Thursday 15 – Sunday 18 October 2026
Good Grief Weston is back! Now in its third edition, this year’s festival offers four days of vibrant events and activities that open up compassionate conversations around death, dying and bereavement across North Somerset.
This is our most varied programme yet, offering a huge range of ways to take part whatever your interests or comfort zone. You can join a workshop, see a play or film, lose yourself in poetry, ask a question at the Grief Market, get a haircut and tell a story to a biking barber — or simply share a cup of tea at our Festival Hub.
Thanks to generous support from NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board, this year’s programme brings together more local creatives and communities than ever, building relationships that can continue beyond the festival. Local organisations — including Weston General Hospital, Alliance Homes, North Somerset Libraries and Weston Hospicecare — contribute too, with everything from thought-provoking exhibitions to a striking Day of the Dead installation created by makers from South Ward.
Nature is also part of the story. Walk together through Weston Woods, discover the wisdom of nettles at Backwell Common, tend the garden at Weston Hospice or place a light of remembrance beside Weston Marine Lake as part of In Between Time’s glittering installation We Are Warriors.
Elsewhere, the award‑winning Catalan street theatre company Kamchàtka brings its exploration of displacement to Weston’s streets, while members of Weston’s Afro-Caribbean community share the tradition of Nine Nights. Weston Hospicecare also hosts a discussion on different religious perspectives on death and remembrance.
Music runs through the weekend, from a starlit tribute to David Bowie’s Blackstar to Costanzi Consort’s 500-year journey through choral remembrance. On Sunday, the Memento Mori Disco invites you to dance to a joyful playlist of artists who have died, but whose music lives on.
While the Festival is warm and welcoming, we know that exploring grief can bring a range of emotions. With support from Weston Hospicecare, a safe space will be available at events, alongside signposting to further support.
Good Grief Weston offers moments of connection, creativity and solace — and sparks conversations that continue long after the Festival ends.
Take a look at a previous year’s Good Grief Weston in this festival film created by Paul Collins.
Click here to explore the What’s On listings as a PDF or scroll down to explore them online.
Access: We want to make sure everyone can enjoy the sessions comfortably, so we’ve put together everything you need to know about our site, facilities & spaces here.
Good Grief Weston Contacts and Resources
Good Grief Weston will provide you with gentle opportunities to have open conversations about bereavement and serious illness. If you are finding things difficult, many organisations and charities are ready to support you. The contact details on this list are good places to start.
Find out more Good Grief Weston Contacts and Resources
Memento Makers Workshops
Sunday 4 and Saturday 10 October Gentle, creative workshop exploring memory, remembrance and legacy.
Find out more Memento Makers Workshops
Made in North Somerset Exhibition Launch
Thursday 15 October Weston College students open this community-led exhibition space and information hub.
Find out more Made in North Somerset Exhibition Launch
Good Grief Weston Launch
Thursday 15 October The official launch of Good Grief Weston — an evening of talks, music and stories with Music to Die For.
Find out more Good Grief Weston Launch
Poet in Residence
Thursday 15 - Sunday 18 October Meet Sophie Dumont, Good Grief Weston's first poet in residence — award-winning poet leading workshops and a panel discussion on grief and loss.
Find out more Poet in Residence
What Matters At The End?
Thursday 15 - Sunday 18 October A photography exhibition, supported by Bristol & Weston Hospitals Charity and created in partnership with Medical Illustration.
Find out more What Matters At The End?
Made In North Somerset
Thursday 15 - Sunday 18 October Explore community-led art exhibitions on grief, memory, and resilience.
Find out more Made In North Somerset
Wonder Baby
Thursday 15 October A gentle 90-minute movement show for ages 0–3, exploring the mixed emotions of new beginnings after loss.
Find out more Wonder Baby
Growing through Grief
Thursday 15 October A supportive workshop using plants, scent, and creative crafts to honour memories, alongside self-care and relaxation techniques.
Find out more Growing through Grief
My Life as a Seagull
Thursday 15 October A one-woman show by theatre writer and bereaved sister Emma Williams, detailing her journey from terrified street performer to seagull impersonator.
Find out more My Life as a Seagull
No Barriers Here
Thursday 15 October Using arts and crafts such as collage, textiles and weaving, this workshop opens up conversations about the end of life.
Find out more No Barriers Here
Just Visiting
Thursday 15 October In the stillness of the breaking dawn, how do we begin to let the light in? A gentle dance with the duality of grief, discovering joy and meaning amongst a landscape of loss.
