Wool Week26@ShetlandArts: What’s on
See what's on during Shetland Wool Week 2026.
We’re excited to be partnering with Shetland Wool Week to bring a mix of music, film, spoken word and dancing to Mareel.
From relaxed Woolly Stage cafe sessions, with local musicians and writers, knitting-friendly Knitlfix films, a lively Wool Week Spree concert and a fun-filled traditional Shetland Reel dance gathering, come along and enjoy some of the best of Shetland’s traditional culture and community spirit.
What's on
Shetland Wool Week Craft Fair 2026
This is a popular annual fair organised by Shetland Arts and Crafts Association.
Inspired by Shetland’s dramatic scenery, heritage and culture, Shetland Arts and Crafts producers offer a unique and diverse range of crafts, from the islands’ traditional knitwear designs handed down through generations to more modern and highly original craft work.
- Sunday 27 September, 11am – 5pm
This is a free, drop-in event. No booking required.
Woolly Stage
Enjoy an afternoon cuppa or an early evening drink in the company of some of Shetland’s finest traditional musicians and spoken word artists in a relaxed and informal bar setting.
- Sunday 27 September, 2pm
- Monday 28 September, 6pm
- Tuesday 29 September, 5pm
- Wednesday 30 September, 2pm
- Friday 2 October, 6pm
- Saturday 3 October, 2pm
- Sunday 4 October, 6pm
This is a free, drop-in event. No booking required.
Kniflix: The Sheep Detectives
Knitflix is back for Shetland Wool Week! Enjoy a film on the big screen while you knit (or crochet, or embroider…). The lights in the cinema will be kept brighter for you to see what you’re doing, seats will be distanced between customers for you to have space to spread out your wool and free tea/coffee is included in the ticket price.
Hugh Jackman leads a terrific ensemble cast in this witty, tremendously enjoyable family comedy based on the 2005 bestselling novel Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann. Every night shepherd George Hardy reads a murder mystery aloud to his sheep, pretending they can understand. When he is found dead under mysterious circumstances, his devoted flock realise at once that it was a murder and decide to go about solving it. It turns out the human world isn’t as simple as it seems in books… but, experiencing the world beyond their meadow for the first time as they follow clues and track down suspects, they prove that woolly beasts are not necessarily woolly-headed.
- Sunday 27 September, 4pm
Kniflix: Strictly Ballroom
Knitflix is back for Shetland Wool Week! Enjoy a film on the big screen while you knit (or crochet, or embroider…). The lights in the cinema will be kept brighter for you to see what you’re doing, seats will be distanced between customers for you to have space to spread out your wool and free tea/coffee is included in the ticket price.
Baz Luhrmann’s iconic feature debut, the first film in his ‘Red Curtain’ trilogy, is one of the most popular Australian films ever made. Part mockumentary, part fairytale, it’s the story of a maverick dancer who refuses to keep it ‘strictly ballroom’. Scott has created his own style of choreography, infuriating the establishment and forcing him to take awkward beginner Fran as his partner to the upcoming championships. Success seems unlikely – especially given the disdain of the Australian Dancing Federation’s toupéed, permatanned president – but with his help, Fran becomes an assured and wonderful dancer.
- Tuesday 29 September, 6:30pm
Wool Week Spree
Join us for a mid-week Wool Week Spree!
This cross-art form concert or Spree (n - a jollification) will feature music, song, poetry, comedy and drama – showcasing and celebrating both tradition and innovation within the islands today.
- Wednesday 30 September, 7:30pm
Tickets for this event can be booked on Shetland Wool Week’s website.
The Edge of the World (1937)
The way of life on an Outer Hebridean island is dying, and two families clash over leaving or staying on the island.
Filmed on Foula, Michael Powell’s debut project evokes a way of life that that was disappearing in the 1930’s, but does so with a warmth and sensitivity characteristic of his later films.
- Thursday 1 October, 7pm
Shetland Reel: Traditional Dance Gathering
The Wool Week26@ShetlandArts programme will close with a focus on Shetland’s social dancing traditions. This event offers an informal chance to learn and experience the islands’ indigenous dance form, The Shetland Reel, facilitated by Shetland Folk Dance group.
There will be music to listen to, and a local dance band will play for more ceilidh dancing led by our dance caller Maria Leask. An informal fun event that has traditional dancing and music at its heart. Take or meet a dance partner, or sit, listen and watch – no previous dance experience needed.
- Sunday 4 October, 3pm
Tickets for this event can be booked on Shetland Wool Week’s website.
