A huge festival dedicated to all things vegan is coming to Manchester this weekend, bringing over 80 stalls showcasing all the tools you need to live your best plant-based, sustainable life.
Offering a mix of street food stalls, beauty and household products, vegan cooking products and more, whether you’re vegan, vegetarian or just thinking about making a bit of a change, Manchester Vegan Festival is the place to go for inspiration.
Taking place this Sunday 15 May at Bowlers Exhibition Centre in Trafford, Manchester Vegan Festival is set to be full of surprises – selling everything from authentic Eritrean street food and toiletries to a vegan cookbook for humans and their dogs.
Run entirely by volunteers, all the proceeds from the festival (and that cookbook) will go to support animal welfare charity Miracle’s Mission – a non-profit animal welfare organisation works with sick, injured and disabled animals worldwide.
Other charities and not-for-profit organisations attending include Greenpeace, Hugletts Wood Farm Animal Sanctuary, Plantlife, Viva!, Woodland Trust and WWF.
ADVERTISEMENT
Food and drink stalls
Teatime Collective is a vegan bakery based in Hulme. At the festival, you’ll find vegan cakes by the slice as well as Bakewell tarts, rock road, chocolate tortes and apple turnovers. / Image; Teatime Collective
Root2Ginger sell natural ginger drink mixes that are alcohol free and made here in Manchester. / Image: Root2Ginger
On the street food front, look out for authentic Eritrean and Ethiopian cuisine from House of Habesha and hearty wraps from Seitan’s Kebab. Elsewhere, you’ll find a Greek vegan deli, vegan vfish and chips from There’s No Catch, and an array of vegan hotdogs from VDogs.
As for the food and drink stalls, here you’ll find a host of Manchester-based makers including Root2Ginger, Kind Hearted Chocs and Teatime Collective.
ADVERTISEMENT
For fiery, spiced mint and ginger health drinks, Root2Ginger is a must, whilst Teatime Collective and Bolton-based Vegan Infinity are the places to visit for vegan cakes, brownies, truffles, apple turnovers, bakewell tarts and bars.
Artisan vegan chocolate shop Kind Hearted Chocs will be there with its special handmade selection boxes, and there will also be a stall selling a vegan cookbook for humans AND dogs. Called Bo’s Book, all the profits go to help needy dogs at the animal welfare and education charity Miracle’s Mission.
For all things beauty, household and lifestyle, stalls at the festival will include natural and organic vegan toiletries from iUVO Skincare, Eden Perfumes and fashions from Slogan Clothing, and Viva la Vegan.
Eden Perfumes promise to match your favourite perfume without chemicals, whilst Slogan Clothing has all your ethica, vegan and ecological clothing, boots and accessory needs covered.
Also exhibiting is the ultimate vegan food and camping experience happening in June 2023 – VFest UK. This brand new upbeat event features exciting headline acts, yoga, family entertainment, fun shows, international speakers, stalls, global food caterers and much more.
Charity support
The event supports Miracle’s Mission, a charity that works to provide a place of safety for animals in danger, to educate on the needs of neutering both pets and strays and to neuter stray dogs and cats to prevent the birth of more animals onto the streets.
The mission also rehabilitates and re-homes dogs in need, often with disabilities, from its UK rescue base.
ADVERTISEMENT
Speaking on the upcoming event, Manchester Vegan Festival organiser Victoria Bryceson said: “I’m really looking forward to the Manchester Vegan Festival which is set to be even bigger and better than last year’s.
Nelly from Miracle’s Mission is a double amputee looking for her forever home. / Miracle’s Mission
“We received so much positive feedback last year and there’s now so much demand that this festival is becoming a sell-out event. I think it’s partly because people really love the friendly atmosphere.
“The wonderful thing about the event is that it’s for everyone whatever your lifestyle. Just come along and bring your friends for a great, fun day-out.
“You’ll have everything you need there, whether you’re looking for some retail therapy, some ‘me’ time, precious family time, or just a lovely meal out with some friends.”
Manchester Vegan Festival takes place on Sunday 15 May 2022 from 10.30am to 4.30 pm at Bowlers Exhibition Centre, Longbridge Road, Manchester M17 1SN.
Admission is £5, with under 16’s allowed in for free, or £15 for VIP tickets that can be ordered in advance from Eventbrite, These include fast track entry and a goody bag full of vegan products, samples, discounts and offers.
The Stone Roses’ Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield has died aged 63
Daisy Jackson
Tributes are pouring in for Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield, after it was announced that the Stone Roses legend has died at the age of 63.
The bassist, who was also part of Primal Scream, was born in Crumpsall and has been one of Manchester’s most beloved musical figures ever since finding fame in the 1980s.
