A new two-day festival filled with music, multi-arts, food, and wellness is coming to the Lancashire countryside this summer.
And tickets are now on sale.
After the success of a number of 2021 summer pop-up events, the inaugural Gatherings Festival will take over the Gisburne Park Estate in Clitheroe on Saturday 20 & Sunday 21 August 2022 – with event organisers promising a weekend of cultural indulgence, music and arts, fabulous feasts, and a sanctuary for wellbeing.
The festival will take place across the 1000-acre historic private estate, and will have an eclectic lineup across two days.
With the River Valley Main stage nestled in the woodlands, some of the live acts and DJs on the lineup include sets from Ibibio Sound Machine, Roger Sanchez, Crazy P, Craig Charles, Children Of Zeus Live, House Gospel Choir, Horse Meat Disco, Greg Wilson, PBR Streetgang, Homoelectric DJs, Hot Gorilla Records DJs, Moodymanc and more.
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The weekend will also be packed full of chances to tuck into exceptional dinners and feasts prepared by award-winning local chef Steven Smith.
The inaugural Gatherings Festival is happening on Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 August / Credit: Gatherings Festival
There’ll also be a VIP pool party, a Village Green with immersive theatre games, The Peacock Tales lounge with poets Chris Jam and Griot City, the chance to listen to some Ribble Valley folklore tales, a Mad Hatters Tea Party, and Hindelinis Jazz Café.
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When it comes to wellness, those looking for a rejuvenation experience like no other will get the opportunity to try out the popular ice bathing phenomenon, as well as IV drips, goat yoga, and so much more, all alongside wellness expert and influencer Davina Taylor.
And as Gatherings Festival is set in the ancient and mythical landscape of Lancashire’s Ribble Valley, and is said to take inspiration from the Sika deer that are synonymous with the wildlife sanctuary Gisburne Park Estate, festival-goers will also be able to experience the charm of their surroundings through performances of dance, theatre, art, poets, and storytellers, who will all play their part.
There’s a number of accommodation options to choose from too, including luxurious lodges, historic houses, and cosy cottages all with hot tubs, or a fully-kitted-out glamping village and the option to bring your own tent to camp in.
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It will take over the Gisburne Park Estate in Clitheroe and take inspiration from Lancashire’s mythical Ribble Valley / Credit: Gatherings Festival
“We are excited to bring Gatherings to all,” said Guy Hindley – co-founder of Gatherings Festival.
“On the success of our pop-ups last year, we wanted to create an annual music and cultural led boutique festival in the North, on this historic estate that I grew up on [and] Gatherings is just that – it’s the coming together of various tribes, creating a cultural melting pot.
“Music, multi arts, immersive theatre, wellness experiences, pop up restaurants, glamping, and much more will all happening throughout the weekend.
“And we have more plans to develop this beautiful estate’s Grade I-listed mansion and to create a series of smaller events throughout the seasons.”
The two-day festival will be filled with music, multi-arts, food, and wellness / Credit: Gatherings Festival
Tickets for Gatherings Festival are now on sale.
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There’s daily admission tickets available, adult weekend tickets – including general camping – priced at £166.95, Gatherlings (6-15 years) tickets setting you back £90.95, all under 6s going free, and Golden Gatherers packages available from £240.95.
You can find more information and grab tickets here.
Featured Image – Gatherings Festival
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Manchester’s historic connections to slavery will be at the heart of a major new exhibition
Emily Sergeant
Manchester’s historic connections to slavery are to be explored during a major new exhibition coming soon to the city.
The Science and Industry Museum, in the heart of our city centre, is already known and loved for telling the story of the ideas and innovations that transformed Manchester into the world’s first industrial city.
But now, a new free exhibition is set to “enhance public understanding” of how transatlantic slavery actually shaped the city’s growth.
Produced by the Science and Industry Museum, in partnership with The Scott Trust Legacies of Enslavement programme, and developed with African descendent and diaspora communities through local and global collaborations, this landmark project will put Manchester’s historic connections to enslavement at the heart of a major exhibition at the museum for the first time.
