ManchesterWide.com » Festival

Manchester Literature Festival, various locations, 15th – 25th October 2009

admin — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:48:19 +0000

The Manchester Literature Festival 2009 is almost upon us with 10 days of literary events commencing on Thursday 15th October 2009.

This year Manchester’s very own Literature Festival will take place from the 15th to the 25th, October 2009.

Started in 2006, this Festival has grown and grown and now occupies 26 diverse and varied venues across Manchester, including the Cornerhouse (70 Oxford Street
Manchester, M1 5NH), The Midland Hotel (16 Peter St, Manchester, M60 2DS‎), Manchester Buddhist Centre (16-20 Turner St, Manchester, M4 1DZ) and the Urbis (Cathedral Gardens, Manchester, M4 3BG‎).

Writers taking part in this festival include authors from a wide range of genres including Martin Amis, Will Self, Joan Bakewell, Eoin Colfer, Jimmy McGovern, Jeff Noon and Fay Weldon.

While the main festival is on from the 15th to the 25th October, a few events take place outside of the Festival period.

There is a ‘Margaret Atwood Trailblazer’ event on Tuesday 1st September 2009, at Manchester Cathedral (Victoria Street, Manchester, M3 1SX) to launch her new dystopian novel The Year of the Flood. Tickets are still available at the time of writing.

Martin Amis & Will Self will be at the The Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama, Cosmo Rodewald Hall (The University of Manchester, Bridgeford St, Manchester, UK, M13 9PL) on Monday 12th October 2009, where they will “debate and share thoughts on the sometimes complex relationship between the world’s great literature and sex.” Tickets are still available at the time of writing.

However, the 10 day Festival commences properly on the morning of the 15th October with a schools only event at Borders, Manchester Fort, (Manchester Fort Shopping Park
Cheetham Hill Road, Cheetham Hill, M8 8EP) successful children’s author Tom Palmer who specialises in football themed novels.

The easiest way to find out whats happening is to visit the Manchester Literature Festival website, where you can see whats on offer, download the Festival brochure and also book tickets for many of the festival events.

In The City Music Convention and Live Music Festival, Manchester, 18th to 20th October, 2009

admin — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:24:05 +0000

Manchester’s very own world famous music industry convention and live music festival, In The City, is back at The Midland Hotel and venues across the City from the 18th to 20th October 2009.

In the 17 years since it was established in the early 1990s In The City, has grown to become one of the UKs premier music industry conventions as well as a premier new music event.

In The City (ITC) was founded by music mogul Brian Wilson and Yvette Livesey, in 1992. This year it will take place in Manchester, from the 18th to 20th October 2009. It describes itself as ‘The World’s Premier New Music Event‘ and it has gained itself a world wide reputation in the 17 years of its existence.

There are two distinct parts to In The City.

Firstly, there is the ITC conference and convention. Its a conference aimed at music industry professionals and is made up of keynote speeches, showcases and panels.

Secondly, there is the live music – lots of it. The In The City music festival offers a fantastic array of new and up and coming musical talent playing live at dozens of venues across the city. (Last year bands played at 44 venues across the City). Bands that play at In The City regularly go on to become household names – Oasis, The Chemical Brothers, The Arctic Monkeys and Coldplay have all played the ITC.

More and more information is emerging about the event all the time – the first panels were announced on July 20th, for example. For entry costs, panel and discussion details as well as details of the live events planned for the ITC live music festival, and more information about In The City, Manchester, visit the event website In The City.

Not Part Of, Manchester, various venues, 2nd to 18th July 2009

admin — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:20:41 +0000

Running alongside the Manchester International Festival is the Not Part Of festival which runs in venues around Manchester from 2nd – 18th July.

This is Manchester’s edgier, more down to earth, alternative to the ‘other Festival’ that is on at the same time, and is a celebration of Manchester’s creativity in a whole variety of different fields.

The organisers describe Not Part Of as

………fresh, eclectic, forward-thinking, Mancunian, open; a festival that elicits excellence and provokes thought…..

Looking at the events list you will see that this is certainly true. There are lots of different events on offer. The events programme has loads of opportunities to enjoy arts & crafts, theatrical performances, comedy and theatre – and lots more. Some events are free while others have a relatively modest entry fee.

Venues are mostly in the centre of Manchester and range from such as The Lass O’Gowrie to larger theater venues such as the Great Northern Amphitheater.

Full details of Not Part Of can be found on the festival website NotPartOf.org. You can also find a full listing of all Festival events here, where you will also find a link to download the Festival brochure.

Are you going. Have you been. Why not tell others about it below?

Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival 2009, Colne, 28th to 31st August, 2009

admin — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 22:01:47 +0000

The Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival 2009 takes place in Colne, Lancashire from 28th to 31st August, 2009.

This year is the 20th Anniversary of the Great British R&B Festival which now has a national and international reputation as one of the best R&B festivals in the UK.

The four day festival takes place over August bank Holiday and offers the very best of R & B in the UK. The Muni, a 800 capacity Edwardian theatre has been home to the festival since 1990.

The Festival, which starts off on Friday 28th in the evening, will see a wide range of musicians appearing including:-

Stann Webb’s Chicken Shack
King Pleasure and The Biscuit Boys
Paul Lamb & the Kingsnakes

There will be three separate performance stages – International Stage, British Stage and Acoustic Stage, each with their own full performance programme over the four days of the Festival.

Street busking, street entertainers and market stalls all add to the Festival atmosphere.

The Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival is very popular with music lovers in Lancashire, Yorkshire and in Greater Manchester. It couldn’t be easier to get to Colne from Manchester. Exit the M60 at junction 18. Join the M66, then the A56, as far as Accrington. Continue your journey to Colne on the M65 and then continue on the A6068 (Whitewalls Drive) followed by the A56 (Burnley Road) to The Muni theatre. Full details on how to get there are available from the Clone Blues festival website.

The ticket telephone line is 01282 661234.

More details about the Festival can be found on the festival website, bluesfestival.co.uk .

Wigan International Jazz Festival 2009, Wigan, 11th to 18th July 2009

admin — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:53:00 +0000

The Wigan International Jazz Festival is one of the largest jazz festivals in the UK.

More than 20 performers/ bands will be playing over the week long festival from 11th – 18th July, 2009. The festival, which has a world wide reputation, has been going for nearly 25 years and attracts thousands of visitors every year.

Carol Kidd with guitarist Nigel Clark, Al Wood Big Band and instrumental guitar duo Acoustic Graffiti (Nick Caldwell and Steve Jervis). The Festival includes performances by the Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra (WYJO) and the inclusion of jazz education in the festival differentiates it from many other UK and international festivals.

Venues include:-

JJB Stadium, South Stand Suite, 11 Loire Drive, Robin Park, Wigan WN5 0UH

Wigan Cricket Club, Bull Hey, Parsons Walk, Wigan WN1 1RU

Full details can be found on the Wigan International Jazz Festival website.

Queer Up North International Festival, Manchester, May 12th – 25th 2009

admin — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 12:36:03 +0000

The Queer Up North International Festival takes place over a two week period in May 2009 at a variety of venues across Manchester.

Queer Up North International Festival started 1992 and is Europe’s leading queer arts festival. The Festival is a now a popular fixture on Manchester’s annual events calendar and, like Manchester Pride later in the year, the popularity of Queer Up North goes beyond just LGBT communities.

Artistic Director Jonathan Best says

“There’s a diverse line up, so whether you’re up for cutting edge European theatre, the finest drag theatre on the planet, or a night of ragingly glamorous cabaret, Queer Up North 2009 has something you’ll enjoy.”

Performances include theatre, music, comedy and cabaret and this year over 100 artists and performers from twelve countries will be taking part in the Festival. The festival line up includes Ursula Martinez, Taylor Mac, Motus, Ronnie Burkett, Boogaloo Stu, Miss High Leg Kick, and many more.

The festival includes two keynote debates –

You Can’t Say That – the culture of offence (Chair: Christopher Cook)
Saturday 16 May, 12.30pm – 1.50pm
Venue: Friends Meeting House, 6 Mount Street, Manchester, M2 5NS

Not For The Likes of Us – untangling art and class (Chair: Libby Purves [Radio 4])
Saturday 23 May, 4.00pm – 5.20pm
Venue: Contact, Oxford Road, Manchester, M15 6JA

You can find out more about whats on and buy event tickets from the Queer Up North International Festival website.

Viva! Spanish and Latin American Film Festival, Cornerhouse, Manchester, 6th – 14th March 2009

admin — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 21:54:25 +0000

(This article is about 2009’s Viva festival. Follow this link to find out about the 2010 Viva Spanish and Latin American Film Festival in Manchester.)

On 6th – 14th March 2009 Manchester’s Cornerhouse will be home to the 15th ¡Viva! Spanish and Latin American Film Festival.

Manchester’s Cornerhouse (70 Oxford Street, Manchester, M1 5NH) is a contemporary visual arts and film centre which includes art galleries, cinemas, a bar, café and bookshops.

This annual celebration of Spanish and Latin American film is the largest in the UK. Films shown are a mixture of popular, independents, documentaries and short films.

The ¡Viva! Spanish and Latin American Film Festival website is going to be updated shortly but gives visitors an idea of some of this year’s exciting highlights……….

“Highlights will include Mexican sci-fi sleep DEALER, Columbian thriller PERRO CON PERRO and a special focus on Cuban cinema to mark the 50th anniversary of the Cuban revolution.”

You can also join the Festival mailing list, here.

To give you an idea of what to expect, more than 10 000 people came to the 2008 festival and 60 features were shown. There were also informative and entertaining Q&A sessions and education events. This is going to be a popular event and I will try to update this page when I find out more about the plans for the festival.

Update, 13th Feb: Public bookings open Friday 13 February, 12noon. See ¡Viva! Spanish and Latin American Film Festival website for more details.

Chinese New Year 2009, 1st February, Manchester

admin — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 21:05:12 +0000

This article is about Chinese New Year 2009. CLICK HERE for information about Chinese New Year 2010

The Chinese New Year celebrations are a popular event in Manchester’s festival calendar. This year, Chinese New Year will be celebrated on Sunday 1st Feb 2009. The centre of this celebrations is Manchester’s Chinatown, next to Piccadilly Gardens in central Manchester.

This year, 2009, is the year of the Ox. The sign of the Ox represents prosperity through fortitude and hard work.

Every year Manchester’s Chinatown marks the new year with a range of celebrations.

This year Dragon and Lion Dances and Kung Fu demonstrations are planned, as well as folk dance performances and fireworks. The event on the 1st February will also include the Golden Dragon Parade which will wind through Manchester and finish in China Town itself. The event starts 11am when the stalls open and performances start at 12pm and there will be an early evening firework display.

For full and up to date details of the event and performances at both Albert Square and Chinatown, please visit The Federation of Chinese Associations of Manchester (FCAM) website.