What's On
Festa Italiana unveil full line-up for its huge Italian food festival on August bank holiday
Festa Italiana is back!
The UK’s largest Italian food festival, Festa Italiana has unveiled a colossal line-up ahead of its free Cathedral Gardens event over the August bank holiday weekend.
Festa, initially born out of Manchester’s Italian community four years ago, is back with a bang after Covid-19 foiled its plans last year, with workshops, demonstrations, book signings and some of Italy’s finest cuisine courtesy of celebrated Italian chefs such as Aldo Zilli, Giancarlo Caldesi, Gennaro Contaldo and Festa founder, Salvi owner Maurizio Cecco.
So, what’s up for grabs on the food front?
Well, considering that Festa celebrates all things Italian, it never fails to deliver on the cuisine side of things. Throughout the weekend, returning Festa favourites, Café Cannoli will be selling their delicious cannoli made using authentic ingredients imported from Sicily.
Some familiar names will also be making an appearance – I Knead Pizza will be using their staple wood-fired oven to serve their famous Neapolitan pizza, while NQ Sicilian will be dishing up artisan gelato, Coppa Della Casa, Brioche Gelato and Brioche Col Tuppo. Also on the bill, the driving force behind Festa Italiana, family run Salvi’s will be frying up its popular Festival dish, Italian Pizza Fritta.
Pasta Factory will also be serving up a menu of fresh pasta paired with handmade sauces, lovingly prepared by a family with culinary roots in Puglia Italy. And for those with a sweet tooth, Paradiso Authentic Italian will be bringing its range of carefully crafted tiramisú.
Carmela Sereno Hayes, the hugely popular pastaia (specialist pasta maker) and author, will also be making a return to Festa with her much talked about pasta workshops.
I Knead Pizza
And as for the beverages front?
Well, it wouldn’t be a weekend dedicated to Italian cuisine without some authentic Italian booze, would it? The Main Festival Bar will be bringing all of the Italian classics to the party, including Aperol Spritz, the Festa’s signature cocktail Limoncello Spritz in partnership with official Festa brand partner, Limonce.
There’ll also be Italian craft beers, Prosecco, Italian wine, Negronis, Gin & Tonic, and San Pellegrino soft drinks, and Peroni will also be serving pints of their famed lager at the Peroni Showcase Bar, alongside their own portable cinema.
The films showed will be Romeo and Juliet, Cinema Paradiso and La Dolce Vita.
But perhaps most excitingly, there will also be a number of masterclasses across the weekend.
On Friday 27th August, there will be a series of family-friendly masterclasses for those attending with children – at 1:30pm, Sienna Cecco, the twelve-year-old daughter of Salvi’s owner, will be hosting a cooking demo to teach kids how to make simple and tasty dishes with ease, and at 2:30pm, Julia Martinelli from Pasta Factory will deliver a fun kids pasta masterclass.
Festa Italiana
Saturday 28th August will then see back-to-back workshops and book signings hosted by celebrity chefs and award-winning authors: Gennaro Contaldo, UK brand ambassador for Parmigiano Reggiano, (Saturday Kitchen, Two Greedy Italians, Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast) at 1:30pm, and Giancarlo Caldesi (Return to Tuscany, Saturday Kitchen, Sunday Brunch) at 2:30pm.
On Sunday 29th August, Gennaro Contaldo will be back at 12:30pm with another Parmigiano Reggiano masterclass and book signing, and at 1:30pm, Fran Scafuri from Altrincham’s Tre Ciccio will be taking guests through a very special recipe. At 2:30pm, celebrity chef and award-winning restaurateur, Aldo Zilli will be hosting a masterclass and book signing.
On the music front, Compagnia Sole Luna will be flying over from Naples and performing each day, bringing traditional folk music revisited in a folk-rock style from southern Italy, while DJs will be spinning records each night.
The free festival will be taking place at Cathedral Gardens on the August bank holiday weekend, Friday 27th to Sunday 29th. For more information and to grab tickets for the paid events, visit the Festa Italiana website here.
What's On
Huge beer festival with more than 500 different varieties coming to Manchester
Can’t wait for this!
Manchester Craft Beer Festival is back for another year, bringing with it more than 80 breweries and 500 different beers to sample.
The fourth edition of the festival will be taking place at Depot Mayfield on Friday July 5th and Saturday July 6th.
Cloudwater, Track, Marble, Northern Monk, Bundobust, Sureshot and Seven Brothers will be there to represent Manchester, alongside other UK stalwarts like Deya, Verdant, Siren and Leeds’ North Brewing Co.
Manchester Craft Beer Festival
Heritage breweries like Timothy Taylor’s, Chouffe and Timmermans will also be there, as well as international breweries from the US, Greece, Spain and Australia.
There will also be some great food options to line your stomach, including bao buns, crispy chicken and katsu tater tots at Bone Daddies, as well as Almost Famous, Bundobust, MorMor and Voodoo Rays.