Featuring new research, it will also explore how the legacies of these histories continue to impact Manchester, the world, and lives today.
Set to open in early 2027, the exhibition will run for a year in the museum’s Special Exhibitions Gallery.
Alongside that hub at the Science and Industry Museum itself, the project is also set to have a collaborative city-wide events programme, and a lasting legacy – with a new permanent schools programme, and permanent displays in the future too.
As mentioned, the new exhibition is part of The Scott Trust Legacies of Enslavement programme, which is a 10-year restorative justice project launched in 2023.
Manchester’s historic connections to slavery will be at the heart of a major new exhibition / Credit: Science Museum Group Collection
Through partnerships and community programmes, the project aims to improve public understanding of the impact of transatlantic slavery on the UK’s economic development, and its ongoing legacies for Black communities – with a strong focus on Manchester, the city in which The Guardian was founded back in 1821.
The museum’s existing gallery content and ongoing work around sharing the inextricable links between Manchester’s growth into an industrial powerhouse and a textile industry reliant on colonialism and enslavement will be developed through the project.
Through a “collaborative re-examination of the past”, the exhibition will also share a more inclusive history of a city that prides itself on being at the forefront of ideas that change the world.
It’s opening at the Science and Industry Museum in early 2027 / Credit: Science and Industry Museum
Speaking ahead of the exhibition’s arrival in early 2027, Sally MacDonald, who is the Director of the Science and Industry Museum, says: “This will be an exhibition about important aspects of our past that are profoundly relevant to the world we live in today.
“Revealed from the perspectives of those who experienced enslavement and whose lives have been shaped by its legacies, we will foreground stories of resistance, agency, and skill.
“The exhibition will explore themes of resilience, identity and creativity alongside exploitation and inequality, and will feature a specific focus on the ways that scientific and technological developments both drove and were driven by transatlantic slavery.”
Further details on the project will be announced in due course, so stay tuned.
Featured Image – Science Museum Group
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Charlotte Dawson will be handing out compliments and big prizes in Manchester to brighten Blue Monday
Daisy Jackson
TV star Charlotte Dawson will be cheering up Blue Monday in Manchester, dishing out compliments to strangers and awarding some big prizes too.
The actress, who is the daughter of the legendary late Les Dawson, will be bringing her signature sunny energy to Printworks on Monday 20 January.
Otherwise known as Blue Monday, it’s believed that the third Monday in January is the most depressing day of the year – so she’s here to nip that in the bud.
Between 1pm and 3pm on the huge gaming screen inside Printworks – part of its £21m transformation that included adding a huge digital ceiling – Charlotte Dawson will be spreading joy and laughter.
She’ll be live streaming straight to passers-by, spreading smiles and dishing out compliments.
Charlotte will also be treating visitors to some amazing prizes from Printworks’ collection of bars, restaurants and leisure venues.
These prizes will include free brunch for four at Walkabout, gaming sessions at Bierkeller, or family cinema tickets with Ice Blasts at VUE. Other prizes include Nando’s vouchers, a drink and activity for two at the new Trax Social, and much more.
And the top prize will be a luxury overnight stay for two at Hotel Indigo, just across the road in the very heart of Manchester.
Charlotte Dawson will take part in Blue Monday at Printworks, Manchester
There’ll even be free coffee vouchers for Todd St Cafe on offer to brighten your Blue Monday.
Kristian Brennan, Marketing Manager at Printworks, said: “We couldn’t be more excited to have Charlotte at Printworks this Blue Monday.
“As a true Mancunian icon, her vibrant personality is exactly what we need to brighten up the most depressing day of the year and we know she’ll bring plenty of laughs and smiles to everyone who stops by.
“What makes this event truly unique is the opportunity for the public to chat with Charlotte under Europe’s largest digital ceiling, which will showcase new mood-boosting content.
“It’s an innovative and exciting way for people to connect, and we can’t wait to see families and friends come together to create joyful memories in this truly unique setting!”
Emily Sergeant -
26th May 2022 
