member with responsibility for culture and tourism, said: “Working with other organisations to pull together and promote a packed calendar of events and festivals plays a crucial role in boosting our visitor economy.  We’re confident once again that this year’s menu of attractions to suit all ages and tastes will be difficult to beat and be the catalyst in attracting more visitors to travel in our direction.”

The programme of events for Lancaster is available online at www.visitlancaster.org.uk and those taking place around Morecambe Bay can be found at www.exploremorecambebay.org.uk 

Alternatively you can pick up copies of the programmes from visitor information centres in Lancaster and Morecambe where you’ll also find a whole range of guides on all local attractions and destinations as well as tickets for many of the up and coming shows.

Last updated: 09 January 2020