Festival of Thetford & Punjab 2026
Festival of Thetford & Punjab 2026!
17-19 July 2026
Various venues across Thetford
The Festival of Thetford & Punjab is a cross-cultural celebration inspired by the people of Thetford and the Duleep Singh family, the last Royal Family of the Punjab who lived in nearby Elveden. Get ready for a weekend of exciting events at Ancient House Museum, Thomas Paine Hotel‘s Annual Curry Night, Talks at Thetford Library and at Elveden Village Hall, and the Thetford Mela, a day of music, performance and dance at Thetford Grammar School.
The Desi Arts Workshops
Throughout June & July
Pre-festival events to warm you up, in the run up to the festival!
We’re teaming up with Arts La’Olam to create a series of wonderful workshops to warm you up to the festival, with music, dance and textile art for all to enjoy. Funded by Arts Council England, workshops take place from 25 June through to 19 July, at Ancient House Museum, the Charles Burrell Centre, and with students at Thetford Academy. Activities and performances will also be at the Thetford Mela in an Indian tent at the festival finale event on 19 July.
Here’s the full festival programme (click on the links to read more).
STITCH YOUR STORY
TEXTILE WORKSHOP WITH SUMAN GUJRAL
- Dates: 25 June, 2 July & 9 July 2026
- Time: 11am – 3pm
- Venue: Ancient House Museum, 21 White Hart St, Thetford IP24 1AA
Enjoy a long session discovering with Suman Gujral how you can stitch your own story. Participants will use stitch, collage and words to connect to shared heritage. Materials will be provided, as well as tea and biscuits. Please bring a packed lunch. All adults welcome: for those with experience & without.
Free. To book your place visit museums.norfolk.gov.uk/article/78687/Stitch-Your-Story-Textile-Workshops
DANCE WITH JAYA DANCE
- Dates: 27 June, 11 July & 18 July 2026
- Time: 11-2pm
- The Charles Burrell Centre, Staniforth Road, Thetford IP24 3LH
Shake your cares away, learn Bollywood & disco moves, and enjoy great exercises with Tina Vallance from the award-winning Jaya Dance! Bring a picnic, water and a rug to have lunch together.
Family friendly: all ages and abilities, beginners and experienced dancers welcome.
Free. To book your place email info@jayadance.com
INDIAN MUSIC AND PERCUSSION SCHOOL WORKSHOPS
Students at Thetford Academy will discover the joy of Indian music and percussion, adapting rhythms and techniques to their own instruments in a unique intercultural workshop. Delivered by musicians from the Baluji Music Foundation – founded by celebrated Indian Classical maestro Baluji Shrivastav OBE – participants will experience an inspiring introduction to Indian musical traditions and performance.
Open to Thetford Academy Orchestra members and students at the school only.
Thomas Paine Hotel’s Annual Curry Night
Friday 17 July, 6pm onwards
Gez and Rosy Chetal invite you to their annual celebration, offering a lavish Indian meal with authentic Punjabi dishes. Dress to impress!
Thomas Paine Hotel, 33 Whitehart Street, Thetford IP24 1AA
- Tickets: £45 per head
- To book: contact Gez on 07940 570844
Escape the Museum Puzzle Day
Saturday 18 July 2026, 10am to 5pm
Gather your team and take on challenges and puzzles in each room while learning about the British in India and the story of Maharajah Duleep Singh. Imagine orienteering crossed with escape room crossed with a museum visit. The fastest team wins the glory!
- Venue: Ancient House, Whitehart Street, Thetford IP24 1AA
- Ticket: Included in museum admission
- Advanced booking encouraged to avoid disappointment
- Booking link: museums.norfolk.gov.uk/article/78046/Escape-the-Museum-Puzzle-Day
Anglo-Sikh Wars
A Talk by Nigel Amies
Saturday 18 July 1pm
Join Nigel Amies, Ancient House’s Museum Educator, for a window into the life of Norfolk men who fought in the Anglo-Sikh Wars of the 1840s.
- Venue: Thetford Library, Raymond Street, Thetford IP24 2EA
- Tickets: Free, booking recommended
- To Book: Sign up at ftap26-anglo-sikh-wars.eventbrite.co.uk
The Bengal Horse Artillery
A Talk by Mark Taylor
Saturday 18 July 2026 1.45pm
Ancient House’s Museum Educator Mark Taylor shares the story of one man’s experience in the Bengal Horse Artillery in India.
- Venue: Thetford Library, Raymond Street, Thetford IP24 2EA
- Tickets: Free, booking recommended
- To Book: ftap26-bengal-horse-artillery.eventbrite.co.uk
Image credit: Bance Collection
The Last Princesses of Punjab
A Talk by Polly Putnam, Historic Royal Palaces
Saturday 18 July 2.30pm
Polly Putnam, Curator of Collections at Historic Royal Palaces explores the remarkable life of Sophia Duleep Singh and the women connected to her rich heritage.
