Craft Festival Wales / Gwyl Grefft Cymru

Craft Festival Wales returns to Cardigan Castle 10th -12th September 2027 following rapturous praise from audiences and makers alike. ⁠Craft Festival Wales is a collaborative celebration of making supported by leading arts organisations from Wales and beyond. ⁠The Castle grounds will be heaving and will host 100 exceptional makers at Cardigan Castle featuring The Capital of Craft LIVE, Out of the Woods, demonstrations, exhibitions, workshops, children’s activities, live music, sculpture trail, theatre & storytelling with satellite events hosted across the Town. 

Meet and chat with the makers about their work and buy exquisite handmade craft in jewellery, pottery, furniture, textiles, basketry, woodwork, glass and print and much more.


100 professional makers from across the UK have been selected to exhibit at Craft Festival Wales  

Information coming soon for 2027 

 

The Capital of Craft LIVE

Over the 3 days of the Craft Festival Wales, The Capital of Craft LIVE will take place in the Tower Room of Cardigan Castle. Capital of Craft Live features talks, masterclasses and panel discussions with accomplished makers, authors and broadcasters exploring the importance of making and the depth of craft practice in Wales. Make sure you’ve book your seat for Capital of Craft LIVE to avoid disappointment.

Book a workshop and try your hand at craft

Enjoying 2 hours of relaxation, making and learning a new skill is an important part of the Craft Festival experience. ⁠ The workshops give insight into the skill, patience and tenacity needed to be a professional maker, it helps explain the value of the work and it's completely absorbing!

Visitors can pre-book a craft workshop from an exciting programme lead by ‘Make it in Wales’ including printing, textile creative piecing with Melin Tregwynt off-cuts, marbling, and macrame. 

 

Music & Feasting

Other features of the Craft Festival Wales event include a sculpture trail through the Castle gardens and delicious local food and drink and an eclectic Welsh and English live music programme throughout the three-day event featuring - 

Live theatre and street performance and storytelling in both Welsh and English is part of Craft Festival across the weekend, including a performance on Sunday by Hijinx, pioneers in promoting opportunities for actors with learning disabilities and autism.  

Families

Over the weekend at the castle, there will be a Children’s Craft Lab offering children the opportunity to get creative while having lots of fun. Children enter Craft Festival for free and can take part in the free drop-in craft activities on Saturday and Sunday.

Craft Festival Town Trail

From early September, The Town Craft Trail will see  venues across Cardigan hosting award winning makers from Wales. 

Collect the Trail stamps and you will be entered into a prize draw. 

Tom Frost Shoveler

 

The commissioned work encompasses a diverse array of artistic mediums, including ceramics, textiles, brush making and willow weaving, to reinterpret eminent artworks from the National Collections. ⁠With support from Welsh Government funding, the aim is to make these valued collections more accessible and engaging for all. ⁠ ⁠

I spent a wonderful day at the Craft Festival today. I was blown away by the beautiful work. Cardigan is such a perfect place to hold it.  I shall be back again next year having made some special purchases that I will treasure. 

 

More than a weekend

As well as the activity over the weekend, Craft Festival Wales presents satellite events throughout the town, running through August & September.