Sunday 17 May
Festival Eucharist
Join us at St. Clement’s as we celebrate this year’s Festival with a morning service full of music, drama and dance. The service will include a special mass setting and a performance from The Jean Geddes Dancers. The President and Preacher will be The Revd Ken Flood, the new Rector at St Clement’s.
St Clement’s Church | 10.30am | Free
Festival Mass
The annual Festival Mass is celebrated this morning at Our Lady and St John’s RC Church, led by Father Patrick McMahon.
Our Lady and St John’s Church | 12 noon | Free
Improvisation Workshop
Playback Theatre
Playback Theatre is the immediate, spontaneous, theatrical improvisation of real-life moments contributed by the audience. These might be thoughts, hopes, dreams, memories, major events or the ordinary, everyday moments of life. In this relaxed and enjoyable theatre workshop you will learn and practice some of Playback Theatre’s remarkable improvisation techniques.
Please note this workshop is only suitable for those aged 18 and over.
St Clement’s Church | 2–4pm | £2
FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHT
Chorlton Meadows Storywalk
A storywalk with a difference follows the Chorlton Meadows trail with Ingrid Burney (of Chorlton Telling Tales Story Club) who will tell tall and sometimes true tales of tree and river. You will also explore the secret world of this part of the Meadows with Dave Bishop of the Friends of Chorlton Meadows. Meet at Ivy Green car park (opposite The Bowling Green pub). Suitable for children over 8 years old. Lasts approximately one and a half hours.
Chorlton Meadows | 3pm | Free
FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHT
Everybody Salsa
An afternoon of salsa and fun brought to you by the best in local salsa classes - Didsbury Salsa, Fallowfield Salsa and Chorlton’s own Solar Salsa. All ages and abilities welcome, even those with two left feet. You’ll be up and moving in no time with a class that takes you from an introduction to salsa right through to a "rueda" or Cuban wheel. It doesn’t matter if you’re on your own or with friends, you’ll have a good time, and even pick up a bit of Spanish!
Chorlton Conservative Club | 4–6pm | £3
Meeting Coty: An early evening menu of poetry and readings
Local author, Ruth Estevez is joined by poets Helen Tookey, Andy N and Judy Kendall for an early evening reading of their work. Ruth will talk on the process of writing and will read from her novel Meeting Coty, a story of the choice between love and a career in the build up to the First World War, and featuring François Coty, the most successful perfume maker of his time.Ruth Estevez has also written scripts for children’s television and is an associate lecturer in scriptwriting at MMU.
www.ruthestevez.info
The Lloyds hotel | 6–8pm | Free
FESTIVAL FOCUS
Freedom Principle & The Noise Upstairs Band Night
Freedom Principle & The Noise Upstairs present contemporary and experimental music featuring an eclectic mix of bands and a fair dose of improvised noise. There will also be some lovely food available and opportunities to join in their newly invented spatial-sound-jams. Hunter Andreae Quartet, Litework, Rodrigo Constanzo, Out of the Box, plus guests.
Wilbraham St Ninian’s | 6–10pm | Contributions on the door
Frederic Steinbruchel (Cello) and Delphine Hensler (Piano)
A concert featuring music for cello and piano from the Romantic period and the 20th century. This concert includes a chance to hear Prokofiev’s rarely heard but beautiful Cello Sonata and Schumann’s two sets of pieces for cello and piano; the exquisitely-crafted Five Pieces in a Popular Style, and the wonderfully lyrical Fantasy Pieces.
St Werburgh’s Church | 7.30pm | £5/£3
Wyllie Longmore: All The World’s A Stage
Chorlton-based actor Wyllie Longmore presents a programme of readings and songs from the plays and sonnets of William Shakespeare, illustrating various aspects of human experience - from youth to maturity to old age and death, from both a comic and a tragic perspective.
St Clement’s Church | 8pm | £5/£3
First Stage musical Theatre Company
First Stage Theatre Company is one of Manchester’s premier music theatre groups. Tonight they showcase their cast with a line-up of music from favourite West End and Broadway shows.
The Irish Association Club | 8pm | £5/£3
Stargazy Pie
This popular night of readings and live music comes to the Chorlton Arts Festival. Hosted by Gary Parkinson, with poetry, prose, music, singing and other malarkey, including the wonderful Marvin Cheeseman with his hilarious and poignant poetry. Some of the finest performers this side of the Irwell and, in fact, that side of it.
Abode | 8pm | Free
music @ Iguana
A cappella singing from The Top Shelalas followed by 21st century psychedelic blues from Grand British Decibel.
Iguana | 8pm | Free
Late Night CAF: Moss Freed and Guest
The Hillary Step presents its regular acoustic night as part of our late night series.
The Hillary Step | 9pm | Free