A brand new, totally free festival will spill into venues in Salford later this year.
The We Invented the Weekend festival will bring together class acts from the worlds of sports, music, comedy, theatre, dance, workshops, talks, food, charity, wellness, crafts and more.
There’ll be everything from water sports on the canal, to community feasts, to workshops, to vintage markets, to live music, right across MediaCity and Salford Quays.
The event has been created in partnership with some cultural heavyweights from the city, including the BBC, The Lowry, the University of Salford, the Royal Horticultural Society, Eat Well MCR, Science and Industry Museum, The Open University’s Business School, HOST, Salford Community Leisure, Salford CVS, Sounds from the Other City and hundreds of community organisations.
The inaugural festival is set to take place across the weekend of 10 and 11 September. It promises to be ‘a festival by the people, for the people’.
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We Invented the Weekend will take over Salford venues – and its waterways. Credit: Supplied
The inspiration for We Invented the Weekend goes all the way back to 1843, when the actual concept of a weekend was invented right here in Greater Manchester.
Robert Lowes (Salford Lyceum director, workers’ rights activist, and also Sir Ian McKellen’s great grandfather) campaigned to win workers the right to leisure time on Saturday afternoons.
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A full programme for We Invented the Weekend will be announced in the coming months, but already confirmed is CBeebies Live Bedtime Stories, the BBC Philharmonic, events at The Lowry, activities at the Science and Industry Museum, and gardening activity from RHS Bridgewater.
We Invented the Weekend will suit all ages. Credit: Supplied
Sounds from the Other city will also pull together a music partnership, expanding from their Chapel Street base to the Quays for the first time.
The Salford Weekend Orchestra with the BBC Philharmonic will invite people across the city to join a mass community performance, with all instruments and abilities welcome. The piece will be composed by Michael Betteridge (artistic director of The Sunday Boys – Manchester’s LBTQ+ low voice choir), and performed in the MediaCity Piazza during the festival.
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Hundreds of community organisations, including cheerleaders, bakers and disco dancers, have been invited to take part.
Key people and organisations involved in developing the festival are Wayne Hemingway MBE who is creative director; Salford’s City Mayor Paul Dennett; Tom Stannard, chief executive of Salford City Council; Julia Fawcett OBE, chief executive of The Lowry; Gwen Oakden, development director at The Lowry; Controller of BBC Radio 5 Live Heidi Dawson; Marketing Manchester’s international marketing director Victoria Braddock and MediaCity place director, Josie Cahill.
Wayne Hemingway MBE said: “The weekend is an intrinsic part of the rhythm of life. It’s hard to imagine life without the weekend, yet less than 180 years ago it didn’t exist. Happily, Sir Ian McKellen’s great grandad put an end to life without it.
“Greater Manchester can rightly claim to have invented the weekend and is a place that knows how to celebrate it. Whatever your bag, be it boxing or box sets, crafts or cricket, dancing or digging, reading or raving, swimming or samba, kicking back or letting loose, whatever free time means to you, MediaCity and Salford Quays is the place to be on September 10th and 11th for what has all the ingredients to become THE national celebration of free time.”
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Paul Dennett added: “The City of Salford’s motto and the name of our strategy for culture, creativity and the arts is ‘Suprema Lex’, which means ‘The Welfare of the People is the Highest Law’. The welfare of the people of Salford is paramount, and as the cost of living rises, We Invented the Weekend is set to deliver a programme of essential free cultural and creative activity that is open to every community across our city.
“We Invented the Weekend will be a great spectacle, reflecting our proud social history, whilst also animating the fantastic public realm at Salford Quays in true Spirit of Salford style.”
Hear stories from Coronation Street legends in all-new live shows
Thomas Melia
Members of Coronation Street are spilling all the secrets of the cobbles to live audiences with a brand new series of Q&A sessions across the country, including right here in its hometown of Manchester, of course.
Although Weatherfield may only be up the road (hypothetically), it’s not every day you’re face to face with TV soap royalty, but this newly announced live show makes the impossible, possible.
Soap lovers will be able to find out all the tales, trials and tribulations cast members have had on set and swap the comfort of their own homes for a front-row seat at the theatre.
This night is perfect for Corrie lovers, whether you’ve been following the show since its humble beginnings in 1960 or tagged on later when it became a face of British TV culture, everyone is welcome.
The event is titled, simply, ‘An Audience with Coronation Street‘ and will feature five cast members as well as one surprise ‘Corrie legend’ who will all vary depending on each show.
So far eight names have been released and this includes some of the soap’s many famous faces, Jack P. Shepherd (David Platt), Simon Gregson (Steve McDonald) and Samia Longchambon (Maria Connor).
