 If you're looking for something fun and FREE to do with the family, the BD: Festival on Friday 19 and Saturday 20 of August has something for everyone.
Join us in Bradford city centre for a jam-packed programme of outdoor acrobatics, theatre, dance, music and more, with death-defying aerial acts, giant puppets, fairground rides and amazing performances for families and children of all ages. And even better, it’s FREE!
Full Line Up
CastAway
 CastAway (30mins) - Centenary Square
- Saturday 12.15pm & 4.45pm
This show from Highly Sprung explores the impact of today’s throwaway society on our waterways. Featuring a unique gyroscopic flying machine, the all-female cast will dive, twist and float over 26-feet in the air.
Wild
 Wild (45mins) - Centenary Square
A daring dance-circus production from Motionhouse. Performers use dynamic choreography and acrobatics to move through and atop a forest of tall poles.
Distant Drums
 Distant Drums installations 20mins, rolling - City Park
- Friday Installation only 5pm–9pm
- Saturday shows at 11.45am & 4.15pm and Installation 11am–5pm
Telling the story of Reggae Sound System culture. Alternating between poetic verse by Madu Messenger, narrated by the reggae legend Macka B, and a soundtrack featuring some of the most renowned names in Dub Reggae.
Out of the Deep Blue
 Out of the Deep Blue (Roaming Performance 30 mins) Kirkgate
A moving tale about our climate emergency told through dance and puppeteering. Featuring Eko, a 13-foot-tall Sea Giant Puppet, roaming between Hustlergate and Ivegate.
Fairground Rides
Norfolk Gardens
- Friday 4pm–10pm
- Saturday 11am–10pm
Traditional fairground rides and amusements for families. Prices set by vendors
Front Room Poetry
 Front Room Poetry (2hrs) - Kala Sangam Car Park
- Friday 6.30pm
- Saturday 2pm & 6.30pm
Imagine an outdoor sitting room with cuppas, pot dogs and some of the best poets and lyricists from around the UK sharing words and sitting comfy. If you have something to say, but not sure how to say it - this event is for you.
Love Art
 Loveart (15mins) - City Park
A 12m high, vibrant red heart, framing an elegant aerial show by The Dream Engine. Combining sculptural form, music and a highly skilled performance element to create a spectacle greater than the sum of its parts.
Leave The light on For Me
 Leave the Light on for Me (45mins) - City Park
A joyous, rebellious outdoor performance from Mind the Gap, exploring climate change and justice from a fresh perspective.
Tech Styles BD: Festival Edition
 Tech Styles BD: Festival Edition - City Park
- Friday 6pm & 8.30pm (90min)
- Saturday 1.30pm & 6pm (30mins)
Tech Styles International bring another amazing hip hop event. Expect breakin from some of the UK’s top bboys and bgirls, with MCs, DJs, Graffiti Art and a performance from Bradford’s premier crew, Clean North.
Anyday
 Anyday (45 mins) - Centenary Square
- Saturday 12.45pm & 5.15pm
The charming tale of Max Calaf and the world he shares with his bird on a trampoline. Featuring extraordinarily acrobatic trampolining and set to an original score by Matt Huxley.
The Other
 The Other (30 mins) - At the corner of Hustlergate & Bank Street
Sharing ancient tales through Irish dance and music, The Other by Keira Martin Dance tells the story of a nomadic woman who finds her sense of belonging by wandering the land, travelling with all her belongings on a cart.
Bradford Stories Bus
 Bradford Stories Bus (30mins) - Bridge Street
All aboard the Bradford Stories Bus! Our bright yellow American school bus has author workshops, book gifting, poetry and story times for all the family to enjoy.
Khooghi
 Khooghi (45mins) - Bradford Cathedral
- Friday 6pm
- Saturday 12.15pm & 3pm
Meet Khooghi the 153 year old dove. Born during the British Empire, how did she end up in Bradford? This Kashmiri folk tale is told in the world of toy-theatre using puppets, live music & song. A great story by Kauser Mukthar with Punjabi and English script.
Our Street Gallery Workshop (60mins)
Kirkgate
- Friday 3.30pm & 5.30pm
- Saturday 11.30am, 1.30pm & 3.30pm
Use our props and outfits to create your very own self-portrait inspired by the old masters of art in this fun workshop led by artist Mussarat Rahman.
The Bull and The Moon
 The Bull and The Moon (45mins) The Broadway Shopping Centre (outside M&S)
- Saturday 11.30am & 3.45pm
A fiery, family-friendly, magical dance work: contemporary dance, flamenco and theatre meet to tell a heart-warming story about the importance of being oneself, family and LGBTQ+ inclusivity.
Natter Wi Nanna
 Natter Wi Nanna (45 mins) - The Broadway Shopping Centre
- Saturday 11.45am & 3.45pm
Keep an eye out for Nanna while you’re shopping. She’s stopped for cuppa and a quick sit down, if you pause for a chat she might even tell you a poem or two, maybe you can write one with her?
Wish You Were Here
 Presented by Theatre in the Mill as part of their 'Wish You Were Here' programme:
You Heard Us
 University of Bradford
- Friday 5pm–7pm
- Saturday 11am–7pm
A outdoor photographic exhibition featuring portraits of local women, by artist Luca Rutherford and local photographer Nudrat Afza, displayed around the University of Bradford campus.
Bussing Out
 Gallery 2, Chesham Building, University of Bradford
- Friday 5pm–7pm
- Saturday 11am–7pm
This immersive installation by Shabina Aslam tells the story of ‘Bussing’, an educational policy impacting South Asian, West Indian and African children who migrated to Britain in the 60’s or 70’s from former British colonies.
Peaceophobia - at BD: Festival
- Thursday 18 August - 6pm and 9pm
- Friday 19 August 6pm and 9pm
- Saturday 20 August 6pm and 9pm
Peaceophobia is back in Bradford! Don't miss the chance to see this award-winning show as part of BD: Festival.
Staged in a carpark with a Supra, a Golf and a classic Nova, the show brings together cars and theatre with cinematic lighting and an original electronic sound score.
It's accompanied by Sisterhood, an exhibition celebrating femininity, pride and collective strength, as told through a series of photographs by the empowering women of Speakers Corner.
Co-created by Common Wealth Theatre Co , Speakers' Corner Collective - Bradford and Bradford Modified Club, written by Zia Ahmed. Presented as part of BD: Festival.
Tickets are £5 to £10 and are available here.
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