Organised by We Are Avon, Avon Fest – on Sunday, October 18th – will bring together river guardians, farmers and growers, artists, musicians, campaigners, scientists, community organisers and anyone who loves the River Avon.
The event runs from 1 pm–9 pm at Roseberry Road, with doors opening at 12 pm, and combines talks and workshops with local food and live performances.
“Avon Fest is really about celebrating what is already happening across the Avon,”
says Hamish Evans, founder of We Are Avon.
“There are hundreds of people looking after different stretches of this river and countless people growing food, restoring land, making art, gathering data and imagining a different future for our valley. This is a chance to bring all those threads together.”
The Agenda
The afternoon programme will explore some of the biggest questions facing the Avon Bioregion.
A panel on water quality and citizen science will look at a new programme enabling communities to test and understand the health of their local stretches of river, including contributions from Ashley Smith of Channel 4’s Dirty Business.
There will also be updates on We Are Avon’s developing Food & Land Hub and farm cluster network, including news that the organisation is moving towards a new home for its work.
The event will cover the latest developments in the Avon Bioregional Charter of River Rights and the wider UK River Rights movement, following recent work to establish rights for the River Avon and its catchment.
Interactive breakout sessions will then allow participants to explore how they can get involved – whether through river guardianship, citizen science, food and farming, mapping, land regeneration or other forms of local action.
The Celebration
Avon Fest is deliberately not just a conference.
As the afternoon turns to evening, visitors can eat food from local caterers and farms, spend time beside the river and enjoy performances featuring musicians and performers from across the We Are Avon network.
We Are Avon describes its work as building a renewed, place-based identity for the Avon Bioregion, bringing together communities around the regeneration of its waters, lands and people. The organisation’s River Guardianship movement now involves hundreds of people and groups working at different points along the river.
Avon Fest has become an annual gathering for this growing community, providing a space where practical environmental work, local food, culture, creativity and celebration can meet.
Hamish Evans and Meg Avon (UK’s first River Bride) will host the talks and discussions, with contributions from people involved in the Avon’s river, land and food work.
About We Are Avon
We Are Avon is a bioregional movement rooted in the Bristol Avon catchment, bringing people together to regenerate the river, land and communities of the Avon valley. Its work includes River Guardianship, citizen science, food and land systems, river rights, ecological restoration, mapping and community events. The organisation has engaged hundreds of people through River Guardian groups and has hosted more than 60 community discussions, events, visioning sessions and workshops since 2020.
Tickets and further information: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/avon-fest-2026-tickets-1997459047782?utm_source=chatgpt.com
