A vibrant celebration of Boston’s medieval trading past will return to the town centre on Saturday 30 May, as the Boston Hanse Festival brings back its colourful parade, live performances, heritage displays and a lively medieval market. The free event runs from 10am–1pm, with the parade procession beginning at 12:40pm.
Delivered by Transported Art and the Boston Hanse Group, and supported by Boston Borough Council, this year’s festival builds on the success of 2025’s expanded event, once again made possible through an Arts Council England Project Grant.
For several years, Transported and the Boston Hanse Group have joined forces to mark International Hanseatic Day, spotlighting Boston’s connection to the historic and modern Hanseatic League – a network of over 197 towns and cities across northern Europe promoting cultural, social and economic exchange.
Boston joined the New Hanse in 2015, recognising its rich medieval history as one of Britain’s most important ports, once trading Lincolnshire wool for fish, furs and timber and attracting merchants from across Europe.
The event will once again transform the area around the Ingram Memorial with a bustling medieval market and hands‑on heritage demonstrations. Visitors can expect:
- Blacksmithing and medieval forge demonstrations by Byron Robinson
- Woodturners, spinners, mosaic artists and a bowyer showcasing traditional skills
- Live music from The Lincoln Waites
- Re-enactors, stilt-walkers and juggling displays from Chris Ehrenzeller’s AurorasCarnival
- Medieval food and drink tasters
- Family-friendly creative activities
- Hanse history interpretation tents
- Percussion drumming, led by Chris Lewis-Jones
- Dance performances
- Colourful silk banners
As with last year, Transported will deliver a series of free creative workshops to produce artworks for the parade, offering local residents of all ages the chance to be part of the celebration. Booking is required and spaces are limited.
This year’s workshops include a full-day collage workshop with illustrator Aga Kowalska and machine‑quilting sessions with textile artist and Great British Sewing Bee semi‑finalist Vicki Reid.
Collage workshop:
Aga Kowalska is an illustrator specialising in collage created with hand-painted papers using inks, gouache and acrylics. During this full-day workshop, she will guide participants in preparing their own painted papers and creating final collage artworks inspired by the rich history and heritage of Hanseatic Boston. The collage styles will then be used to inform the designs of the banners being made in quilting workshops with Vicki Reid.
Sunday 29th March – 10:30am–3:30pm
Schedule: 10:30–12:30, lunch break (bring your own), 13:30–15:30
Pescod Hall, Boston
Ages 12+ (under 18s must be supervised)
Free – booking required via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1985520838276?aff=oddtdtcreator
Quilting workshops:
Led by Vicki Reid, semi-finalist on BBC’s Great British Sewing Bee (Series 9), these sessions introduce participants to scrappy machine quilting to create fabric sections that will later be assembled into banners for the festival parade. No sewing experience is required.
Tuesday 31st March (fully accessible – downstairs)
Thursday 2nd April (held upstairs)
Pescod Hall, Boston
Sessions: 10am–12:30pm and 1pm–3:30pm
Ages 18+
Free – booking required via Eventbrite:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1985524942552?aff=oddtdtcreator
The festival will culminate in a vibrant procession winding through the town’s shopping streets and ending at the Boston Stump. The parade will bring together musicians, dancers, handmade banners, stilt-walkers, artists, community groups and local residents.
Artist Ruth Pigott will create two large costumes for parade performers based on designs from Aga’s workshops, while ten textile banners crafted with participants and led by Vicki Reid will celebrate Boston’s medieval trade and its long-standing European connections. These banners have been designed to be transportable, allowing them to travel to future International Hanseatic Day events across Europe.
Transported’s director, Nick Jones said: “We are really excited at this award from Arts Council England as a recognition of the importance of this home-grown festival to offer exciting arts experiences but also for the opportunity it provides for more people to be actively involved. Transported is keen to develop the ability to create quality festivals to build aspiration and ambition so they grow each year.”
