Did you know that the concept of a weekend was invented here in Greater Manchester?
In 1843, Salford Lyceum director and workers’ rights activist Robert Lowes (who also happens to be Sir Ian McKellen’s great grandfather) campaigned to win workers the right to enjoy leisure time on Saturday afternoons. Greater Manchester gave an enormous gift to the world and ‘We Invented the Weekend’ , a new two-day festival, is set to honour this concept by celebrating quality free leisure time.
‘We Invented the Weekend’ is free and open to all taking place on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th September 2022. The brand-new event at MediaCity and Salford will celebrate the joy of free time, taking in sports, music, comedy, theatre, dance, workshops, talks, food, charity, wellness, crafts and more.
From water sports on the canal, community feasts and dance performances, to getting your hands dirty with planting workshops and finding gems at vintage markets, festival-goers will meet new people, try new things and make memories together.
Large parts of the programme have been co-created with Salford’s and Greater Manchester's communities, alongside content delivered by its internationally renowned culture producers, making sure to acknowledge the millions of people across the UK who work on Saturdays and Sundays too.
We Invented the Weekend will also celebrate how food creates connections and brings people together from weekend gatherings across the world. Eat Well MCR, the collective of Manchester-based chefs who provide meals to people living in challenging circumstances, will be celebrating one of the nation’s most famous dishes, the classic Sunday Roast.
The Dock 10 Mezzanine will be transformed into the perfect Sunday setting, with fresh coffee, piles of newspapers and a bar offering Bloody Marys, special ‘Free Thyme’ cocktails, beers by Seven Bro7hers, as well as a selection of wines and, of course, soft drinks to enjoy with friends or family.
Soothingly soundtracked by Manchester vinyl reissue record label Be With Records, the communal feast will take place on long tables, family-style, and the Roast, cooked by celebrated Head Chef Mary-Ellen Mctague, will include a roast rib of beef, Yorkshire puddings, gravy, roast potatoes, buttered carrots and cauliflower cheese with a celeriac nut roast version for veggies Gluten free and vegan options will be available upon request.
"We Invented the Weekend is such a wonderful idea and we're delighted to get involved, “ says Mary Ellen. “The festival celebrates a hard-won campaign for workers' right to leisure time. Many of the families Eat Well MCR supports have a working parent - and yet still struggle to feed their families. It's a subject very close to my heart. I'm cooking 200 roast dinners for ticket holders and we'll also be delivering some to the people in our community for free.
Catering for 200 people across two sittings on Sun 11th Sept at 12 – 2pm and 3 – 5pm, every ticket bought contributes to the 50 meals being delivered at no cost to the people in the community that Eat Well regularly supports.
Tickets for the WITW x Eat Well MCR Sunday Roast are available HERE at £30 for two courses, and £10 for those under the age of 14.
Visitors are also welcomed and encouraged to bring their own picnics, which they can enjoy throughout the event. Beigel, famous for their fresh bagels with delicious locally sourced fillings,will be putting picnic boxes together for both kids and adults that will be available to order over the course of the weekend.
There will be a whole host of food and drink on offer with street food traders bringing food from across the world to the festival - from South American arepas to Afro-Caribbean curries.
Festival drinks partner Seven Bro7hers will be creating a Weekend Beer for the event as well as providing beers for the bars across the entire weekend, including the crisp and aromatic Easy IPA, a Watermelon Wheat Beer, and their refreshing Pilsner.In an act of Salford solidarity, Seven Bro7hers will also be creating space on their bars for fellow local breweries including Shindigger, Manchester Union Lager, and Marble.Salford spirit specialists Four Sist4rs Distillery will create a Free Thyme cocktail exclusively for the Festival of Free Time.
Carnival will be bringing traditional home-cooked Brazilian food, Desert Island Dumplings will be creating world class vegan crispy dumplings, while House of Habesha will be cooking tasty and traditional Eritrean and Ethiopian dishes, and even some special surprises in celebration of Ethiopian New Year on Sunday 11th.
Mama Sue’s will be slinging the finest home-spiced frankfurters in the North, Spuds and Bro will be on a quest to share their love of poutine, while the Paradiso team will be selling restaurant-quality, authentic, handmade Italian desserts.
Thief Street will be dishing out fully loaded handmade potato waffles, there will be perfect pizzas from Dagi Pizza, as well as the very best in smashed burgers and loaded fries from Adam Thomas’ Patty and Press.
Also available will be 100% vegan doughnuts from Wild Soul, an assortment of plant-powered burgers, hot dogs, kebabs, wraps and desserts from Panc Foods, plus wraps, sandwiches, salads, and flatbreads by Wrap City.
Guzzle Vintage Caravan will be there with their retro lever espresso machine as well as whippy ice cream, cakes and biscuits, staffed by vulnerable people. Grounded MCR will selling specialty coffee, homemade chai, tea, luxury hot chocolate, iced drinks, locally sourced bakes and boozy brews from a trike, and there will also be coffees, teas, mushroom coffees, superfood smoothies and juices, beetroot lattes, turmeric lattes and matcha lattes from The RePause Project.
Many of MediaCity and Quayside’s existing food operators, including Chapati Café, General Store, The Botanist, The Alchemist and the Quayside Food Court, will also be offering festival specials over the weekend.
To find out more about the festival and sign up for updates, please visit www.weinventedtheweekend.com
Follow the festival on social media:
Facebook: /WeInventedTheWeekend
Instagram: @weinventedtheweekend
#WeInventedTheWeekend
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