Green Hustle, Nottingham’s free outdoor community festival, is returning on Saturday 30 May 2026 with its biggest edition yet. Themed Sow Good, this year’s event will spread out from its Old Market Square home to take over a string of the city’s green spaces and cultural venues from 11am to 6pm.
This year’s expansion sees the festival reach Sussex Street, Central Library and the award-winning Green Heart, the natural wildlife space built on the old Broadmarsh shopping centre site. A long dining table will form the centrepiece of Old Market Square, where visitors can gather over food and conversation, alongside creative installations, circus, puppets, a live art billboard and a pop-up forest school on the square’s fountain.
A brand new geodome at Old Market Square will host the Grow Yourself hub, where sponsors Experian and E.ON Next will lead hands-on activities covering science, numeracy skills and wellbeing. Experian’s Head of Social Innovation Richard Donovan said the partnership was about giving everyone “the chance to have fun whilst addressing some of the issues people have with their money, number confidence and reading.” As part of the collaboration, 500 books will be given away to children in partnership with the National Literacy Trust, and National Numeracy will also be on site.
Elsewhere in the square, the Listen Inn offers a platform for community voices, while the Action Cafe brings together local volunteer organisations. Pay-as-you-feel food will be available at the Community Kitchen, alongside a new Pulp Friction refreshments stall, local street food and handcrafted bakes. Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, Woodland Trust, Sherwood Forest Trust, Grow Notts and Green Guardians are among the organisations taking up residence on the day.
The second main site at Sussex Street, near Nottingham College, will host city gardening, community performances and all-day activities from The Pythian Club and Switch Up. Skate Nottingham will offer skate lessons including a girls-only session to open the day, plus skate-ramp building. It’s also the prime spot to take in the Slow Fashion Catwalk, where upcycled outfits will be modelled as part of the festival’s commitment to sustainable style. For those who want to get involved beforehand, upcycling and craft workshops are running throughout May at the People’s Hall and Fisher Gate Point.
Central Library is at the heart of the literary programme, with poetry, writing workshops and the Library of No Returns handing out free books. On the way between sites, visitors can explore the Green Heart and catch live murals led by ArtFest popping up across the city, alongside the ‘bee highway’ and street art installations of Bridlesmith Gate.
One of the more unusual highlights is The OakMobile, a theatre experience housed in a giant silver acorn. Visitors are transported to a woodland glade where a storyteller and a robin enlist help to reconnect the threads between humans and nature, with participants then encouraged to explore Nottingham’s green spaces as a result. Further afield, the GOBS artist gathering presents a full-day creative programme of workshops and performance at New Art Exchange in Hyson Green, while an exhibition at Backlit sees interior design students explore sustainable materials.
Green Hustle CIC Co-Director Adam Pickering said: “It’s all about getting together, sowing, growing and sharing the good stuff. This year, our festival is themed Sow Good because it’s all about seeds, sowing a million mini revolutions, and what we can achieve when we nurture our own and others’ potential.”
While the festival itself is a one-day event, Green Hustle’s community work runs year-round. Over six years, and supported by hundreds of volunteers, the organisation has planted 10,000 local trees, including the 1,000-tree Hustle Holt Miyawaki forest at Woodthorpe Park and a 4,000-tree ‘Aspley People’s Forest’ on King George V Park. It has also commissioned permanent public art, including the Heron at the Wilford Street Wildlife Ramp site.
Alex Flint, CEO of It’s in Nottingham, said: “Green Hustle represents Nottingham’s brilliance in community and is a great opportunity to explore the city and its green spaces. We are proud to support this event which brings the city centre together in collaboration, creativity, and care for our planet.”
Green Hustle Festival takes place from 11am to 6pm on Saturday 30 May 2026. All activities are free and accessible. For more information, visit greenhustle.co.uk or follow @greenhustlefest.
Image credits: Green Hustle
In this article: Nottingham, Old Market Square, Experian (United Kingdom), Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, The Woodland Trust, Nottingham College, Bridlesmith Gate, New Art Exchange, Hyson Green, E.ON, National Numeracy, National Literacy Trust. Generated by Wikidata Schema Link Builder.
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