Wednesday, 10 June 2026
Heptonstall Spoken Word Festival
Saturday 4 July Midday until 4.30pm
Heptonstall's Octagonal Chapel
As part of Heptonstall Festival there will be a Free Spoken Word Festival at Heptonstall's glorious Octagonal Chapel Saturday, 4th July!
Opening the day at midday will be the glorious voices of the Vocal Highs Choir followed by an extravaganza of 18 Spoken Word performers. Come and celebrate the power of voices words, poetry, and storytelling.
We are bringing together a fantastic line-up of 18 local poets, storytellers, and spoken word artists for an afternoon of inspiring performances.
Cost: Completely FREE entry!
When: from 12:00 and through the afternoon.
Where: Northgate, Heptonstall HX7 7ND
After the choir, the first chapter of our spoken word performances will start at 1pm. The afternoon is split into 3 chapters, each of which will start on the hour and feature 6 performers, closing with a headliner. You can come for the whole afternoon or just a portion.
Everyone is welcome. Come along, treat yourself to homemade cake or an ice cream and immerse yourself in our local creative community.
The doors of the chapel will be open to the public from 11:30 and the concert will begin at 12:00. Seats cannot be reserved in the chapel, so please do arrive in good time to ensure you are seated comfortably and so that you don't miss a single note!
Parking: While there is a free public car park with an entrance right next to Towngate Tea Room, and also parking at Social and Bowling, it is festival day and the village will be busy. You are advised to ether use public transport or walk up from Hebden.
Access: Access can be gained one of two ways. The first is the easiest, the second is only for those who are quite sure-footed! 1) Turn on to Northgate from Towngate (in front of The Cross Inn). You will eventually see an old archway on your left and a small cobbled lane descending to your right. Take this right turn and go through the gate and head down the steps which lead you down to the Chapel. 2) There is a path at the far end of the public car park near the café, on the left. Simply follow that path, turn left up the snicket, then turn left through the archway. The chapel is on your right. The path is rough and can be muddy.
Accessibility: We regret that, whilst the Friends of the Chapel and Sunday School are making efforts to modernise the chapel, its age and location currently represent a significant obstacle to wheelchair access.