Hatters Galore for 2025 Festival
Hat Fair is back for another summer of bold street theatre, music, dance, circus, and unexpected delights. This year, the fun takes over Winchester city centre on Saturday 5 July, and we’re tipping our hats to our original roots – all the way back to 1974.
We're honouring the festival's beginnings as a hatting event, when performers passed around a hat to collect donations from the crowd. It’s the tradition that gave the festival its name, and this summer, we’re bringing that original spirit back to the streets – playful, up-close, and full of magic.
Celebrating 51 Years of Outdoor Mischief
After celebrating our big 5-0 last year, we’re once again filling Winchester’s streets with world-class outdoor arts – and this year’s line-up of performers promises just as much spectacle, silliness, and skill.
Get ready to see:
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Frenetic Engineering’s Anabelle Holland, with a family-friendly knife-throwing show that’s as sharp as it is surprising.
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Juribonke – three daring acrobats from Austria, Kyrgyzstan and the Basque Country who twist, tumble and wow.
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George Orange, our favourite eccentric clown and slack-rope dancer.
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Rudkin and Hicks, playing cheeky workmen Tony and Ray, with tools, tunes and top-class mucking about.
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UK African Acrobats, bringing high-energy circus and joyful movement to the streets.
Expect the Unexpected
From surreal hair salons to larger-than-life puppets, the Hat Fair line-up also includes:
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Fafá Franco with Sienta la Cabeza – where daring hairdressers turn audience members’ locks into walking works of art.
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The Last Baguette’s Bin Rat – a playful interactive show exploring what we throw away.
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Joli Vyann’s Life’s A Beach – a sunny seaside tale with a twist of social commentary.
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TS Crew’s Prototyping – martial arts meets dance and circus in a powerful search for identity.
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Animate Puppet Co. and Bella the elephant – a breath-taking puppet performance with drop-in sessions for mini-makers.
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The Natural Theatre Company’s Austen’s Lost & Found – a roving theatrical adventure with familiar faces from Jane Austen’s world.
Local Talent Takes the Stage
Hat Fair isn’t just about international acts – we also celebrate local artists, youth performers, and community voices.
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Playmakers Youth Theatre return with performances themed around sanctuary, safe spaces and connection.
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The Top Hat competition showcases new work from University of Winchester students and graduates – including a return appearance by last year’s winners, Truth Be Told Theatre Company, with Shrewish Women.
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Local acts include Winchester Rock Choir, Liberate Dance (a wheelchair-based dance group), and Blue Apple, whose giant Jane Austen puppet made waves last year, returns again this summer.
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432 Nomads bring music, poetry and dance inspired by South American traditions.
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Rising star Harvey Juggling, who began busking at age six, shows off the skills that wowed Edinburgh Fringe and Covent Garden crowds.
"Hat Fair 2025 will offer an eclectic and joyous range of performances!"
More Festival Fun
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Juggling Jake’s red-and-yellow star tent, full of circus gear to try.
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Crazy golf, because why not?
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Food and drink stalls, street eats and sweet treats.
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And for the musically inclined – a free-play piano at Reform Church on Jewry Street.
A word from Hat Fair Director, Andrew Loretto
‘I'm looking forward to staging an exciting mix of local, national and international Outdoor Arts once again on the streets and spaces of Winchester City Centre for Hat Fair 2025. It may be a smaller festival this year, but I hope the programme will delight and surprise our audiences with dynamic site-specific dance from Hong Kong artists in residence, TS Crew, through to a giant puppet walkabout Bella the Elephant from Animate.
‘Audiences can enjoy a comedy tour of Winchester with Austen's Lost & Found to tie in with the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth, and celebrate how Life's a Beach with Hat Fair dance/acrobatic favourites, Joli Vyann, plus, local voices, which they have used to create the work; and don't miss the fabulous chance to glam up beyond your dreams and become a walking work of art with Fafa Franco and La Sienta la Cabeza Show from Barcelona - hairstyles like you've never imagined!
‘This is alongside a fantastic programme of international hatters, and a full programme from diverse local artists, students and young people. Hat Fair 2025 will offer an eclectic and joyous range of performances!’
A Friday Night Warm-Up
The fun starts early this year, with a Hat Fair Community Celebration on Friday 4 July at Theatre Royal Winchester. Expect a lively mix of music, dance, and spoken word performances from local groups – all exploring what sanctuary, safe spaces and what connection means today.
Hat Fair 2025 – Saturday 5 July in Winchester city centre. Be there, or be somewhere far less fun!