- Venue: Thetford Library, Raymond Street, Thetford IP24 2EA
- Tickets: Free, booking recommended
- To Book: https://ftap26-Last-Princesses-of-Punjab.eventbrite.co.uk
The Last Royals of Lahore: The Duleep Singhs by Peter Bance
Talk at Elveden Village Hall
London Road, Elveden IP24 3TJ
Saturday 18 July 7pm
Duleep Singh biographer and author Peter Bance shares insights into his new book on the children of the Maharajah, presenting newly discovered archival material along with first-hand accounts from those who knew them personally.
- Venue: Elveden Village Hall, London Road, Elveden IP24 3TJ
- Tickets: Free, booking recommended
- To Book: sign up at duleep-singh-talk-elveden.eventbrite.co.uk
Thetford Mela
Sunday 19 July 12.30-5pm
The grand finale of the Festival of Thetford & Punjab, featuring performances from Punjabi Megastars, Indian dancers, and Bhangra legends!
This year’s line up includes Sunrise Presenters Raj Ghai and Paul Shah, opening by Town Crier Mike Wabe, the legendary Shin DCS, Bhangra King Kulwant Bhamrah (Apna Sangeet), Punjabi Megastar Nirmal Sidhu featuring the Prince of Bhangra Nav Sidhu, Jugnu Bhangra Group, Kent Saheli Group performing Teeyan Gidha.
There will also be Desi Art Workshops in the Indian Marquee, Turban Tying by Harpreet Singh, a motorcycle display, food and henna.
- Venue: Thetford Grammar School, Bridge Street, IP24 3AF
- FREE ENTRY, Drop in, no booking required.
- Entrance opposite the Light Cinema (near the Bridge)
Festival of Thetford & Punjab Open Day
At Ancient House Museum
Sunday 19 July, 10am-5pm
Ancient House once again opens its doors for free for festival goers. Enjoy new displays on the Duleep Singh family. Meet costumed characters. Get hands on with historical artefacts.
- Venue: Ancient House, Whitehart Street, Thetford IP24 1AA
- Free entry
- To Book: visit museums.norfolk.gov.uk
New Permeant Displays on the Duleep Singh Princes and Princesses at Ancient House
New displays in the upstairs room of Ancient House focus on the lives of the six Duleep Singh Princes and Princess who grew up at Elveden hall and the life of Thetford-born Thomas Paine, revolutionary writer.
Objects on display include carved wooden and gilded angels from Prince Frederick’s home at Blo’ Norton Hall alongside his Norfolk Yeomanry uniform. Princess Sophia Duleep Singh supported militant suffrage campaigns, once throwing herself in front of Prime Minister Asquith’s car while displaying a placard reading “Give women the vote!” On display in the gallery are an early 19th-century Indian jewelled ring from her family collection and a rare suffragette hunger-strike medal awarded to Caprina Fahey, who marched with Sophia during the violent ‘Black Friday’ demonstrations in 1910. The museum also presents a contemporary portrait of Princess Catherine by celebrated Sikh artist Inkquisitive. The displays draws new links between the activism of the Duleep Singh princesses and the writings of Thetford-born Thomas Paine (1737-1809), whose works Rights of Man and Common Sense argue for universal human rights. The Thomas Paine displays include a plaster mask of Thomas Paine that was made shortly after his death by his artist friend John Wesley Jarvis (1780 – 1839), a leather-bound French edition of a translation of Paine’s Rights of Man from 1791, and a lock of Paine’s hair.
The displays also tell the story of Prince Victor, Prince Albert Edward and Princess Bamba. These have been hugely supported by historian and collector Peter Bance, and the project team has also worked closely with Dr Priya Atwal, Community History Fellow at the University of Oxford.
Prince Frederick Special Exhibition at Ancient House
Prince Frederick Victor Duleep Singh was born in 1868. He was the second son of Maharajah Duleep Singh, last Maharajah of Punjab, and Maharani Bamba. His childhood home was Elveden Hall near Thetford, where he grew up with his sisters, Princesses Bamba, Catherine and Sophia, and brothers, Princes Victor and Albert Edward. Educated at Eton and Cambridge, Frederick studied history and served in the Suffolk and Norfolk Yeomanry during the First World War. He lived in Norfolk at Old Buckenham Hall, Breckles House, and Blo’ Norton Hall and his homes overflowed with paintings, books, and antiquities. He bought and gave Ancient House Museum to the people of Thetford 100 years ago, along with his collection of East Anglian portraits. This special exhibition marks the centenary of Prince Frederick’s death in 1926
Re-Framing Histories: Maharajah Duleep Singh Photographic Display at Ancient House
Re-Framing Histories depicts a series of imagined moments in the life of Duleep Singh; the last Maharajah of Punjab. Jonathan Turner has created these imagined scenes using a mixture of studio photography and AI generated backgrounds in work which re-examines narratives around the legacies of Empire. This work was made possible with funding from Arts Council England’s DYCP fund.
To whet your appetite, here’s a taster of what you can expect – photos from last year’s Thetford Mela!
Thank you to all our partners, funders and supporters, who help make the festival happen!
