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What a whirlwind! It’s been a VERY busy winter, but all the hard work is starting to blossom as our festival cycle kicks into gear with the Spring. Having moved office and built a new database on top of usual festival business, we are now emerging from our backstage bubble so it’s time to share some stories! Grab a cuppa and take 5 with us for an update.

Now that the bunting has been packed away, and the festival buzz has slowly subsided for another year it's the perfect time to take a step back and reflect on another fantastic festival and share some of our plans for the winter months. From filtering through feedback to future proofing our festival, go grab a cuppa, here's 5 things we've been working on behind the scenes over the last few weeks!

Blazing sunshine heralded the start of our festival, though it blew out in Autumnal style. All the team were able to get out and about this year though, to meet up with organisers and see events in action, so, whilst we gather our breath before planning the next chapter, we thought we'd take 5 with you and share some highlights.

Hello, I'm Maddy and I’ve been the Volunteer Web Content Creator for Heritage Open Days this year! My job has been to write the Festival Spotlight posts, and it’s been so much fun to ferret around in the warren of the 5000 strong-events registry to pick out some of the best that HODs has to offer. 

Well, the last few months have been quite the whirlwind as the festival planning caravan gathers pace (and people)! We’ve been out and about across the country (and beyond) meeting amazing organisers and promoting their work to others across the sector. Including a glitzy awards night, a parliamentary reception and even a catch up in a Viennese Palace! Time for a quick break then before we continue – so go on, grab a cup of (iced) tea and take 5 with us for an update on what's been happening behind the scenes with the national festival team.

Spring is in the air, which means the months of winter planning are about to burst into bloom! From webinars and workshops to technical logistics, it’s a busy, and exciting, time behind the scenes at Festival HQ. Grab a cuppa and take 5 with us for an update.

The bunting’s packed away (or is it?!) and the weather’s turned chilly but our creative juices are firing for next year! After a busy couple of months travelling about and meeting people it’s time to sit down with a cuppa and take stock – take 5 with us for a peek behind the scenes of festival planning in the ‘quiet’ months!

Our extraordinary community festival went ahead in unprecedented circumstances this year. HUGE thanks go out to all involved, helping people come together was never more important or powerful. Whilst we gather our breath to take stock before planning the next chapter, we thought we'd take 5 with you to share some highlights from our travels to connect with communities across the country.

As the event registration deadline approaches, our team has been working hard behind the scenes to gather everything together, visit and shout about the work of our incredible organisers. So, grab a cup of coffee (or something colder) and join me for an update on our latest adventures (bring a torch - they include exploring some historic tunnels)!

From cross border connections to early festival highlights. It’s been a busy few months for the team and there’s lots to share in your behind the scenes update! So grab a cuppa of something comforting and take 5 with us…

While October to March are considered our ‘quieter’ months, we haven’t been sitting on our hands - we’re gearing up to the launch of registration in March. So, grab a beverage of your choice and join me, the ‘new’ Registration Assistant, for a catch up to find out what exciting things are happening behind the scenes!

It's been a busy year but we're already fizzing with inspiration for the next one! Grab a cuppa and take 5 to hear where we're at... with an extra gift from The Poetry Takeaway for our festival community.

So May has arrived, with its bank holidays and bizarre weather (anyone else shivering in hailstorms?!). Much has been happening since we last ‘spoke’ but of course it’s just a taster for all that’s still to come, including new faces and new stories (Will you be amongst them?!) Read on for an update on how things run behind the scenes with the national festival team...

Well here we are, back from the winter break, poised, catlike, on the festival path for 2021. Flexibility is the key word, so we can leap in whatever direction is needed to support our wonderful community and deliver a fab, fun, safe festival for all. It’s a little chilly out there (snow outside my window still!) so why not grab a cuppa and take 5 for a bit of behind the festival scenes chat.

We did it! After just 2.5 months of continually revised prep (including legal changes with just 24 hours to go!) over 700 local organisers created 10 days of festival fun. A HUGE thank you to all involved, whether you planned, ran, or visited, online or in-person, you made some real festival magic happen in the most extraordinary of circumstances! Now we’ve reached the other side, it’s time to take 5, cast an eye back and consider where do we go from here? So grab a cuppa and get comfy, as I give you a behind the scenes update!

Hold on to your hats and… Here. We. Go! I get that rollercoaster feeling every time we launch registration for the festival. Months of nervous and careful planning, trying to dot all the is, cross all the ts, anticipate every eventuality, and then the gates open and…. well, this year, a pandemic came along, so as with everyone else, all the planning was thrown up in the air as we went into lockdown. Time and tide stop for no one though so here we are in June, and wonderfully, we’ve just thrown those gates open again. So grab a cuppa, strap in, and read on for your behind the scenes rollercoaster round-up!

Did you know that almost every European country has a version of Heritage Open Days? Well, in 1991 the Council of Europe and the European Commission set up European Heritage Days (EHD) to raise appreciation for Europe’s rich and diverse cultural assets and their need for care and protection. Fast forward almost 30 years and it’s flourished into a fantastic festival here in England – but what about in other European countries? With the support of the Council of Europe myself and my Georgian counterpart, Salome, embarked on a fact-finding exchange to share experiences, tips and tricks between two EHD programmes that are over 2,200 miles apart! Here’s what happened

Sparkling wine, swag bags, gorgeous surroundings, a 5 foot impact report and of course cake….it must be the Heritage Open Days launch party.