Mani’s brother Greg broke the news this afternoon, writing on Facebook: “IT IS WITH THE HEAVIEST OF HEARTS THAT I HAVE TO ANNOUNCE THE SAD PASSING OF MY BROTHER GARY MANI MOUNFIELD. RIP RKID.”
Mani’s wife Imelda also passed away in late 2023 after a battle with bowel cancer, for which the pair had raised money and awareness since her diagnosis.
That included a huge star-studded fundraising party where Mani and Imelda raised more than £100k for The Christie and local NHS charities.
Mani and Imelda shared twin sons, who were born in 2012.
Tributes are now flooding in for Mani, especially from those who have also been a part of the Manchester music scene.
Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown posted on X: “REST IN PEACE MANi X”
Rowetta shared a photo with Mani and Imelda and wrote: “Back with your Imelda, Mani. Going to miss you so much. All my love to the boys, the family & all those who knew & loved him.”
Tim Burgess of The Charlatans fame said: “I shared this photo a week or so ago on Mani’s birthday. It never failed to bring a smile to my face – and that was exactly the same for the man himself.
“One of the absolute best in every way – such a beautiful friend. Love you Mani x x. Never to be forgotten”
Shaun Ryder wrote: “RIP Mani – my heartfelt condolences to his twin boys and all of his family X”
Reverend and the Makers shared: “My heart is broken. Found out this morning and just felt low as it gets all day.
“Mani was my musical hero and just a lovely genuine human. When my Dad died , he offered me the warmest and best advice. No fuss, privately, straight up and always available to everyone.
“I’m a bit ill myself at the minute and not ashamed to say I shed at tear at the news. See on the next one mate.
“A true legend of the game. RIP”
Echo and the Bunnymen wrote: “I’m absolutely gutted to hear the news about Mani, who I have always loved and always will love, deeply and forever. Like a brother.
“I am in shock to be honest. Please tell me I’m just having a bad, bad dream. My thoughts and feelings and Mani, love to all of his family from me. Mac Bunnyman Xxx”
Featured image: Paul Husband
News
Ticket touting officially banned to protect fans from rip-offs
Daisy Jackson
The government has officially banned ticket touting, making it illegal for tickets to be resold at inflated prices.
The new measures will destroy the operating model of ticket touts, who snap up tickets for theatre, sport and live music, then sell them on the secondary value for far more than their face value.
Oftentimes, touts use automated bots to buy large volumes of tickets at once, taking them away from real fans.
The government says it’s caused misery for millions of fans and damaged the live events industry.
But now, the practice is being banned, with the government making it illegal to sell tickets above face value (plus unavoidable fees like service charges).
Resale platforms will also have their service fees capped, and they’ll have a legal duty to monitor and enforce compliance with the price cap.
Individuals will also be banned from reselling more tickets than they were entitled to buy in the initial ticket sale.
Culture secretary Lisa Nandy said: “For too long, ticket touts have ripped off fans, using bots to snap up batches of tickets and resell them at sky-high prices. They’ve become a shadow industry on resale sites, acting without consequence.
“This government is putting fans first. Our new proposals will shut down the touts’ racket and make world-class music, comedy, theatre and sport affordable for everyone.”
Business Secretary Peter Kyle added: “The UK is home to a brilliant range of music, entertainers and sporting stars – but when fans are shut out – it only benefits the touts. That’s why we’re taking these bold measures to smash their model to pieces and make sure more fans can enjoy their favourite stars at a fair price.”
Dan Smith, lead singer of Bastille – who have been part of the campaign against ticket touting – said: “It’s such great news that the government has stepped up and introduced a price cap on resale tickets – something I’ve been campaigning for alongside O2 and the FanFair Alliance for a long time.
“It’s a good step towards protecting music fans from being ripped off and will allow more genuine fans to see their favourite artists perform at face value prices. I am welcoming a world where there are no more resellers snapping up all of the tickets and massively inflating their prices.”
According to analysis by the CMA, typical mark-ups on secondary market tickets exceed 50%, whilst investigations by Trading Standards has uncovered evidence of tickets being resold for up to six times their original cost.
It’s believed these new measures against ticket touts could save fans around £112 million annually, freeing up around 900,000 more tickets from the primary ticket sellers each year.
The use of strategies like dynamic pricing has also been a major source of frustration for fans – such as the method used during the Oasis reunion on-sale – and new rules mean that fans must be given 24 hours notice of tiered pricing, plus provide clearer price information during online queues.
Industry voices who have weight in today include Mumford & Sons, who said that touts have ‘taken advantage of the good will and passion of music fans for many years’; Ed Sheeran’s manager Stuart Camp, who said the announcement is ‘long overdue’; and Coldplay manager Phil Harvey, who added that the legislation will be ‘a game-changer’.
Georgina Pellant -
13th May 2022 
