A lack of funding has led to the cancellation of one of East Yorkshire’s most popular festivals, which had been scheduled for July 2026.
Beverley Puppet Festival, founded in 2005, has not been awarded funds by Arts Council England this year. Festival Founder and Artistic Co-director Anna Ingleby said she was deeply disappointed by the decision but is hoping for new torch bearers to carry its flame into the future.
"The biennial Festival has grown from just five companies in 2005 to 38 in 2024 and established a great reputation amongst both locals and the national & international puppetry community. Like an oak tree, it has grown branches and produced acorns, planting imaginative seeds in so many minds of all ages and facilitated collaborations… while bringing colour and joy to the town, huge surprises in the streets, magical moments inside and out, and a big boost to the local economy. Many weeks of work have already gone into continuing this in 2026, with a full programme of artist companies, venues and schools all lined up and ready to go… so it is extremely disappointing news for all of us." Anna Ingleby
Anna is keen to thank Arts Council England for funding 10 festivals, and all other funders, staff, volunteers and key individuals who grew Beverley Puppet Festival into what it became – twice winning a Remarkable East Yorkshire Tourism Award.
After 21 years at the helm, Anna now needs to step back and focus on her own puppet company, Hull-based Indigo Moon Theatre, but is keen to support future programming and give guidance to any budding event organisers, arts professionals or enthusiasts who would like to continue the Festival. Is anyone out there with a passion both for puppetry and for Beverley and the East Riding? Puppets in Beverley Ltd, the company behind Beverley Puppet Festival, also needs more company directors on the board to support governance.
The team particularly acknowledge Beverley Town Council for its ongoing support during this current transitional period. This will facilitate the Festival’s continued online presence - including the website’s archive galleries and the 2020 video library of simple puppet making techniques to do at home – as well as enable a July 2026 Beverley Puppet Trail in collaboration with local businesses.
The Beverley Puppet Trail will provide a visible puppet presence in town centre shop windows to engage visitors and locals. This will also encourage as many people as possible to participate in a survey to help bring back the full Festival in future. This survey can be found via the website www.beverleypuppetfestival.com. Any shops (or new directors) interested in participating are invited to also fill in this survey and email anna@indigomoontheatre.com.
As Anna signs off, her final message is simple: “To the many puppeteers from the UK and abroad, festival partners, venues, hosts and suppliers and not least the audiences who reached 13,000 in recent festivals, and all who made it the much-loved success which it became, a big Thank You!”