There’s room for fresher talent too as Jodie Prenger is attending after only joining the cobbles in 2022 as Glenda Shuttleworth.
Be it the long-standing favourites or the new faces you want to know more about, there’s something for everyone in what is a first for ITV’s long-standing and multi-award-winning continuing drama.
Jack P. Shepherd (David Platt)Simon Gregson (Steve McDonald)Samia Longchambon (Maria Connor)Credit: Publicity Pictures (via Supplied)
Other stars you might also get to see at your show are Patti Clare (Mary Taylor), Jimmi Harkishin (Dev Alahan), Andrew Whyment (Kirk Sutherland) and Rob Mallard (Daniel Osbourne).
The all-new Coronation Street shows, interview and Q&A series are kicking off in London with shows set for Sheffield, Glasgow and obviously here in 0161.
Of course, keeping these Coronation Street stars in check will be no easy feat and that’s why these shows will be hosted by the self-proclaimed ‘Soap Queen of This Morning‘, Sharon Marshall.
Watch Lowry’s ‘Going to the Match’ come to life at this new immersive experience in Salford
Danny Jones
L. S. Lowry is one of Greater Manchester’s most famous sons, so much so that he has two statues, a hotel, as well as an entire theatre named after him, and now you can see one of his greatest works brought to life as part of an immersive new art experience over Salford Quays.
Just across from the main MediaCity campus, The Lowry Theatre is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a whole host of new additions, including what looks to be an exciting series of immersive gallery experiences entitled ‘LOWRY 360’.
Although world-renowned creative studio Layers of Reality has developed the large interactive exhibition room to bring almost any manner of artwork to life, the first couldn’t be anything else besides what is widely considered the local artist’s most iconic piece, Going to the Match.
Put simply, the new installation will fully surround audiences with the sights and sounds of Going to the Match, transporting them into the painting before they experience the original artwork firsthand.
This ambitious and starting new sensory experience has come to fruition thanks to the Law Family Charitable Foundation (LFCF), who support a wide variety of artistic, educational, cultural; health-based and environmentally-driven institutions like The Lowry.
It was LFCF who made the sizeable donation necessary for the theatre to purchase Lowry’s legendary depiction of matchday crowds and Northern life for a total of £7.8 million back in October 2022, bringing back home to Salford permanently.
Speaking on the immersive Lowry exhibit, Lowry’s CEO Julia Fawcett said: “This is one of the most ambitious and exciting projects we have ever undertaken.
“We’re transforming our gallery space in partnership with a world-class creative studio to create an unforgettable experience that will bring new audiences to L.S. Lowry’s work. We can’t thank Andrew Law enough for helping us realise this vision”
The best part of all is, since their goal in bringing the painting to Salford in the first place was for as many people to see it as possible, LOWRY 360 will remain completely FREE to access for its entire duration. Picture this but stood right in the middle of it as ‘The Matchstick Man’s world comes to life around you:
Layers of Reality is known for creating virtual and immersive experiences revolving around everything from Frida Kahlo and Salvador Dali to Tutankhamun, so you can trust in the pedigree being brought to the Lowry Theatre.
Moreover, this isn’t the only thing on at the Lowry during their 25th-anniversary programme by any means: families will be drawn to a free exhibition of Quentin Blake’s illustrations, featuring his most beloved characters and even a special portrait of the man himself drawn by Blake.
The Promenade Gallery will be transformed into a large-scale mural by French artist, Camille Walala; Manchester-born writer Jeannette Winterson will be hosting an insightful lecture on what makes Lowry’s world and history so special.
Visitors will also have an opportunity to see the new production of James Graham’s Olivier Award-winning play, Dear England, with a rewritten ending following the European Championships in 2024. There’s all this and plenty more to be found on the Lowry events page.
Touching on the rest of the 25th-anniversary events, Fawcett went on to add: “We’re deeply committed to reaching out to the local community and our learning and engagement programmes have been at the centre of our mission for the past two and a half decades.
“Gods of Salford takes this to a new level, combining social impact with the creation of an ambitious, challenging and professional production. It will foster new skills, create pathways into the arts for disadvantaged young people and sell tickets!”
“Over the past 25 years, Lowry has been on a remarkable journey. An ambitious plan to create a new home for arts and culture in the North West at the turn of the millennium is today the most visited attraction in Manchester and the cultural heart of one of Europe’s most successful regeneration projects.
“We are marking the moment with a spectacular programme that showcases the very best art and theatre. 2025 promises to be Lowry’s biggest and best year as we set our sights on the next 25.”
Hear, hear. LOWRY 360 opens on Saturday 3 May, so make sure to visit when you can – you can grab your free tickets HERE.
Daisy Jackson -
18th May 2022 
