The iconic Manchester worker bee is to feature on a new eco-friendly takeaway cup that’ll soon be available throughout the city.
In a bid to celebrate and champion the city’s identity, all while helping the region cut back on the consumption of single-use plastics, family-run Stockport-based catering equipment business, Stephensons, has created a new environmentally friendly takeaway cup that you’ll soon be able to buy from a wide range of places across Manchester.
And around 5% of all the sales will be donated to the life-changing We Love MCR Charity too.
The certified plastic-free cup is fully compostable, and is designed to be recycled along with paper and card after use.
It will be available in 8oz and 12oz sizes, with 16oz soon to follow, and is to be sold to hospitality outlets, venues, and event organisers, alongside independent coffee shops, universities, museums, and everywhere in between.
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Iconic worker bee to appear on new eco-friendly takeaway cups across Manchester / Credit: Supplied
The iconic Manchester worker bee – which is a symbol of the city’s resilience and work ethic, and the embodiment of the Mancunian spirit – takes centre stage on the cup, with the design originating from the striking mosaic in the Town Hall that can also be spotted throughout the city, on everything from lampposts and street art, to bins and beyond.
The launch of the new cup comes after the success of Stephensons’ – which is one of the few companies to have the official rights from Manchester City Council to use the iconic bee symbol – now widely-recognised 100% recyclable bee straws.
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The bee straws were notably introduced back in 2018 as part of the first step of a Greater Manchester initiative to eradicate avoidable single-use plastic, ahead of the government-imposed ban on plastic straws.
Just like the new bee cups, a percentage of the sales of the bee straws were donated to the We Love MCR Charity – with over £5,000 of vital funds raised to date.
“We came up with the idea of putting the bee mosaic on a disposable cup when we launched the straw back in 2018,” Stephensons’ Managing Director, Henry Stephenson, explained ahead of the cup’s official launch next week.
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“But it was only until recently that the technology finally arrived, allowing us to put the bee on a truly sustainable, certified plastic-free cup.
“We’re proud to see both the cup and the straw as a simple but powerful statement from the city’s hospitality industry, reflecting its collective commitment to sustainability.
“As a Manchester-based business since 1868, we understand the pride and identity people associate with the Manchester bee, so to have the bee as a continued symbol of the city’s desire to limit single-use plastics is fantastic.”
The new plastic-free cups will soon be available across the city / Credit: Supplied
Lord Mayor of Manchester, Donna Ludford – who is also Chair of the We Love MCR Charity – says she “can’t wait to see the beautiful cups in cafes, bars, and venues throughout Manchester”, and added that they’ll make “a great impact in helping reduce waste”, while the donations made to We Love MCR Charity will help “improve more lives across Manchester.”
Bev Craig, leader of Manchester City Council, also says she welcomes the bee cup initiative.
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“The Manchester worker bee positively represents Manchester, so to see it on biodegradable coffee cups across the city will be a great way to celebrate our heritage whilst making a positive difference to our communities and our environment,” she added.
The official launch of the cup will take place at the Northern Restaurant and Bar show at Manchester Central on Tuesday 14 March, before being distributed across the city.
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Rochdale’s incredible fire festival will bring blazing sculptures and fiery displays to town this month
Daisy Jackson
Rochdale will be filled with dazzling pyrotechnic displays later this month when the Ignite Fire Festival returns to town.
The spectacular free event will see the gardens opposite the Rochdale Town Hall – which reopened to the public earlier this year – transformed with fiery displays, blazing sculptures and illuminated installations.
The smash hit event debuted last year, attracting more than 10,500 people, and this year’s will be even bigger with three nights of magical family entertainment.
And the festival will culminate on the Sunday with the Rochdale Christmas lights switch-on.
Ignite Fire Festival comes from Walk the Plank, the outdoor arts specialists behind some of the UK’s biggest and best outdoor arts events, who have called upon artists and pyro technicians to create the many installations on show.
Between 5pm and 8pm each night, visitors will be able to walk past fire-based sculptures like goblets of fire, a daisy chain of flaming flowers, a fire bird with blazing eyes, and smaller birds circling a flaming nest – to name just a few.
There’ll also be sculptures that twist, flap and erupt with balls of fire, and ‘In The Balance’ will be a festival highlight, where rotating globes of flame seemingly defy the laws of physics.