Find out more Just Visiting
Tide Lines
Thursday 15 October Join prize-winning poet Sophie Dumont for a creative writing and collage workshop.
Find out more Tide Lines
Threads of Connection
Thursday 15 October Aimed at under 21’s - make sensory bracelets and memory pebbles: small, portable reminders of someone important to you.
Find out more Threads of Connection
The Art of Kintsugi
Thursday 15 and Friday 16 October In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn the basics of kintsugi and create their own piece.
Find out more The Art of Kintsugi
The Stars Look Very Different Today: David Bowie
Friday 16 October Ten years on, join musician and writer Leah Kardos for an evening in the album’s company.
Find out more The Stars Look Very Different Today: David Bowie
The Wisdom of Nettles
Friday 16 October This immersive, land-based workshop invites you to create your own hand-crafted book bound with nettles
Find out more The Wisdom of Nettles
Cushions of Memory
Friday 16 October Bring a piece of fabric belonging to a loved one and learn simple hand-stitching techniques to create a personal memory cushion to take home
Find out more Cushions of Memory
Barber on Wheels
Friday 16 October - Sunday 18 October In ‘Barber on Wheels’, mobile barber Dries Desmet invites you to share 30 minutes with him.
Find out more Barber on Wheels
Memorial Footwear Workshop
Friday 16 October Transform your footwear to remind you of your person.
Find out more Memorial Footwear Workshop
Life in Flowers
Friday 16 October Explore the meanings of flowers and how they can connect us to memories of people who have shaped our lives.
Find out more Life in Flowers
Grief and Belief
Friday 16 October This session brings together a range of religious and non-religious perspectives on death and grief, with the opportunity to ask questions.
Find out more Grief and Belief
Healing Space for Addiction Related Loss and Grief
Friday 16 October Join Wendy Ruddick for a seated group session of ear acupuncture with restorative sound healing.
Find out more Healing Space for Addiction Related Loss and Grief
We are Warriors
Friday 16 October - Saturday 17 October Made up of thousands of tiny lights, this ever-evolving light and sound installation will transform the Causeway at sunset.
Find out more We are Warriors
Grief Marketplace
Saturday 17 October Local support services, artists, and community groups offer advice, creative activities, and resources.
Find out more Grief Marketplace
Reverence as a Response to Grief
Saturday 17 October This grief-tending workshop explores how reverence might offer another way of being with sorrow, naming the different gateways of grief through guided meditation, and concluding with a simple ritual to honour what we have lost. Led by Alice Malpass.
Find out more Reverence as a Response to Grief
The Solace of Woods – A Walk with Folk
Saturday 17 October Join Sue Hill, Bob Walton, and Marianne McAleer for a relaxing walk in Weston Woods featuring woodland poems, traditional songs, and reflection.
Find out more The Solace of Woods – A Walk with Folk
Tender Exchange
Saturday 17 October Whisper something that matters to you into a carved wooden heart – a hope, a truth, a memory, or a thought you want held – and pass it to someone you trust.
Find out more Tender Exchange
Grief as Grace: A Black Men’s Audio Archive
Saturday 17 October Join Louise Hill-Davis for a sneak peek into her new project centring the stories of Black men living in North Somerset.
Find out more Grief as Grace: A Black Men’s Audio Archive
Grief Hearts: The Threads that Connect Us
Saturday 17 October Using string, colour and pattern, we’ll explore the connections that remain and create something personal to represent your own experience of grief.
Find out more Grief Hearts: The Threads that Connect Us
Keeping Memories: Booklet Making
Saturday 17 October This workshop invites you to create a small booklet in memory of someone you’ve lost.
Find out more Keeping Memories: Booklet Making
The Missing Note
Saturday 17 October How do we recognise, remember and reimagine what is missing? A show for young people
Find out more The Missing Note
Ashes to Admin: 1-2-1 with Evie King
Saturday 17 October What’s really on your mind about death and dying? Come and ask Evie! She’s ready to talk to you 1-2-1 – and is likely to have an answer for you.
Find out more Ashes to Admin: 1-2-1 with Evie King
Carry My Heart with You
Saturday 17 October As you learn about the end-of-life volunteering service at Weston General Hospital, knit or sew a pair of memory hearts with North Somerset creative organisation ‘Hooked’.
Find out more Carry My Heart with You
Car Boot Soul
Saturday 17 October How do the objects we buy and sell at a car boot sale carry our stories, memories and histories?
Find out more Car Boot Soul
Good Grief Poetry Sharing
Saturday 17 October What happens when we put grief into words, and share them with a room full of strangers?
