Home to the Pavilion Theatre, Festival Pavilion, The Glass House and MIF Box Office, Festival Square takes over Manchester’s Albert Square for 18 extraordinary days during MIF13. Offering a place to relax, socialise, watch, enjoy and soak up the Festival experience, Festival Square hosts a programme of free outdoor music complemented by the best food and drink.
Introduced for the first time at MIF13, an outside stage will host free entertainment twice daily, ranging from local bluegrass bands to cello duos. Picnic benches and deckchairs will set the summer scene, while planters will be filled with herbs and edible flowers to reflect the work of The Biospheric Project.
Step inside a miniature performance space housed within a shipping container, as Belgian artist Inne Goris presents Daydream, a beautiful free musical installation for children aged 3+, originally commissioned for MIF11’s Music Boxes. Daydream is part of Once Upon A Story, a collection of four shows by Inne Goris for children and young people. The other three shows will be presented in Manchester Town Hall, next to Festival Square.
MIF is working with local multidisciplinary design company Ferrious alongside Manchester Metropolitan University students on the interior of the Festival Pavilion. A brand new structure is being created around the central mast of the Pavilion, for seating by day and dancing by night.
MMU students have upcycled old furniture with a technique called ‘fabric- bombing. The students have also designed a range of outdoor furniture made from recycled plastic bottles, whilst wholly sustainable carpets are being provided for the Glass House and Pavilion by Interface carpet manufacturers – so Festival visitors may be dancing the night away on recycled fishing nets.
Locally sourced homemade offers ranging from tuna burgers with green mayo, rice krispie fish fingers, beer can chicken and goosnargh duck will be served by acclaimed North West chef Paul Heathcote and his team. Award-winning UK street traders, handpicked by Richard Johnson of British Street Food, include Greedy Bassetts, specialising in Whitby fish and seafood dishes, authentic Asian street food from Hungry Gecko, Italian street food from Gurmetti, and ice cream for grown-ups from Ginger’s Comfort Emporium. Each weekend, a selection of well-known local chefs will also be invited to take over the griddle for special limited slots.
Celebrated local Thwaites ale, Wainwrights, will be joined by a specially produced MIF Festival Ale across Festival Square’s three bars, while Fentimans will be supplying their range of soft drinks, brewed in Stockport.
The intimate Pavilion Theatre hosts gigs by artists including Neneh Cherry and RocketNumberNine, M O N E Y and Delphic, while Jamal Edwards and SB.TV presents takes over the Pavilion Theatre for seven nights. DJ Rob da Bank explores the A-Z of Manchester over four nights, each taking in a different decade from the 1980s to thepresent, with music accompanied by visuals from Manchester photographer Kevin Cummins.
Manchester-based DJ and author Dave Haslam returns to the Festival to present a series of interviews with a selection of the artists performing at MIF13 in an intimate In Conversation series. Renowned for his revealing Close Up events, Dave will interview Neneh Cherry, Jamal Edwards, Delphic and others to be confirmed about their life and work.
Every night throughout MIF13, some of the best UK DJs will be playing in the Festival Pavilion for free, including Will Tramp, Justine Alderman, Disco Mums, Gregling, Dialog, Dave Haslam, and Andrea Trout.
Events at Festival Square kick off with Drunk at Vogue with The House of Popular Disco. Expect a choice selection of vintage and future club classics, with some gender-bending and genre-bending thrown in, plus the Drunk at Vogue Community Gospel Choir and surprise guests.
Celebrate the end of the Festival with Yellow, Dave Haslam’s legendary DJ night, featuring special guests Il Bosco (Red Laser Records; aka Woody) and MC Kwasi (Friends & Family/Hoya Hoya).
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It sounds like something very fantastic is going to happen. Feeling so excited after reading this wonderful article. One can enjoy all the cultural and formal activities at a time in this amazing event. Your efforts and hard work are highly appreciated . Great job indeed. Best wishes.