At a glance
- When
- Friday 6 and Saturday 7 November 2026 (the council listing shows only Saturday 7 November, 9am to 5pm)
- Where
- Sandgate Town Hall, corner of Cliff and Seymour Streets, Sandgate
- Free on Saturday
- Heritage Makers Market and exhibition 9am to 3:30pm; panel 4pm to 5pm; PechaKucha 6:30pm to 8pm (doors 6pm, bookings recommended)
- Friday
- Workshops and the Make ‘n’ Movie screening of Practical Magic, 6pm to 8pm
- Trains
- Shorncliffe line weekends run as a 30-minute shuttle between Shorncliffe and Northgate; change at Northgate for the city. No evening closure is listed for Friday 6 November
- Who it’s for
- Anyone planning a day in Sandgate for the makers market, a workshop or the Saturday evening talks
- What to do now
- Book the workshops and the PechaKucha night on the Heritage Hands website, and plan your Saturday train trip with Northgate in mind
- Last checked
- Thursday 5 November 2026, against the Heritage Hands website, the Brisbane City Council event page and Translink’s Shorncliffe line notices
- Not yet confirmed
- Workshop bookings and prices (the organisers say details are still being finalised), the names of market stallholders, and food and drink recommendations
Heritage Hands Festival: Sandgate runs on Friday 6 and Saturday 7 November 2026 at Sandgate Town Hall, and its Saturday Heritage Makers Market and exhibition are free to enter from 9am to 3:30pm. The Saturday evening PechaKucha talks (6:30pm to 8pm) are also free, with bookings recommended. If you are coming by train, note that Shorncliffe line trains run only as a shuttle to Northgate on weekends, so allow time for a change.
This guide uses the festival’s own website, checked on 5 November, plus Brisbane City Council’s event page and Translink’s notices. The festival is described by its organisers as the inaugural Sandgate edition. Queensland has no daylight saving, so all times are Brisbane time.
When is Heritage Hands on, and why do pages show different days?
Brisbane City Council’s event page lists only “Sat 7 Nov, 9:00am – 5:00pm”. The organisers’ own pages show a two-day festival, 6 to 7 November. The council text itself says the festival is two days, with workshops and a movie evening on Friday and the free program on Saturday, so the listing is showing the main day only. Use the organisers’ program below.
| Day | Time | What |
|---|---|---|
| Friday 6 November | 9am to 2:30pm | Future Makers Lab, a schools program with Young Change Agents |
| Friday 6 November | 9:30am to 11:30am | Basketry and Fibre Weaving with Monique Ross (workshops page) |
| Friday 6 November | 12:30pm to 2pm | Ceramic Vase Arrangement with Wallflower |
| Friday 6 November | 6pm to 8pm | Make ‘n’ Movie: Practical Magic (1998). Bring a portable craft |
| Saturday 7 November | 9am to 3:30pm | Heritage Makers Market and exhibition, free entry |
| Saturday 7 November | 9am to 12pm | Cyanotype workshop with Dr Renata Buziak (workshops page) |
| Saturday 7 November | 2:30pm to 4:30pm | Porcelain Hand-Building with Grace Ellen |
| Saturday 7 November | 4pm to 5pm | Panel: What Do We Carry Forward? |
| Saturday 7 November | 6:30pm to 8pm | PechaKucha: Made to Last; doors open 6pm |
The festival’s pages do not fully agree on the workshop times. The main program page lists the Friday basketry session as Raffia Basketry and Coiling from 2:30pm to 4:30pm and the Saturday cyanotype workshop from 10am to 12pm, while the workshops page lists Basketry and Fibre Weaving from 9:30am to 11:30am on Friday and cyanotype from 9am to 12pm on Saturday. The organisers also say that workshop details and bookings are still being finalised, so confirm a time on the booking page before you plan around it.
What will I find at the Heritage Makers Market?
The organisers describe the Heritage Makers Market as a place to discover made work, meet the makers and buy directly from participating artisans. It runs alongside an exhibition, with free entry, on Saturday from 9am to 3:30pm. The festival says that participating Artisan Makers and market stallholders will be announced progressively in the lead-up, so no list of stallholders was published when we checked. The festival’s main page is where the names will appear.
Through the day, the festival says visitors can watch live demonstrations and take part in workshops. The workshops are held in Meeting Room 2 at the Town Hall and places are limited. The organisers list these sessions:
- Friday: Basketry and Fibre Weaving with Monique Ross, and Ceramic Vase Arrangement with Wallflower.
- Saturday: a Cyanotype workshop with Dr Renata Buziak, using a historic photographic printing process that produces blue images, and Porcelain Hand-Building with Grace Ellen.
What are the Saturday talks about?
