The Future is Now Festival 2026

The Future is Now Festival returns Saturday 9 May!

Celebrating the community spirit of Hexham and the surrounding area, this year’s exciting programme shines a spotlight on local groups and organisations passionate about environmental action. We’re also showing two new documentaries which we hope will spark discussion.

The Future Is Now festival began in 2025 with funding from Community Foundation and Northumberland County Council and is now a volunteer run event supported by Queen’s Hall Arts and Hexham Library. 

Programme:

Welcome note
10am – 10.10am | Library | Free

Helen Mills from Queen’s Hall and Maggie Mound from Divest Tyne and Wear kick off proceedings.

Stalls
10am – 2pm | Gallery One & Library | Free

Stalls open to the public. A list of who will be in attendance can be found below.

Hexham Space for Nature guided walk
10.30am | Meet at their stall | Free

Hexham Space for Nature volunteers aim to change the way we manage open spaces, parks and gardens in Hexham for the benefit of wildlife. Meet at their stand in the library at 10.30am to enjoy a short walk around the Sele and Abbey Grounds to visit some of the work being done to enhance the grasslands and flower borders, in particular to benefit pollinators.

Balancing The Scales
11am – 11.30am | Film | Studio | Free (donations welcome)

Balancing the Scales by the Beaver Trust is a powerful, visually stunning documentary that captures hope amid environmental uncertainty. Through candid interviews with leading experts, this film unpacks the intricate relationship between beavers and migratory fish – revealing the opportunities beavers create and the unique challenges they introduce in our modern landscapes. Narrated by Dame Joanna Lumley. 

People’s Emergency Briefing

12pm – 1.15pm | Film & Discussion | Studio | Free (donations welcome)

Watch a new documentary film, People's Emergency Briefing, based on the National Emergency Briefing that took place in Westminster in November 2025.

The film features Chris Packham, leading scientists, a former general and Jennifer Saunders - talking about how the climate and nature crisis threatens all aspects of British life, and what can be done about it.

The film will be followed by a 30 minute discussion hosted by Gill Turner.

Cycle Ride
12pm | Cycle Ride | Queen's Hall to Warden | Free

Meet outside the Queen's Hall for a guided family-friendly cycle tour to Warden and back (roughly 4.6 miles). This event is organised by: Cycling Tynedale, Cycling Minds, Tynedale's Bicycle Mayor & Active Travel Tynedale

The Cost of Growth
2pm – 3.30pm | Film | Studio | Free (donations welcome)

The Cost of Growth follows climate activists Anuna De Wever and Lena Hartog as they travel through Italy, Serbia and Sápmi, documenting powerful grassroots resistance to extractivism. The film connects these local struggles with wider global debates on war, justice and democracy - revealing how extractive industries inflict structural violence on communities and ecosystems.

Stall holders include:

Active Travel Tynedale CIC

Hexham Climate Café

Divest Tyne and Wear

Environment Agency

Extinction Rebellion Tynedale

Hexham Library in Collaboration with Grow Hexham

Hexham Space for Nature

Love Our Tyne

Hexham to Corbridge Active Travel Corridor 

Northumberland Peat Partnership

RHS (National Education Nature Park)

Stop Flights Doubling

The Missing Lynx Project

Tyne Rivers Trust

Vattenfall Wind Power

Come along and get inspired by the small actions we can all take to help the environment, especially here in Hexham!