A community-built landmark in Marsh Farm will once again take centre stage this summer as Luton Henge Festival returns for a second year.
The free event, taking place across Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 August, will run from midday to 9pm each day, promising a larger and more ambitious programme following its debut in 2025, which drew hundreds of people to the site near Marsh House.
Organisers, Revoluton Arts, say the second installment will be “louder, bolder and more powerful than ever” and the festival will build on its first year by exploring themes including activism, rebellion, justice, nature and heritage, with new immersive experiences and artistic installations planned across the weekend.
This year’s festival will expand on that idea, introducing new sound installations designed to transform oral histories into immersive experiences, alongside a wider programme of artists and activities yet to be announced.
With its mix of heritage, creativity and community spirit, organisers say Luton Henge Festival is continuing to evolve into something much bigger than a one-off event — and are inviting residents to be part of its next chapter.
At the heart of the festival is Luton Henge itself — a community-built stone circle created as a space for people to gather, reflect and connect. The project draws inspiration from ancient meeting places in the area, including nearby Ward’s Bank, where early settlers once marked the source of the River Lea.
In a video, released last month by Revoluton Arts, Matthew Rosier, the artist and creator of Luton Henge, said: “The idea was to create a new community gathering space, one that continued the legacy of the first settlers in this area thousands of years ago.”
Unlike historic monuments, Luton Henge has been created entirely by local people, with volunteers helping to construct everything from the stones to the pathways.
“The idea was to sort of build upon that and bring the community of Luton together, particularly Marsh Farm, and to build a new community space that’s based on a stone circle, but this one made of chalk,” Mr Rosier said, adding: “It’s very much echoing this idea of Neolithic ancestors coming together to build something just to have a space to celebrate together.”
That sense of ownership continues to shape how the space is used today, with its design influenced by ideas from residents throughout the process.
The result is a space that blends art, landscape and local identity, using materials sourced from the surrounding area to reflect the character of the Chilterns.
Beyond its physical form, organisers say the Henge has been designed to encourage people to engage more deeply with their surroundings.
Mr Rosier said: “What art projects in the landscape do is provide an opportunity for people to form connections with these spaces that they wouldn’t have otherwise. It’s a way to congregate out here and see like this landscape around Wallace Bank and Marsh Farm is amazing.
“The festival is almost like a demonstration of all the different ways you can basically hang out in the landscape and enjoy it to become more of part of your life.”
There is also an emphasis on spontaneity and community ownership, with visitors encouraged to make the space their own.
Lee Nelson, Nature Calling Commissioned Poet, said: “The idea is that people connect here and share stuff they wouldn’t share otherwise and that local people, who aren’t me, come over and go, ‘what’s this then?’ And then when they say, ‘it’s a henge’, and they go, ‘well, what do we do with it?’
“Well, do what you want with it. Walk into it, sit in it, bring your friends into it, get excited about something, call your people together here and see what can happen. It’s like a little dynamo, if you like, like a little circle in which energies can gather and spiral and then, boom, something could happen.”
Be the first to comment