We're only a couple of days into May and it's already shaping up to be a bumper month for big events and festivals - from the King's Coronation to the Great Manchester Run, there's plenty to get excited about.
Another event returning to Manchester this month and celebrating all things 'Manchester' across the city is the annual flower festival. Taking place over the late May Bank Holiday weekend, The Manchester Flower Festival is organised by Manchester City Centre Business Improvement District, and is described as the 'most Instagrammable event of the year'.
Now in its fifth year, the free city centre event attracts tens of thousands of visitors to Manchester ever year and spans areas including Exchange Square, New Cathedral Street, St Ann's Square and King Street. Installations this year will include a flower trail, an RHS green wall, a talks and music stage, a new floral marquee, and the 'world's smallest' spritz bar.
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‘Manchester in Flowers’ Floral Trail will wind its way through the city’s shopping streets and feature ten professionally designed pop-up gardens including The Grassienda - a version of the city’s iconic nightclub but made out of grasses - and a Rain Garden inspired by the city’s weather reputation.
Other installations will include a Town Hall Clock planter, a wildflower takeover of the Cotton Bud Fountain on St Ann’s Square and a giant bee hive. There will also be a gardens in homage to the city’s LGBTQIA+ history, the Suffragettes, Manchester inventions and even Coronation Street icon, Hilda Ogden.
Elsewhere around the city, visitors can also expect to find a Vimto mini garden, wheelbarrow gardens taking inspiration from Roman Manchester, and the city’s football teams, as well as floral displays blooming from shop windows and doorways. The RHS and National Trust will also both feature at the festival with an opportunity to pose with the RHS floral green wall.
New Cathedral Street will be home to the new Floral Marquee which will boast a gallery of floral displays from local florists including Smart Floral Art, IndieBloom, Flowers from the Farm and Treehouse Manchester. Inside, visitors will also be able to take part in workshops, including Ikebana Japanese flower arranging and macramé plant hangers tutorials.
If you decide to venture outside the festival zone, you'll come across a number of installations on display across the city's public spaces. There will be a floating garden at The Bridgewater Hall, a nature trail at Great Northern Warehouse and new displays at spaces including Sadler’s Yard, First Street, Science and Industry Museum, Lincoln Square, One Piccadilly, Exhibition, Affleck’s and The Printworks.
Selfridges Exchange Square and the festival are also teaming again up to host ‘Flower Festival on The Square’, which will feature the event’s main stage, outdoor bar, and street food. A Cocktail Trail will also take place, incorporating a selection of the city’s best bars and restaurants. The main stage will also play host to garden talks from the likes of the Cloud Gardener from 11am on Sunday, plus a exciting line-up of live music and top DJs.
All that walking around and admiring the flowers will might make visitors a little thirsty and luckily Harvey Nichols will be teaming up with Grey Goose at this year’s event, to host the world’s smallest spritz bar. The new camionette on New Cathedral Street will be offering complimentary cocktails masterclasses, which can be booked via Eventbrite.
Visitors have been told to keep an eye out for their outdoor bar too, which will be serving floral-inspired cocktails as well as a ‘living menu’, providing customers with items to take away and plant in their own gardens. Foodies can head to St Ann’s Square and find pop-up restaurants from chef Simon Shaw, showcasing food and drink from the city’s El Gato Negro, Habas, and Canto restaurants, alongside a pop-up flower, art, and craft market.
Families are also invited to come along to the festival dressed as a bee, bug, or pollinator for the brand new, Manchester Bee Parade. Starting at The Royal Exchange at 1pm on Sunday, May 28, participants will be able to follow Manchester’s Queen Bee from garden to garden, whilst taking part in the special bee dance. There’s plenty more for families as well, with a bee spotting trail across the festival as well as a mud kitchen and sensory garden on St Ann’s Square.
The Manchester Flower Festival takes place from Thursday, May 25 to Sunday, May 28. More information is available on the festival website.
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