Meet the First Wave of Creatives Revealing Portland & Weymouth’s Cultural Soul in 2025.

This year, Portland and Weymouth are stepping into the spotlight as Dorset’s Towns of Culture 2025 – and the buzz has already begun. At the heart of this year-long celebration is the REVEAL Launchpad Fund, a dynamic grant scheme that’s helping community creatives bring bold, brilliant cultural ideas to life.

From poetry trails to puppet parades, local legends to seaside singalongs – here’s a sneak peek at just some of the projects making waves this spring and summer.

With over a dozen inspiring ideas selected in the first round, the programme is already sparking cultural joy, discovery and connection throughout the area.

Creative Highlights to Discover

OmniVerse by Jawbone Collective: A trail of QR-code poetry posters in everyday places, giving voice to underrepresented writers and inviting the public to see the towns through a different lens.

Bside the Cside by Charlotte Pascoe: A nostalgic treasure hunt celebrating seaside holidays, with hidden artworks and local-inspired postcards waiting to be found from Greenhill Gardens to Portland Bill.

Woolly Wonderland by Katy Pascoe: Yarn bombing on an epic scale! This collaborative craft project will transform Easton Gardens into a colourful outdoor gallery made by hundreds of makers.

Night Life by Sophie Fretwell & Dan Babei: A surreal celebration of nocturnal life, featuring animal masks, storytelling and performance that shine a light on Portland’s unsung night workers.

Portland Dough Buns by The Beehive: A tasty dive into local food history with 1,000 traditional quarrymen’s buns baked and shared across the community – each one paired with its own story.

More to Look Forward To…

• Dance and movement workshops for young people with additional needs
• A heritage exhibition on Weymouth’s architecture by artist Eric Ricketts
• A sea-based synchronised swimming session in Portland Harbour
• Hands-on 16mm film workshops using seaweed to develop the footage
• A one-day choir festival celebrating the power of collective singing

Why It Matters

These aren’t just one-off events, they’re sparks of something bigger. As Rocca Holly-Nambi, Director of b-side and lead for Towns of Culture, puts it:

“Culture isn’t something that happens to a place - it’s something people build, share and shape together.”

And that’s exactly what’s happening in Portland and Weymouth. With more than 60 applications received, and support now being extended even to those not awarded funding, this movement is about long-term impact, community confidence, and celebrating the creativity already thriving here.

Get Involved

Many of these projects are participatory - whether you want to write a poem, bake a bun, sing a song or simply show up and cheer others on. Keep an eye on www.portlandweymouthculture.com for event listings, opportunities and stories.

This is culture, revealed. And everyone’s invited.