The Manchester Flower Festival returns this Maybank holiday weekend (23 – 26 May) and festival organisers are calling on garden designers, florists, street artists, garden groups and budding enthusiasts across the region to showcase their designs at this year’s event.
Billed as Manchester’s most Instagrammable event of the year, this year’s festival, organised annually by Manchester City Centre Business Improvement District, will celebrate Manchesterand other great cities around the world.
From the vibrant tulip fields of Amsterdam to the urban energy of New York’s Statue of Liberty, and the high-tech influence of Singapore, this year’s category is wide open for interpretation, offering the chance for contributing gardeners to showcase their designs which interpret the beauty of cities through iconic landmarks, floral heritage or personal connections to global hotspots.
There are lots of ways to get involved in this year’s festival, which include:
Show Gardens – Open to local gardeners, landscapers, garden groups and brands, create a show garden or mini garden in locations across the city’s main shopping district, while community groups and budding gardeners can also enter the Ginnel Garden category, where entrants cancreate a mini garden in a 5ft x 5ft x 4ft backyard style small space. Opportunities are also available for brands or companies looking to sponsor a garden.
Floristry Displays – Florists can showcase their skills with beautiful displays in The Manchester Flower Festival Floral Marquee.
Festival Market – Featuring everything fromplants, produce, garden decor, street food and art,
local traders can sign up to sell their wares at the Festival’s Market.
Street art – Artists can showcase their skills and floral art in various areas of public realm.
Events – Shops, cultural venues, bars, restaurants, garden groups and florists are invited to host flower-themed events, workshops and experiences for festival goers
Sponsorship – Festival organisers have set up a community garden fund, where companies are encouraged to donate, enabling underfunded community garden groups to take part in this year’s festival. All donations will fund the garden displays with staff time, equipment and plants.Community groups who took part in 2024 included In Our Nature, MUD CIC, Ardwick Climate Action, Blossom MCR and The Moss Side Community with support from The Cloud Gardener.
Local businesses in the city centre are also encouraged to show their support for the festival by creating window, building or in-store displays,and host dedicated offers and food and drinks specials, including food pop-ups, outdoor bars or participation in the festival’s cocktail trail.
Festival organisers are also seeking volunteers to help at this year’s event where they can gain valuable experience and enjoy being part of the team at one of the city’s annual flagship events.
Now in its eighth year, The Manchester Flower Festival is a fabulous floral spectacle which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors into the city centre, bringing fun and floral frivolity to its streets. For more information and expressions of interest, please contact [email protected].