Manchester Craft Beer Festival
Greg Wells, director of Manchester Craft Beer Festival, said: “It’s been a disheartening year for Manchester’s beer scene so far with closure of the beloved Indy Beer Con Fest and the unsuccessful debut of the International Brewing and Cider Festival, but we’re pleased to announce our return and bring more of what has been loved in the past three years.
“With even more breweries and experiences on offer and larger capacity this year, we’re buzzing to be back to satisfy all the beer lovers out there.
“The addition of a complimentary trade session to our programme is all about promoting this world class beer city and a small gesture to support all the incredible people who work across the drinks and hospitality industries.
“We all have a mutual understanding of the hardships our industries have faced in recent times so we thought it’d be a nice gesture to get everyone together for the love of drinks, food and music to celebrate beer and ourselves!”
Manchester Craft Beer Festival
The entry price includes all your drinks throughout your session, as well as festival glass and access to all the events happening.
And as it’s on during the Euros, it will be screening the football too.
Day tickets cost £57 per day session – with a discount for four tickets – or £145 for the whole weekend. Grab tickets HERE.
What's On
New makers market with everything from dog accessories to house plants and jewellery coming to Manchester
Get this one in your diary!
A brand new makers market is coming to Manchester this late May Bank Holiday weekend, with something for everyone.
Taking place at New Jackson – a new urban neighbourhood located at the southern gateway to the city – Manchester Made Market will be held on Saturday May 25th and Sunday May 26th.
Over the two days you’ll be able to browse a selection of local artisanal traders and small businesses from across the region.
Supplied
There’ll be everything, from food produce, homewares, crafts and creations to dog accessories, house plants, jewellery and homemade soap.
Among the traders will be Manchester and Cheshire-based florist and floral artists Dot & Flora, graphic artist Ablott MCR selling music prints, HGT with crochet fashion and homeware designs, and artisan candlemakers Leaves and Prickles.
Elsewhere, there will be essential oils and other treatments from Grounded Wellness, permanent jewellery from Sealed Links, and desserts from Cake With Heart.
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There will be plenty of street food options to keep you topped up while you shop, including The Wild Grill, Food Sorcery, Salvi’s and new favourite Medlock Canteen.
Neighbourhood Brew will be supplying some great drinks as well.
Supported by Renaker, the market is free, but you can upgrade your experience with a limited, free VIP ticket with access to the dedicated bar area.
What's On
Manchester Flower Festival returns with tributes to Sarah Harding and Caroline Aherne
It’s taking place later this month!
The legendary Manchester Flower Festival is returning to our city later this month, complete with pop-ups, installations and tributes to some local icons.
Taking place over the late May Bank Holiday, the event will be headlined by its ‘Floral Trail’.
This year’s theme is Manchester Icons, with a host of names past and present being honoured in flower form, including the late comedy legend Caroline Aherne, pop star Sarah Harding and suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst.
The Vain Photography / Manchester Flower Festival
Collaborating with Manchester illustrator Stanley Chow, floral designer Liv Woodward will create a portrait of Caroline Aherne at the Floral Marquee on New Cathedral Street, using sustainably sourced plants and flowers.
Girls Aloud star Sarah Harding will be remembered in a ‘tribute garden’, sponsored by the AO Arena, with visitors able to donate to the Sarah Harding Breast Cancer Appeal by scanning the QR code at the display.
The homage to Pankhurst has been created by female-led Decordia, featuring an ornate wooden Manchester Town Hall-inspired planter with sashes, posters and colourful icons, alongside a wicker figure of the suffragette herself.
This can be found at the corner of Cross Street and King Street, adorned with purple, green and white plants – the colours of the suffragette movement.
The Vain Photography / Manchester Flower Festival
Other local legends will also be honoured with their own installations, including Happy Mondays vocalist Rowetta and iconic Manchester brewery Boddingtons .
Fringe events will be taking place too, at locations including Northern Quarter art shop Fred Aldous, The Bridgewater Hall, the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel and the National Trust’s Castlefield Viaduct.
Selfridges Exchange Square, El Gato Negro, Tast Catala, Franco Manca, Grand Pacific Manchester and Urban Playground will also be taking part, with alfresco dining, festival-related dishes and cocktails.
The Vain Photography / Manchester Flower Festival
Now in its seventh year, the Flower Festival, which is put together by Manchester City Centre Business Improvement District, attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year, with live entertainment, workshops, and arts and crafts markets.
It all happens from May 24th to May 27th – head over to the website HERE to find more information.
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Huge beer festival with more than 500 different varieties coming to Manchester
New makers market with everything from dog accessories to house plants and jewellery coming to Manchester
New apartment development with huge gardens and outdoor space opening this year
Stagecoach hiring over 100 new bus drivers for Bee Network with £31k salaries
Manchester Flower Festival returns with tributes to Sarah Harding and Caroline Aherne