The panel What Do We Carry Forward? is on Saturday from 4pm to 5pm at the Town Hall. The program page calls it a free panel discussion, while the panel’s own page carries a “Ticketed” label next to a “Book FREE Tickets” button, so book a place to be safe. It asks what happens to specialist skills when there is nobody to pass them on to. The facilitator is Robert Allen of Brisbane Heritage Co. The panellists are Dr Renata Buziak, photo-media artist and educator; Michael Blazek, a neon artist whose business’s archive went to the John Oxley Library at State Library of Queensland after the business closed in 2023; and Meade Murphy of Murphy’s Antiques and Restorations.
PechaKucha: Made to Last follows at 6:30pm, with doors at 6pm. The format is 20 images shown for 20 seconds each, which is 6 minutes and 40 seconds per speaker. The organisers list seven speakers:
| Speaker | Craft |
|---|---|
| Wendy Downes | Cheese affinage (The Cheeseboard and Slow Food Brisbane) |
| Michael Blazek | Neon glass bending |
| Suzie Rodgers | Ballet and performance costume embellishment |
| Brett Richardson | Penny-farthing making |
| Marianne Taylor | The House Detective: the history of homes and buildings |
| Bill Webb | Traditional leather plaiting |
| Natalia Elkina | Stained glass and leadlighting (Italmas Design) |
Admission is free and bookings are recommended to secure a place.
What is on Friday?
Friday is mostly workshops and a youth program. The Future Makers Lab runs from 9am to 2:30pm for secondary students and Artisan Makers, delivered with Young Change Agents, so it is a schools program rather than a public session. In the evening, Make ‘n’ Movie runs from 6pm to 8pm: bring knitting, crochet, embroidery or another portable craft to a screening of Practical Magic (1998). The council describes Make ‘n’ Movie as an evening where you can craft while watching films. The festival’s pages do not list a ticket price for Friday’s sessions.
How do I get to Sandgate Town Hall by train?
The festival says the Shorncliffe line stops at Sandgate Station, followed by a short walk through the village to the Town Hall. It does not give a walking time. The weekend timetable matters for Saturday: Translink says that until late 2026, Shorncliffe line weekend services run as a shuttle between Shorncliffe and Northgate stations. If you are travelling into Brisbane City, you change trains at Northgate. If you are travelling from the city towards Shorncliffe, catch any train that stops at Northgate and transfer to the Shorncliffe line, because Shorncliffe trains will not depart from Brisbane City. Translink’s notice, last reviewed on 24 September, says shuttle trains run every 30 minutes across the weekend.
| Saturday shuttle at Sandgate station | Times past each hour |
|---|---|
| Towards the city (change at Northgate), to 4:16pm | :16 and :46 |
| Towards the city (change at Northgate), from 4:41pm to the last service | :11 and :41 |
| Towards Shorncliffe, to 4:55pm | :25 and :55 |
| Towards Shorncliffe, from 5:23pm to the last service | :23 and :53 |
So after the 8pm PechaKucha finish, the Saturday shuttle towards Northgate leaves Sandgate at :11 and :41 past the hour. Check the journey planner for the connecting train from Northgate to the city.
Is Friday’s evening train affected?
Translink’s Shorncliffe line notice, last reviewed on 4 November, lists evening track closures from 7:45pm for signalling tests, when railbuses replace trains between Northgate and Shorncliffe. The November evenings on the list are Monday 2 to Thursday 5, Monday 9 and Tuesday 10, Thursday 12, Monday 16 and Tuesday 17, Monday 23 and Tuesday 24, Thursday 26 and Monday 30 November. Friday 6 November is not on the list, so the Friday movie evening does not clash with a listed closure. Translink adds that further dates may be added and that closures may change, so check again close to your travel time. For Translink help, call 13 12 30.
What about buses and parking?
The festival says that bus services connect Sandgate with surrounding suburbs and that street parking is available throughout the area, and it asks visitors to walk, cycle or use public transport where they can. It gives no event parking plan, bus route numbers or car park details, so we cannot name a car park. Read the street signs where you park.
Where can I eat or stay nearby?
The festival’s plan-your-visit page has no information yet under either Eat and Drink or Stay and Play. It encourages visitors to support Sandgate’s local cafes, restaurants and pubs within walking distance of the Town Hall, and to explore the village and foreshore. We have not found an official list of venues, so walk the village or check the festival page nearer the date.
Sources
- Heritage Hands: Sandgate Festival (program; checked 5 November 2026)
- Heritage Hands: Plan your visit
- Heritage Hands: Workshops
- Heritage Hands: Panel, What Do We Carry Forward?
- Heritage Hands: PechaKucha, Made to Last
- Brisbane City Council: Heritage Hands Festival Sandgate
- Translink: Shorncliffe line weekend shuttle services (last reviewed 24 September 2026)
- Translink: Evening track closures, Shorncliffe line (last reviewed 23 October 2026)
Featured image: Sandgate Town Hall (photo: Kgbo / CC BY-SA 4.0) (text added)
OZ Local Updates is an independent local guide and is not affiliated with Heritage Hands, Brisbane City Council or Translink. Programs, times and train services can change; check the festival website and the Translink journey planner before you travel.