A new monthly travelling food festival is set to launch in Wythenshawe later this month, bringing some of Greater Manchester’s best street food traders to the south Manchester neighbourhood.
Featuring local traders, pop-up brewery bars, take-home produce stalls and a stacked stage of entertainment, the new monthly event will come from original Manchester street food festival favourites Grub.
Teaming up with Manchester City Council, the new Grub Carnival will bring top local food traders to every corner of the region – popping up at a new location in Greater Manchester every month.
The first event will take place outside the former Wythenshawe indoor market on Saturday, 23 July, with street food stalls from non-traditional dumpling purveyors Desert Island Dumplings, burger purveryors Rad Burger and Italian foodies Il Forno.
Go Thief have been confirmed as one of the first festival’s traders. / Image: Supplied
Desert Island Dumplings will also be in attendance. / Image: Supplied
Further traders confirmed for the first festival include The Neighbourhood Coop, Thief Street Grill & Waffle, The Chaat Walas, tiramisu heroes Paradiso Authentic Italian and Marzipan Mcr.
That’s not all, either. There’ll be a mini-produce market full of goodies from local independent food and drink producers, too, and a fully-stocked beer bar showing off the best summer pours from Manchester’s breweries.
The Grub Carnival bar will be stacked with craft beer from the likes of North West brewers like Vocation Brewery, Squawk Brew Co. Rivington Brew Co and many more, plus the Runaway Brewery team will be there in person pouring and talking about their beers.
Grub’s home at Red Bank in the Green Quarter. / Image: Grub
Elsewhere, there’ll be a range of cocktails, mocktails, wines and soft drinks to enjoy, a Grub Carnival tent hosting a stage full of live entertainment and DJs, and lawn games keep the kids (and adults) amused.
Grub is also reaching out to the Wythenshawe community to collaborate and offer support through their ‘School Of Grub’ scheme, a free-to-attend workshop presented by successful street food traders giving real life advice on how to get started in the business.
The best prospects from those workshops will then get free mentoring from Grub and a leg up to get to their first street food gig.
Grub also wants to hear from local businesses, residents, artists, musicians and community groups who might want to support or get involved in the event. If that sounds like you then please drop them an email using the address [email protected].
Jason Bailey, Director of Grub, said: ” We’re really excited about taking what we do back to what it is all about and thats markets that benefit the community
“It’s amazing to have the opportunity to bring this smashing new market to Wythenshawe and we can’t wait to bring folk together to have a great time.
“We’ve got big hopes that this event is just the start of great things happening in Wythenshawe”.
GRUB Carnival kicks off Saturday 23 July at 12 noon and runs until 8pm. The event is free entry, no tickets are needed and all comers including families and dogs are welcome.
Full details of the event can be found on the event page here. The event can be found at Wythenshawe Civic Centre, Rowlandsway, Wythenshawe M22 5RG.
Feature image – Supplied
News
Bury FC offering free tickets to Morecambe fans amid ongoing club crisis
Danny Jones
Bury FC are offering free tickets to travelling Morecambe fans free tickets to an upcoming match in a show of solidarity for the fellow North West football club amid their ongoing crisis.
For anyone unaware of the situation in the Lancashire town, Morecambe FC could soon be no more after being suspended from the National League as they face further financial uncertainty.
At present, controversial owners Bond Group Investments LTD, led by businessman Jason Whittingham, have failed to sell the struggling club despite multiple deadlines, leaving the vital community sporting organisation on the precipice of complete collapse.
While the seaside team currently have no fixtures to look forward to with the 25/26 season now underway for various parts of the football pyramid, the Greater Manchester outfit, which only recently survived similarly their own precarious circumstances, has offered Morecambe fans free admission.
Although this is a very temporary alternative, with complimentary tickets being offered for Bury’s Northern Premier League West season home opener against Newcastle Town, it is a touching show of support from regional counterparts who know all too well the fear and pain of potential dissolution.
Sharing a post on their official website and social media along with the message, “We’ve been where you are. We stand with you.”, The Shakers have stated that anyone who turns up at Gigg Lane for the game this Saturday, 9 August, with their season ticket or wearing a Morecambe badge can enter for free.
