- Feel Good
- 14th Aug 2026
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- 0 minute
Show Up North’s new Newcastle festival brings coffee raves, sound baths and pop Pilates
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Show Up North is heading to Newcastle this autumn, and it’s shaping up to be unlike anything the city has seen before.
Referred to as a “joy weekender,” the three-day festival Friday 9th – Sunday 11th October is the brainchild of Claire Goodliffe, founder of Show Up Club, who spotted a gap she couldn’t ignore.
From a Friday night city takeover to a full weekend of movement, wellness and workshops at Northumbria University, Show Up North promises something for everyone.
And it’s time the North East finally got the event it deserves.
Quick facts:
Dates: Friday 9th – Sunday 11th October 2026
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne (with activities connected to Northumbria University)
Activities: Fitness takeovers, run clubs, wellness workshops, live music, and day parties
Ticket prices: Show Up North Full Weekend – Early Bird – £75 and Show Up North – Saturday Only – £60
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM SHOW UP NORTH?
Claire’s motivation is simple. “There’s no big wellness event in the North, let alone in Newcastle. It’s about putting something in the North East that doesn’t exist,” she explains.
The event is female-focused rather than exclusively for women, and Claire’s clear on the intention behind it.
“It’s about giving women an opportunity to have fun, to give them permission, remind them how to have fun, and give them the opportunity to do lots of different things.”
she says.
FRIDAY NIGHT OPENING PARTIES TAKE OVER NEWCASTLE’S STREETS
The festival opens with a citywide takeover before the weekend shifts to Northumbria University.
Six venues will host seven simultaneous opening parties across Newcastle, with two in Eldon Square after hours, each with an active element rather than a solely alcohol focus (though there will be alcohol served). Expect pop princess Pilates outside Hollister, a line dance session outside Fenwick and John Lewis, and an underground silent disco at Revolución de Cuba Newcastle.
Bandstand will run a glow-in-the-dark 3k and 5k run/walk, ClimbAHub is offering drop-in trial sessions, and Tribal Cycle and Hot Pod are teaming up for a spin and stretch class. Fenwick hosts beauty beats and barre, while Ouseburn’s The -B- Workout also joins the line-up, alongside an express beauty session to freshen up. The night then closes with everyone reconvening at Revolución de Cuba for an after-party.
SATURDAY BRINGS THE ENERGY TO NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY
Across the weekend, around 55 sessions run from the student union building, and Saturday is all about high energy.
Start the day off the right way with a coffee rave at 8am, followed by a feminine rage class and a fantasy-themed fitness class from NCL Wellness Club. Claire Smart, known online as Smarty Skips, is running a shuffle workshop, and there’s a dance class teaching the Thunderstruck choreography made famous by the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. Tribal Cycle pops up with spin, there’s a 3k treasure hunt around the city using QR codes (which is basically a run in disguise), plus hula hoop workshops and HIIT-style sessions.
SUNDAY SLOWS THE PACE RIGHT DOWN WITH RESTORATIVE VIBES
Sunday flips the energy entirely, with sound baths, yoga and self-guided facials alongside gift wrap workshops. Lifestyle sessions run throughout the weekend too, covering everything from getting started with investing to building a business or creating content for social media.
A marketplace running throughout the weekend brings in activations from Oddballs and Clarins alongside a clothing stand, small independent skincare brands and aesthetics clinics, giving attendees plenty to browse between sessions.
TICKETS, TOURISM AND FITNESS COMMUNITY
What we love is that you get to pick how your weekend looks. Tickets aren’t tied to a strict schedule. It’s all about discovering new things, making new connections, and learning more about what the North East has to offer. At its heart, it’s about bringing the North East’s fitness community together, supporting one another while offering a new outlook on how fitness can be fun.
Tickets are on sale now, with the festival’s own website launching next week.
The Maldron Hotel are on board too, with goodie bags placed in guest rooms for anyone booking a stay around the event.
For Claire, the bigger picture is regional. Bringing visitors up from outside the North East, she believes, does more than sell tickets. It gives people a reason to fall for the region the way she did when she moved up from Nottingham over 20 years ago, and the way a growing number of attendees seem to be doing too.
FANCY GETTING INVOLVED?
Show Up Club is on the lookout for sponsors ahead of the launch. Anyone interested can reach the team directly.
Sponsorship enquiries, or if you’re a business wanting to get involved: [email protected]
WANT A FABULOUS FIT FOR THE FESTIVAL?
Rachael Ellis
Head of Content
After gaining a first in her BA Media and Journalism degree at Northumbria University, Rachael worked at Newcastle’s leading regional newspaper with her stories being picked up in national and global newspapers. She spent two very successful years giving a voice to those communities across the North East who otherwise…
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