Uploaded November 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
In the summer of 2023, more than 60,000 people came together for Hi! Street Fest: a series of community-led street parties and carnivals celebrating England’s high streets.
At the centre of the celebrations was a large-scale puppet, a curious fox named Farrah, who travelled the country on her scooter to find out what makes high streets so unique. Taller than a double-decker bus, Farrah visited Lowestoft, Gloucester, Wigan, Gosport, Middlesbrough, Stalybridge, and Woolwich.
In six high streets, she was greeted by a larger-than-life, locally-inspired host puppet. Through working in partnership with Emergency Exit Arts, one of Britain’s pioneering outdoor arts companies, each high street offered a unique mix of dance, music and performance as hundreds of local volunteers worked together to celebrate the history and heritage of where they live.
In celebrating what makes each high street unique to its communities, Hi! Street Fest marks a dazzling finale to our High Street Action Zones cultural programme, a four-year programme to revitalise more than 60 high streets.
#HistoricHighStreets
Find out more about Hi! Street Fest: historicengland.org.uk/campaigns/high-street-culture/hi-street-fest
In the summer of 2023, more than 60,000 people came together for Hi! Street Fest: a series of community-led street parties and carnivals celebrating England’s high streets.
At the centre of the celebrations was a large-scale puppet, a curious fox named Farrah, who travelled the country on her scooter to find out what makes high streets so unique. Taller than a double-decker bus, Farrah visited Lowestoft, Gloucester, Wigan, Gosport, Middlesbrough, Stalybridge, and Woolwich.
In six high streets, she was greeted by a larger-than-life, locally-inspired host puppet. Through working in partnership with Emergency Exit Arts, one of Britain’s pioneering outdoor arts companies, each high street offered a unique mix of dance, music and performance as hundreds of local volunteers worked together to celebrate the history and heritage of where they live.
In celebrating what makes each high street unique to its communities, Hi! Street Fest marks a dazzling finale to our High Street Action Zones cultural programme, a four-year programme to revitalise more than 60 high streets.
#HistoricHighStreets
Find out more about Hi! Street Fest: historicengland.org.uk/campaigns/high-street-culture/hi-street-fest
