The 2026 Festival is scheduled to run over the first three weekends of March.
It starts on on Friday 6th March.
A soft copy of the Syllabus is available on the Syllabus page.
A copy will be at the printers in the next few days and will then be available at Music House (in Harrogate)and in libraries across North Yorkshire. We will update this page when it becomes available.
The entry system is already open and can be accessed from the Entry page. The closing date for entry is 15th January 2026. No late entries can be accepted. All piece names, authors and publishers must be on the entry system by the closing date.
The 2025 Festival was completed on 23rd March 2025.
The Final Concert on Sunday the 23rd of March saw an excellent play-off and 5 other selected performances.
The 2025 Young Musician of the Festival is Thomas Heath, a percussionist.
The 2025 Speech and Drama Champion is Evy Reed, an actor.
Well done to both of them.
%20and%20Evy%20Read(acting).jpg "Thomas & Evy")
The venue for 2026 is the Harrogate High School
We will be at
Harrogate High School (HHS),
Ainsty Road, Harrogate,
HG1 4AP
6th-8th, 13th-15th
and 20th-22nd March 2026
(www.harrogatehigh.co.uk).
We are very grateful for the strong support of the school staff and management in helping us host the Festival at HHS.
Future Dates
The start date is normally the first Friday in March unless Easter is early.
The expected first
Friday start dates from 2026 onwards are as follows:
| Year | Start date |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Friday, 6 March 2026 |
| 2027 | Friday, 26 February 2027 |
| 2028 | Friday, 3 March 2028 |
| 2029 | Friday, 2 March 2029 |
| 2030 | Friday, 8 March 2030 |
| 2031 | Friday, 28 February 2031 |
| 2032 | Friday, 27 February 2032 |
| 2033 | Friday, 4 March 2033 |
| 2034 | Friday, 3 March 2034 |
| 2035 | Friday, 23 February 2035 |
| 2036 | Friday, 29 February 2036 |
| 2037 | Friday, 6 March 2037 |
| 2038 | Friday, 12 March 2038 |
| 2039 | Friday, 4 March 2039 |
Get these dates in your diary NOW