News

A huge vegan festival is coming to Manchester this weekend

Manchester Vegan Festival will have everything from street food to vegan dog cookbooks, chocolate and more

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant - 13th May 2022

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.

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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.

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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.

Read more: Simon Rogan’s son launches UK’s first Yorkshire pudding menu

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Beauty, household and lifestyle stalls

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.

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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.”

Read more: CCTV appeal after suspected acid attack in Oldham

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How to get tickets

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.

Visit the website here to get your ticket.

Feature image – Vegan Fest / Teatime Collective

News

Cult US sustainable clothing brand Reformation to open in Manchester city centre

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Cult US sustainable clothing brand Reformation is set to open its doors in Manchester very soon.

Since it was first founded in Los Angeles all the way back in 2009, Reformation has gone on to become one of the largest sustainable womenswear brands on the planet, and is now known and loved for making beautiful, timeless apparel and accessories that aim to ‘inspire confidence’ across life stages and occasions.

Operating on a business model that pairs a smart approach to merchandising with a responsive supply chain, Reformation now operates more than 70 retail stores across the US, UK, Canada, and France.

At the heart of the Reformation story is a genuine commitment to ‘doing things differently’.

Since day one, sustainability has been woven into everything the brand makes – from the eco-certified fabrics and responsible factories, to its famously transparent sustainability reports.

Currently, Reformation has five UK stores to its name – but, it may come as no surprise to fans of the brand that they’re all in London.

That’s why the news of this new Manchester opening is such a big deal.

Set to be the label’s first UK store outside of the capital, Reformation has secured a prime spot on King Street in the heart of the city centre, and although there’s no confirmed opening date as of yet, if the shop windows saying ‘Summer 2026’ are anything to go by, we can only imagine it’ll be very soon.

Read more:

“For Manchester, it’s a landmark moment, and for King Street, it’s the latest signal that this is one of the UK’s most exciting retail destinations,” a spokesperson for King Street said in a statement.

Stay tuned for details on opening dates to be announced in due course.

Featured Image – The Manc Group

News

Andy Burnham to begin rolling out new ‘everyday fixes’ for Brits amid cost of living crisis

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Watching the TV

A series of ‘everyday fixes’ to help combat the rising cost of living crisis are soon to be rolled out nationwide.

Kicking off with two measures today, new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced that he plans to ban retailers from making ‘misleading’ claims to customers about discounts. 

The Government says shoppers have ‘increasingly complained’ about outlets artificially inflating prices to give a false sense of value, such as increasing prices only to then immediately advertise ‘discounts’ to make savings look larger than they really are, which goes on to create an uneven playing field for honest competitors.

The Prime Minister also wants to see an end to so-called ‘subscription traps’, where people find it hard to cancel their subscriptions, and contracts are automatically renewed at a higher cost.

Set to come into force in January 2027 and saving people an average of £14 a month for every unwanted subscription, the changes will mean businesses will need to provide clearer up-front information, regular reminders. and a ‘much easier’ exit to contracts.

Watching the TV
Andy Burnham to begin rolling out new ‘everyday fixes’ for Brits amid cost of living crisis / Credit: gov.uk | Piotr Cichosz (via Unsplash)

A new 14-day cooling-off period will also be introduced to let consumers cancel after a trial or long-term contract renews.

Certain charitable memberships, like the ones for cultural and heritage organisations for example, will be excluded from the new subscription rules due to the fact they have a unique role in preserving the nation’s history, landscapes, and cultural collections.

The Prime Minister says he is ‘determined’ to use every chance he gets to restore fairness and take pressure off people.

“I know people are sick and tired of rip-off discounts and subscription traps,” Andy Burnham said. “Westminster has got used to telling people that everyday hassles like this are just part of life, but I don’t think that’s right, especially when the cost of living continues to weigh heavily on so many people’s lives.”

Read more:

He concluded: “These are just two of the everyday fixes we’re going to be rolling out.

“We want to put more money in people’s pockets and give people hope that politics really can work for them and their everyday lives.”

Featured Image – Piotr Cichosz (via Unsplash)

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