Find out more Good Grief Poetry Sharing
Extinction Ceremonies
Saturday 17 October Extinction Ceremonies are a series of simple activities to say goodbye to species being lost due to the climate crisis and human activity
Find out more Extinction Ceremonies
55: A Dance Duet for the Two Ends of Life
Saturday 17 October A dance duet for the two ends of life, featuring Gerard Bell and Ernie Shorten
Find out more 55: A Dance Duet for the Two Ends of Life
Celebrating Life in Grief
Saturday 17 October How do cultural traditions shape the ways we mourn, celebrate and remember?
Find out more Celebrating Life in Grief
Kamchàtka
Saturday 17 October and Sunday 18 October This award-winning street theatre show asks: Shall we build our future with the stranger, or reject them?
Find out more Kamchàtka
Beneath the Grief
Saturday 17 October Beneath the Grief combines theatre, movement, spoken word and live music to explore the many contradictions of grief.
Find out more Beneath the Grief
Everything You Wanted to Know about Death, Dying and Grief
Saturday 17 October Chaired by Good Grief Festival Co-Director Prof. Lucy Selman, this panel of experts talks openly about death to get the elephant out of the room
Find out more Everything You Wanted to Know about Death, Dying and Grief
Keeping Afloat
Saturday 17 October Hannah Richell in conversation with Good Grief Festival Co-Director Dr Lesel Dawson
Find out more Keeping Afloat
Healing Drum Circle for Addiction Related Loss and Grief
Saturday 17 October Join Wendy Ruddick for a special healing drum circle to honour our loss and grief.
Find out more Healing Drum Circle for Addiction Related Loss and Grief
Hope and Remembrance
Saturday 17 October Costanzi Consort take the audience on a musical journey through 500 years of choral works, chosen to foster contemplation and peace of mind.
Find out more Hope and Remembrance
Memento Makers: Exhibition
Sunday 18 October The exhibition will bring together work created through our Memento Makers creative workshops, alongside our collaborative community art project 52 Meditations on Mortality and submissions from local artists.
Find out more Memento Makers: Exhibition
Cloud Bathing
Sunday 18 October Join a nature-inspired sonic meditation of spoken and sung voices as we journey through clouds to imagined landscapes of calm and stillness
Find out more Cloud Bathing
For You
Sunday 18 October Musician Laura Porter shares a live Soundbeam performance about love, loss and the lives that might have been
Find out more For You
Global Kitchen Brunch
Sunday 18 October Gather round for one of Global Kitchen’s celebrated Free Sunday Brunches!
Find out more Global Kitchen Brunch
Moving & Nothing Echoes Here
Sunday 18 October Films about Grief by Tracey Miller and Jimmy Hay
Find out more Moving & Nothing Echoes Here
Creature Comforts
Sunday 18 October A gentle writing and journalling workshop celebrating pets, wildlife and nature's comforting presence.
Find out more Creature Comforts
The Enchanted Wardrobe
Sunday 18 October Step inside the magical, time-travelling wardrobe and listen to an immersive audio journey through the landscapes, creatures and people that have shaped the Mendip Hills.
Find out more The Enchanted Wardrobe
Memento Mori Disco
Sunday 18 October Celebrate the full spectrum of music’s influence and legacy.
Find out more Memento Mori Disco
Slow it Down Sunday
Sunday 18 October This creative, nature-inspired workshop offers a way to find calm in grief through making, reflection and simple ritual – creating a small, practical tool for comfort and connection in everyday life.
Find out more Slow it Down Sunday
Dear Sea: A letter writing and releasing ceremony
Sunday 18 October In Dear Sea, poet Sophie Dumont invites us to slow down, reflect and put words to what we carry.
Find out more Dear Sea: A letter writing and releasing ceremony
Family Album
Sunday 18 October Exhibitions, talks and workshop from Colin Pantall, Deanna Dikeman and John Hegley
Find out more Family Album
Up Down BIG Man
Monday 26 October Following the critical success of Up Down Boy (2012) and Up Down Man (2016), this standalone production is the third in a trilogy of plays inspired by the life story of the gifted and charismatic performer Nathan Bessell.
Find out more Up Down BIG ManProduced by Super Culture in collaboration with the University of Bristol and the Weston-super-Mare Community Network. Good Grief Weston is part of the AHRC-funded Coastal Community and Creative Health project, involving academic and cultural partners from around the UK in a combined initiative to reduce health inequities.
With thanks to North Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board and Institut Ramon Llull for additional funding.