Ignite Fire Festival is back in Rochdale this month. Credit: Supplied
Each evening, a fire drawing designed and made by local residents will be ignited alongside flaming hot performances from some of the UK’s top talent including Flame Oz – a thrilling fire dancing and juggling show.
There’ll also be performances from Liverpool’s Bring the Fire Project, local favourites Skylight Circus Arts, and street theatre and interactive arts group Travelling Light Circus.
Visitors should look out for Drum Machine, a 20-strong drumming collective, The Fire Man Dave performing a live fire show with fire eating and juggling, and Astro Aliens, a trio of cosmic beings that will entertain all ages.
The incredible event, sponsored by car supermarket The Trade Centre UK, is set to take place between Friday 22 and Sunday 24 November.
Ignite Fire Festival takes place in the gardens opposite the Rochdale Town HallThere’ll be performers as well as pyrotechnic sculptures. Credit; SuppliedIgnite Fire Festival is back for a second year. Credit: Supplied
After exploring the gardens, you’ll be able to pick up hot food, mulled wine and other seasonal drinks served each night.
On Sunday, Father Christmas will be in town to switch on the Christmas lights at 5.30pm in front of the town hall.
Councillor Sue Smith, cabinet member for communities and co-operation at Rochdale Borough Council said: “Last year’s Ignite Fire Festival and Christmas Light’s Switch On was a fantastic event and an instant hit with audiences from across Greater Manchester.
“It’s an exciting and unique event and the perfect addition to our big switch-on, providing family entertainment across the weekend.”
Mark Bailey, founder and owner of sponsor Trade Centre UK added: “Our partnership with Ignite Fire Festival and the Rochdale Christmas Lights Switch On is a fantastic opportunity to give back to a community that has welcomed us so warmly.
“At Trade Centre UK, we believe in more than just selling cars; we believe in being part of the fabric of the local area. Supporting events like this, which bring people together to celebrate in the heart of Rochdale, aligns perfectly with our core values of community and connection.”
The event is free, and no tickets are required. Ignite is organised by Rochdale Borough Council in partnership with Walk the Plank and Culture Co-op, a ‘Creative People and Places’ programme, funded by Arts Council England.
Find out more and plan your visit to Ignite Fire Festival HERE.
Science and Industry Museum to transform into immersive ‘Light Lab’ as part of 2024 festive events programme
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s most popular museums will be transformed into an immersive ‘Light Lab’ for the festive season.
As the temperatures begin to drop and Christmas creeps closer, this is your chance to escape the cold and brighten up the winter holidays with an adventure though light and colour, as the Science and Industry Museum has now unveiled its upcoming festive events programme.
You can also explore a gaming extravaganza, and be engrossed by festive-themed science shows at the city centre-based museum this December.
Back by popular demand, after enchanting visitors of all ages in previous years, the museum’s free Light Lab will be making a return for 2024 – with everyone invited to discover the secrets of light through illuminating activities, special shows, and immersive experiences.
The Science and Industry Museum will transform into immersive ‘Light Lab’ this winter / Credit: Jason Lock (via Science Museum Group)
As Greater Manchester is known for its grey winter days, a series of illuminating experiments will bring colour to your lives in the interactive Light Lab, where you can explore a hall of mirrors, discover how to bend light, and even take a dance break in the rave room, before taking a journey from the Sun back to the Earth during special science shows led by the museum’s team of expert Explainers.
You’ll be able to discover how light travels through our atmosphere, explore the science of solar flares, and even marvel at a mesmerising display of the Northern Lights – with real NASA footage of the Aurora Borealis.
If all that exploring has got you tired out, then you can slow things down in the Recharge Retreat and get comfortable with a picture book, or explore the relationship between colour and mood and why nature is so important to our health.
You can escape from the cold, and learn a thing or two while you’re at it / Credit: Science Museum Group
But if you’re looking for a change of pace, you can also enjoy the museum‘s ultimate gaming experience, Power Up, to immerse yourself in a whole host of different digital worlds by working your way through five decades of video games, or learn about how what we eat can have a huge effect on our brains and bodies at the Operation Ouch! exhibition.
Then, for something a little different all together this festive season, you can grab a ticket for the first of the 2024 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures being screened live at the museum on Tuesday 10 December, ahead of the broadcast on the BBC.
The Winter Holiday Programme at the Science and Industry Museum runs from 14 December 2024 through to 5 January 2025.
Emily Sergeant -
9th March 2023 
