Manchester Histories Celebration Day at Manchester Central Library

Manchester never needs a reason to celebrate its role in influencing history. 2018 however is particularly significant with the 100th anniversary of the passing of the Representation of the People Act, the 150th anniversary of the formation of the TUC (Trades Union Congress) and the centenary of the end of the First World War.

Never doing things by halves, Manchester Histories Festival has programmed a full day of creative pursuits for families themed to protest, democracy and freedom of speech. Over 60 rich historical and heritage happenings will reveal and celebrate Manchester’s amazing radical past.

Contact Young Company will be performing excerpts from their critically acclaimed sell-out show She Bangs The Drums. Take part in some protest printing with Hot Bed Press and make your own suffragette sash or protest loudspeaker with artist Lydia Melling.

Hear protest songs echo around the building from the Hallé choirs and Manchester Community Choir. Find out more from independent historians on Manchester’s Forgotten Reformers and step into Impossible Arts’ Rogue Gallery.

Read up on The John Rylands Library collection, discover the wonders of the universe with Manchester Astronomical Society and try out a new style with Stockport Hat Works Museum.

The iconic reading room will host musicians and soundscapes from the sellout performance of Manchester Hill Remembered produced by Brighter Sound, Manchester Histories and Manchester City Council. The work commemorates the lives lost during this often forgotten battle of the First World War.

More recently meanwhile, Spinning Dreams: Happiness in a Lancashire Cotton Town in the 1930’s is a programme of talks and dramatic performances staged by Bolton University, drawing on Bolton’s identity as a Mass Observation Worktown.

We love that this welcoming day allows for both planned and informal learning alike.