Macclesfield Coffee Festival is a day of coffee, food, art and music celebrating the town’s independent café scene. Its first outing takes place on Saturday 17 October 2026, from 10am to 4pm, with 28 local businesses taking part.
Organised by Macclesfield Town Council, it’s a festival you explore on foot, moving between cafés, shops and other venues around town. You can plan a few stops, meet friends for a brew and discover somewhere you haven’t tried before.
The idea is to introduce people to the baristas, bakers, makers and business owners behind Macclesfield’s café culture. Coffee tastings sit alongside photography, crafts, music and special offers, giving visitors plenty of reasons to spend a few hours in town.
Pick up your festival programme and café trail map from Incubation Arts, 5–7 Mill Street, in Macclesfield town centre. The venue also hosts the Behind the Brew photography exhibition.
At Picturedrome, free children’s crafts and cowboy coffee with wooden spoon carving run from 11am to 3pm. Proper Sound’s Coffee and Beats runs from 1pm to 4pm, with a chance to bring records and try the decks. The Fountain keeps things going with a coffee after-party, live music and cakes from 2pm to 5pm.
Fancy trying something creative? All Things Nice hosts 90-minute coffee watercolour workshops at 10am, noon and 2pm. Local artist Rinat Khabirov shows beginners how to paint using coffee, with no experience needed. Sessions are free but require advance booking.
Bookable sessions also include a 1pm tasting with PD Coffee and Atkinsons at Picturedrome, Nick Bianchi’s 2pm history talk at Arighi Bianchi, and the 3pm Millstone Baristas workshop. Check availability on the council’s Eventbrite pages before making plans.
Offers include coffee for £2 when you buy cake at Fox & Howl, and a free coffee cupcake for Cherry Blossom Bakery’s first 100 visitors, while stocks last.
There’s a prize to work towards on the café crawl, too. Collect stamps from at least five participating businesses in your paper programme, then show it to the team at Nomad, 205 Buxton Road, to enter the draw for a £150 food and drink hamper. The competition runs on 17 October only.
The festival is free to explore, with individual food and drink purchases and offers priced by each business. Check the programme for activity times, booking requirements and offer conditions.
Read the official Macclesfield Coffee Festival programme for the full schedule and café trail map, or visit our Macclesfield Coffee Festival event listing.
Source: Macclesfield Town Council and its official festival programme.
