The food, drink and music lineup for the Manchester International Festival (MIF) Festival Square 2021 has officially been revealed.
Moving into the square’s outdoor kitchens this year will be pizzaiolos Honest Crust, a new vegan offering Stellar and a selection of traders from Mary Ellen McTague’s Eat Well MCR.
Heathcote&Co will also be in attendance serving up a selection of affogatos, ice cream floats and speciality coffees.
New venture Stellar by Dan Hope (of Firebird Hope and Pepperoni Playboy) will see the plant-based chef slinging out barbacoa sandos, falafel burgers and, of course, his legendary homemade seitan ‘fried chicken’ burgers.
Firebird Hope
Meanwhile, Mary Ellen McTague’s social enterprise Eat Well MCR Marketplace – formed in the first lockdown to turn food waste into healthy meals for the vulnerable – will be well represented at the square with a slew of daily specials from the collective’s members.
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Local Eat Well traders and chefs such as ISCA and The Refuge will look to create limited edition specials for ‘build your own’ picnic boxes – with all profits going back into the initiative’s community support work.
Eat Well MCR favourites Chorlton Cheese Shop, Beehive, Holy Grain, Plucky Pickle and Acorn Dairy are all expected to make an appearance.
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McTague is no stranger to MIF, having hosted an Alice in Wonderland-themed dinner in 2019.
MIF
Speaking on the new collaboration, McTague said: “Manchester International Festival is the perfect platform to showcase our wonderful marketplace of suppliers – the chefs and restaurants in our amazing collective – so we can tell our story to the wider community, all whilst raising much-needed funds to continue our support work.”
The festival hub will move to Cathedral Gardens for 2021 due to ongoing renovations at the Town Hall.
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On the music front, a busy programme will be split across three stages – with different nights curated by the likes of Homoelectric, Dave Haslam, DJ Paulette, Jamz Supernova, Mr Scruff and BBC Music Introducing.
Performances by emerging talents, meanwhile, have been curated through MIF Sounds.
Formed to encourage creatives to keep going through last year’s turbulent events, it will see DJ collective All Hands On Deck, Swing Ting label boss Balraj Samrai and singer One Da all take over the square at different points.
Manchester International Festival 2021 runs from July 1 – 18, with tickets available from May 20.
News
Holly Willoughby delivers honest and emotional statement addressing Phillip Schofield scandal on This Morning return
Danny Jones
Holly Willoughby has officially addressed the ongoing Phillip Schofield scandal on her return to This Morning on Monday.
Making her first appearance since the pair both dropped off the show following Schofield’s admission that he had a relationship with a younger man who worked on the show, his former co-presenter jumped straight into the issue at the top of the show.
“Firstly, are you OK? I hope so. It feels very strange sitting here without Phil and I know that you might be feeling a lot like I have: shaken, troubled, let down, worried for the wellbeing on all sides of what’s been going on, and have lots of questions.
“You, me and all of us at This Morning gave our love and support to someone who was not telling the truth, who acted in a way that they themselves felt they had to resign from ITV and step down from a career they loved. That is a lot to process and it’s equally hard to see the toll that has taken on their own mental health.”
Holly Willoughby’s opening statement on her This Morning return.
The 42-year-old went on to say, “I think what unites us all now is a desire to heal for the health and wellbeing of everyone. I hope that as we start this new chapter and get back to a place of warmth and magic that this show holds for all of us, we can find strength in each other.
“From my heart, can I just say thank you for all your kind messages and thank you for being here this morning. Myself, Josie, Dermot, Alison, Craig and everyone who works on this show will continue to work hard every single day to bring you the show that we love.”
Stand-in host Josie Gibson then hugged Holly and said: “All we can do now is be the family that we are”.
After making it through the statement, Holly and Josie then jumped back into the regularly scheduled programming as usual.
As for the scandal itself, Schofield recently gave an exclusive interview with the BBC admitting that his “career is over” and had “suicidal thoughts” after the story broke, as well as insisting that he hasn’t spoken with Holly since apart from sending her an apology via text following his own statement.
The 61-year-old continues to deny allegations that he groomed the man he maintained a relationship with for a number of years but ITV has stated that they are continuing to investigate the situation following his resignation.
Tribute paid to gran, 51, stabbed to death in broad daylight in Tameside
Daisy Jackson
A 51-year-old woman who was stabbed to death in broad daylight last week has been named as Michelle Hodgkinson, as her family issue a heartbreaking tribute.
She has been described as ‘the most amazing, loving, selfless and funny daughter, mother, mother-in-law, sister, auntie and most recently a nanna’.
Michelle, or ‘our Shelly B’ had been walking along Edge Lane on Friday 2 June when she was approached by a male and stabbed.
Emergency services rushed to the scene but tragically, Michelle died at the scene.
She had just been going about her day, walking to meet her mum so that she could take her shopping.
A 28-year-old man has been arrested arrested on suspicion of murder and has since been detained under the Mental Health Act.
Michelle was a community-driven individual with a long history of charity work and volunteering, as well as being her family’s ‘biggest cheerleader’.
#TRIBUTE | Family pay tribute to ‘amazing’ ‘loving’ and ‘selfless’ Michelle Hodgkinson who was killed in Droylsden
Michelle Hodkinson (51) has been named as the victim of the attack on Edge Lane in Droylsden on 2/6/23
— Tameside South and West Police (GMP) (@GMPTamesideS) June 4, 2023
In tribute to her issued through GMP, Michelle’s family said: “Everyone who knows Michelle is in utter shock at the attack she endured and how horrific her last moments were. Our Shelly B was the most amazing, loving, selfless and funny daughter, mother, mother-in-law, sister, auntie and most recently a nanna. It was a privilege to have been known and loved by her.
“She loved helping people in her community and was known for volunteering as an appropriate adult, her charity work and loved creating hampers to make people smile. She would be there for anyone and the day she was taken from us, she was doing just that – walking to meet her mum to take her shopping and to go for a coffee.
“Our family and friends are heartbroken. In one moment our world has crumbled and will never be the same. We will support each other, and we thank and appreciate the love and support shown by our family and friends. Please hold your loved ones close, tell them you love them and make memories.
“Words cannot describe how much she will be missed. Our biggest cheerleader, our confidant, our rock – she will never be forgotten. We love you to the moon and back! We’ll do everything we can to get justice. Love you forever and always!”
Georgina Pellant -
4th May 2021 
