Garden City Festival, south Manchester’s celebration of local horticulture, fresh produce, cooking and crafts, attracted a staggering 30,000 visitors into Wythenshawe town centre last year.
This year’s sixth annual event, on Saturday 20 September, is set to be just as popular.
Opening at 10am, the festival promises visitors a chance to see the ‘Food’, ‘Gardening’, and ‘Crafts’ zones, join in with workshops, watch demonstrations and learn how to return to a greener, more sustainable way of living.
Special guest, Mark Charnock who plays Marlon Dingle from Emmerdale, will cause cooking chaos on stage at 11.00am and 1.00pm, alongside long-suffering professional chef and Real Lives Wythenshawe ambassador, David Gale.
Food lovers will find plenty to whet their appetite in the ‘Food Zone’ where local artisans will showcase their speciality breads, chutneys, preserves, and dishes made using locally grown produce.
Try some freshly prepared Paella, pick up some kitchen gadgets, or try the authentic ‘trench tea’ and relax with the WWI soldiers in the Officers’ Mess. Younger visitors can learn how to make simple dishes in their own cookery theatre alongside local chefs.
The ‘Real Food Wythenshawe’ team will man the wartime kitchen where you can taste authentic recipes and get their tips on everyday healthy eating.
If all the cooking inspires you to ‘grow your own’ then why not visit the local experts in the ‘Gardening Zone’ for handy hints and demonstrations from organisations such as Crossacres Cultivators, Quarry Bank Mill and National Vegetable Society Manchester, to name but a few.
Interactive stalls – make a butterfly feeder, form a beeswax candle, paint a pot and plant a seed to take home – will inspire young and old alike.
At the Forum head for the ‘Crafts Zone’ where there will be a wealth of stalls showcasing local skills – recycled crafts, woodturning, rag-rugging, knitting, needlework, glass painting, jewellery and card making.
Visitors can stock up with a few early Christmas gifts from the wide range of handmade products and gifts for sale, such as ethically traded goods and luxury handmade chocolates.
Entrance to Garden City Festival is free, so put the date in your diary and come along and enjoy all the festival has to offer.
Follow the event on Facebook – www.facebook.com/gardencityfestivalmcr
and Twitter @GardenCityFest.
