Borders town will host an annual celebration of river culture and contemporary art
Connecting Threads has announced the second edition of the Tweed River Festival, an annual creative celebration of the River Tweed.
Conceived as a gathering of river-loving communities, and taking place across multiple indoor and outdoor sites in Melrose, the two-day event on October 30-31 will feature an array of creative activities in, on and alongside the River Tweed.
Visitors can expect an inspiring mix of river-focused activities, including drop-in creative workshops, such as screen-printing with local artist Zoe Atherfold, and evening film screenings.
The festival programme nurtures collaboration between the climate, environmental, and cultural sectors – highlighting intersectional questions around mental and physical health, and access to rivers and outdoor space.
The programme on Friday, October 30, will centre around a Springboard local assembly, run in partnership with Culture for Climate Scotland. Facilitated by creatives including artist Eve Mosher, the assembly will be an opportunity for practising collaboration across cultural, climate, environmental and health sectors.
On Saturday, October 31, Connecting Threads’ artists in residence for 2026, Rebecca Beinart and Savinder Bual, will be sharing their residency research, work, and process.
Other programme highlights include an audiovisual performance and foraging walk from artists Jamie Wardrop and Sita Pieraccini; a riverside ‘Water Walk’ in collaboration with North Wales-based partner organisation Gofod Glas; and a festival parade.
Connecting Threads is the cultural strand of the landscape-scale project Destination Tweed.
Supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Connecting Threads brings together creative practitioners with conservationists, environmentalists, scientists, river specialists and communities of place and purpose, to celebrate the River Tweed through a five-year programme of cultural activity.
Last year's inaugural edition of the Tweed River Festival took place in Peebles, in the Upper Tweed, while next year's edition in 2027 will take place in the lower stretches of the river, as it makes its way out into the sea at Berwick-upon-Tweed.
River Culture Curator Tiki Muir said: “Having held our inaugural Tweed River Festival in Peebles, we’re so excited to be moving the festival downriver to the Middle Tweed this year.
“The iconic, beautiful setting of Melrose is rich with history and heritage. One of our artists in residence, Savinder Bual, is currently deeply immersed in the history of Melrose Abbey and its 16th century silent order of monks.
“The Tweed River Festival is a vital chance to gather as active participants in mutual relationship with the river: to share knowledge, stories, and perspectives on sustaining caring, resilient and river-loving communities.
“The festival's theme this year is ‘Under, over, round and through’, borrowed from group dance warm-ups that encourage participants to focus on their relationships to the surrounding space and to each other.
“Across the two days of the festival, we will weave between the micro and the macro in navigating the river as a shared space: zooming into the here and now of Melrose, but also zooming out to look at how the place we work from connects to something wider.
“The festival celebrates the work we’ve been doing with artists and communities in the Tweed catchment, and ripples this work outwards to connect with people doing resonant work further afield.
“As we await the 2028 opening of the River Tweed Trail, Destination Tweed’s 113-mile walking and cycling route, this second edition of the festival is a touchstone moment to celebrate the past and future of the Tweed, ahead of the final edition of the Tweed River Festival in 2027.”
The Tweed River Festival will be accompanied by a printed publication, which explores questions relating to the ‘Under, over, round and through’ theme and delves into the thinking of our two artists in residence as well as Connecting Threads’ year-round programme.
Designed by Emily Macaulay, of Stanley James Press, the publication will feature writing by Dani Admiss, Em Merrin May Armstrong, Marleen Boschen, Alycia Pirmohamed, and Jamila Prowse. The publication will be available to visitors at the Tweed River Festival.
Full programme information will go live on tweedriverculture.org on Tuesday, September 22.