Tweed River Festival 2026 : Day One

On Friday, we gather for a SPRINGBOARD local assembly to practice collaboration across culture and climate. Facilitated by artist Eve Mosher, the theme of the day is entanglement. What if we worked collaboratively to build a net, acting as a carrier that brings to the river our collective dreams, experience, and acts for the future of the Tweed?

9:00-9:30am – Arrival and registration

9:30-10:00am – Meeting the river in ritual

10:00am-12:30pm – Entanglement: morning session. Choose from:

• Collective net-making workshop with Eve Mosher. Learning knot making skills to collectively weave our own net, we are prompted to consider: what if we understood a net not as something that takes away from the river, but as something to fill and bring to the river – where pulling on one string affects the whole?
• Current Perspectives: An Act of Time and Light with Louise McLachlan. In this artist talk and workshop, Louise McLachlan brings together her lived experience of disability and photographic practice to explore how a camera can be used to rediscover, reimagine and reclaim. Participants will be invited to consider how light and time shape what becomes visible, what remains hidden, and whose perspectives are represented.
• Beyond the Naked Eye with Keira Tucker (ASCUS). Experience the intricacy, beauty and complexity of the world around us through microscopy. In this hands-on workshop, you’ll learn to use a range of microscopes to explore the hidden details of natural materials that often go unnoticed.

12:30-1:30pm – Lunch

1:30-4pm (refreshment break at 3pm) – Entanglement: afternoon session.

• Facilitated by Eve Mosher, afternoon session ‘the weight we carry/the gifts we bring’ invites us to imagine a future for the river. Objects will prompt us to creatively and expansively express what our capacities might be. We will learn about one another, fill our nets with ideas, and connect across sectors, interests and geographies – weaving our own mycelial network of strength and nourishment.

Friday (day one) of the festival, taking place on 30 October, is bookable as a day ticket. This covers your participation for the morning session, lunch, and afternoon session. The programme has been conceived to facilitate ideas, experiences and conversation across the day, so we highly encourage visitors to attend for the full day if possible.

Day tickets for Tweed River Festival are on a pay-what-you-can basis with a free option. If you are able to, paying for your ticket(s) will help support our continued activities.

Also happening on Friday:

• Pre-Festival Walk – From Tweedbank Station to the main festival venue. Ideal for those planning to get the train to Tweedbank arriving at 8:45am, but anyone is welcome to join the walk. Please register your interest here so we have an idea of numbers.
• Film Night – This happens later in the day, and is bookable separately here.
• Drop-in Workshops for Festival Parade: Making Costumes and Banners – Ideal for anyone who would prefer to dip into the festival but not commit to a whole day of attendance. Drop-ins are welcome, but booking is encouraged so we have an idea of numbers.