Between the Tides Festival

Between the Tides, Redcar & Cleveland’s award winning, free outdoor festival for children, young people and families returns to Kirkleatham Redcar on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 August 2026.

The festival will transform the grounds of Kirkleatham Village and Walled Garden into an exciting spectacle of theatre, puppetry, circus, dance, storytelling and live music.

Kirkleatham will welcome a colourful cast of characters with pop up performances from nationally renowned outdoor arts companies. Highlights include:

Spectacular aerial acrobatics in Up in the Sky by Autin Dance.
Falconry Dismay by Dizzy O’Dare. An anarchic, wild and hilarious human falconry show.
The Witch? Report by Tees Women Poets. Meet the witches with a side hustle collecting spell ingredients one-to-one, as part of a government initiative to investigate and regulate outbreaks of spontaneous wild magic at festivals.
The Big Bubble Bash. A welcome return for the messy foam finale to music featuring mixes from your favourite children’s TV theme tunes
The David Gibb Big Band. Children’s songwriter and musician with a cult following.
The Vegetable Nannies – two eccentric gardeners out for a day trip with their family of baby vegetables.
Tuck into tasty street food and treats at the Pick ‘N’ Mix market

Between the Tides also welcomes back Architects of Air with another incredible Luminarium installation in the grounds of Kirkleatham Museum. This will be a different structure than last year’s so visitors will be welcome to return for another amazing wander through a magical labyrinth of saturated light tunnels. Open Thursday 20 to Sunday 23 August, this was a total sell out last year so don’t leave it too late for tickets. Keep an eye on the website for on sale details and prices.

Gallery

Facilities

Accessibility

The site is relaxation allowing full access to wheelchair users. The beach activity is also accessible with the Council’s three new beach wheelchairs.
BSL
Much of the programme is BSL interpreted or highly visual and therefore accessible to d/Deaf and HOH audiences, as well as non-English speakers. Individual BSL interpretation can be found on the individual show information on the website.
Personal Assistant/Carer Tickets
PA/Carer tickets are free for visits to the Luminarium and Big Little Gigs.
Relaxed Peformances
Much of the programme of outdoor theatre, performances and creative activity is relaxed, owing to the fact that it is specifically performed for the outdoors. Visitors requiring a quiet space, or a space away from crowds, should ask any of the festival staff who will be happy to assist.
Children & Babies
There are baby changing facilities at TunedIn and the Library as well as many cafes & restaurants in Redcar. At Kirkleatham, baby changing facilities are located in the accessible toilet in the Pavilion–please ask a member of staff if you need access to this. Alternatively, baby changing facilities are available in the male, female and disabled toilets located near the onsite café. Look out for venues with Breastfeeding Welcome signs across the town. These include TunedIn, the Library and Kirkleatham Museum & Café as well as many cafes & restaurants in the town centre.

Times

10am - 5pm

Prices

The festival is free with the exception of a small charge for the Luminarium.

Location

Kirkleatham Showground, Redcar, UK

Road Directions

Driving Kirkleatham is located 3 miles from Redcar. Accessible from all directions, Kirkleatham can be reached from the A174 Parkway. The main routes to the A174 are the A19 North from York and the South from Newcastle. The A171 runs North West from Scarborough to Guisborough linking to the A174 by the B1269. The museum and walled garden car parks will both be closed throughout the festival. Event parking instead is at Kirkleatham Showground Postcode TS10 4QR. Disabled parking can be found at Kirkleatham Walled Garden – postcode TS10 4AS

Public Transport Directions

By bus Arriva North East 81, 81A from Guisborough to Redcar and Arriva 63 from Middlesbrough to Redcar both stop at Kirkleatham. By train The nearest train station is Redcar Central. By bike Cycle parking is available on the site.