It was only back in 2019 that Bury themselves were expelled from the football league after 125 years as a result of their unpaid debts. It’s fair to say that the state of affairs at Morecambe looks strikingly familiar.
Plenty of clubs have been placed into administration and hit with suspensions over the years, and Bury did go on to reunite their AFC phoenix club back in May 2023, but unfortunately, nothing is ever certain given how money-driven modern football is.
To add more context, Whittingham has been registered as the director of 25 companies during his career, but it’s important to add that a staggering total of 18 have been dissolved (either forcibly or voluntarily), put into administration, liquidated, or put into receivership – the stage before full liquidation.
It remains to be seen how many travelling Shrimps supporters will make the nearly 50-mile journey to 0161 for the game, but Bury’s classy gesture has nevertheless been met with plenty of praise.
For now, it has been reported that Morecambe have anywhere between the end of the week and 20 August – when the National League meets to discuss the matter again – to balance books and/or discover their fate.
The beautiful game belongs to everyone; people of all regions and walks of life, from the grassroots all the way up to the Premier League, and as a footy-obsessed part of the world, we all know all too well how important it is to have these sporting and crucially social outlets in local areas.
Sending all our support to all those at Morecambe FC, and we hope to see these dire straits resolved with the right outcome sooner rather than later.
Bury offering free tickets to Morecambe fans is touching, but when are clubs going to get better protection from questionable ownership?
Rochdale AFC have retired late club legend Joe Thompson’s shirt number
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester club Rochdale AFC have officially retired the number 15 shirt in memory of late midfielder Joe Thompson.
The retired player turned pundit and charity champion, who had to battle three different bouts of cancer, died earlier this year following his final diagnosis of stage four lymphoma.
Sadly passing away at the age of just 36 on 18 April 2025, the Bath-born footballer – who built his life and career here in the North West – was recently honoured with a minute’s silence and charity match between Rochdale and his boyhood club Man United’s under-21s youth side.
Penning an official statement on their website, The Dale wrote: “With the blessing of Joe’s family, we can confirm that First Team squad number 15, the shirt Joe wore with pride during his time at the Club, will be retired in his memory.
“Joe made over 200 appearances across three stints for Dale and became synonymous with the number 15 in his time with us.”
Thompson tragically left behind two kids, Thailula-Lily and Athena Rae, along with his wife, Chantelle, who also helped raise thousands in vital funds for cancer research and treatment here in the UK during his multiple battles.
Rochdale go on to add: “The retirement of Joe’s former squad number is recognition of his impact, not just as a talented football player, but as an incredible person who had a positive impact on everyone who has been touched by his story.
“This is just the second time in our history that a shirt number has been retired, after the number 55 was retired in memory of young Dale fan Joshua McCormack in 2016, who also sadly lost his life to cancer.”
The ex-Man United youth, Rochdale servant and one-time Bury player sadly had to retire due to his recurring illness back in 2019.
His story, however sad, was an inspiring one.
Safe to say that both his final send-off as a professional and tribute match last week were equally emotional days, with the latter ending in a 1-1 draw and an inaugural trophy lifted in his name, with the Red Devils having recently named a new club award after him too.
The United academy graduate has raised more than £20,000 for charity by joining a walk with hundreds of fans, friends and ex-teammates from Old Trafford to Rochdale back in October last year and remained an influential fundraising figure until the very end.
His number may have been retired, but the memory and impact of Joe Thompson live on forever. You can still donate to his cause and pay your respects via the Joey T Foundation HERE.
Rest in peace, Joe.
💙 The Legacy of Joe Thompson Lives On 🙌
Last week we were proud to support the Team Thompson appeal and now the journey continues.💙
Plans are now in motion to create the Joey T Foundation, honouring Joe’s bravery and continuing his legacy by helping others facing cancer. 💪 pic.twitter.com/VZO7Kgq3PP
— Rochdale AFC Community Trust (@RAFCCommunity) August 5, 2025
Georgina Pellant -
1st July 2022 
