Jesmond Community Festival 2026
A month of events and activities for all ages across the community.
30 days, ten events and more than 930 people through church.
Those are the bald facts of Holy Trinity Jesmond’s involvement with the 2026 Jesmond Community Festival.
But if we drill down under the facts, there are many positives that have come out of the month-long series of events. At the start of the Festival, Sharon Challand, recently appointed Community Outreach Worker at HT, when asked why it is important for the church to be so involved with the Festival said: “I think it is important for the church for several reasons. It is an opportunity for us to have our doors open and I think it is an opportunity for us as a congregation to use our gifts and talents in a different way to serve the parish.”
During the month, all ages have been catered for. From the youngest members of the church through a Trinity Tots Teddy Bear Hunt and Picnic, to a Vintage Afternoon Tea for the more senior end of the age range. In between other events included a concert, three Open Church afternoons and a weekend where HT went Wild About Creation.
“We want to open our doors and engage more, so when there is a convention of events like the Festival.”
Tim said he felt this year’s involvement was the best, certainly in terms of attendance at events. More than 100 people came to the Gents and Ginger concert, almost 80 to the Vintage Afternoon Tea and close to 300 to the Wild About Creation weekend events and service.
But it is not just the numbers that have been important: “People coming with needs, people coming wanting to be listened to, people just wanting to come in for a coffee and excellent cakes, thanks to some of our amazing bakers at HT, and people just wanting to see the building and have a time to be quiet,” he said.
“In fact, that has been one of the highlights of the month for me; meeting with, and talking to, people I have never met before, and I have been here for more than 17 years. People from the Parish we haven’t seen before coming to chat. People interested to come and find out more about their church even though they have never been through our doors before. That for me has been one of the most exciting highlights of the month and something we can build on in the future.”
Revd Tim Sanderson, Vicar of HT, talked about why he felt it was important that the church got so involved in the Jesmond Community Festival. Speaking on the final weekend Wild About Creation event, which saw representatives from Eco-organisations, a bike repair stall, making of bird boxes, creating newspaper plant pots, sowing seeds and myriad other activities, Tim said:
“I think it was important for us as a church to get involved because we are part of this area of Jesmond and we want to play a bigger role in its life. It is all too easy just to shut the doors and ignore what is going on locally. We want to do the opposite of that. We want to open our doors and engage more, so when there is a convention of events like the Festival, it is just a really opportune time for us to lift our heads, remind people we are here, that we care for them and want to serve our community.”
So what of the future?
What will happen over the coming months, and what of the possibility of involvement in next year’s Festival?
“I think there is a lot for us to reflect on, consider, and think about how as a church we are involved with the Festival. It has been a success for us as a community as we have worked together in so many ways, and that is important going forward,” said Sharon.
“For me, Wild About Creation was the highlight because we had so many people from the community come in both as visitors and as stall holders. I think this has shown me what sort of direction I feel we need to be going in.
“It is the first Jesmond Festival with which I have been involved, and I have learned much from the whole experience. So, a time to recover from the month, to reflect on what has been achieved, both positive and not so positive, and then hopefully, we can build on this year for the future. The Festival has helped me enormously because I have been able to make a number of good contacts in the community which will be a big help in my role at the church for the future.”