We’ll proudly proclaim the city to be Beanotown, so join us for lots of free family-friendly outdoor fun.
There’s something for everyone with our pop-up outdoor comic museum, the Dennis fun-run, workshops, talks, film screenings, street performances, an exhibition of emerging work, marble runs and world record attempts!
We’ll celebrate the stories and characters that have come out of Dundee, and leave no one in doubt that Dundee is the home of comics!
Whilst Dundee has long been known as the city of Discovery, this summer it’s set to celebrate its status as the undisputed home of comics with the Dundee Summer (Bash) Streets Festival, which will take place from July 14th-24th.
For the duration of the festival, Dundee will become ‘Beanotown’ as the much-loved characters and stories will take over the streets of the city for an extravaganza of stories. The programme is supported by EventScotland as part of Scotland’s Year of Stories 2022, a year-long celebration which will spotlight, celebrate, and promote the wealth of stories inspired by, written, or created in Scotland.
Designed to appeal to locals and visitors alike, the packed programme features events, talks, exhibitions, screenings, trails, workshops, and performances across the city centre.
The Dennis and Gnash Dash family fun run will invite participants to dress in red and black in homage to our ‘favourite menace’ and a ‘pop up’ history of comics will tell the rich story of Dundee’s comic-creating past and present.
A Blamazing Beanotown Trail Map, specially designed by Beano, will guide festivalgoers around key Dundee places associated with the famous comic characters, and an exhibition inside DC Thomson’s HQ will give visitors a rare chance to see original artwork from one of the world’s most recognisable comics.
In addition to the family-friendly activities on offer, there will be a host of workshops and talks for those interested in the behind-the-scenes of comics. The Comicopolis talk will see Professor Christopher Murray delve into Dundee’s comic heritage and history, whilst LACD libraries will host how-to draw comics sessions for 8–14-year-olds. A professional development panel is planned with Creative Scotland and others advising on the business of creating comics, and the UNESCO City of Design Dundee team will host a representation in comics event.
Meanwhile, festival partners across the city will be adding to the programme with their own family-friendly activities in McManus and V&A Dundee, and a fun zine event in DCA.
Organisers, Dundee City Council have been working closely with Beano Studios, DC Thomson, and the University of Dundee to look out for all the best from the city’s comics archives and create a festival filled with free comics fun.
