Energise Festival: films, food, music & more at Hulme Community Garden Centre

Hulme Community Garden Centre in the central host for this year’s free Energise Festival. The all-day party, organised by the Carbon Co-op, is a celebration of all things good for the environment and is full of practical ideas as well as offering a festival type vibe for the day. A host of family-friendly activities are planned, and there are things to do whatever the weather thanks to the Garden Centre’s network of greenhouses and indoor workspaces. Expect music all day on the main stage including sets from the community-led Open Choir (around noon), and an evening showcase by Louis Barabus, while polytunnels full of plants are the venue for discussions about issues such as growing your own food in a way that’s kind to the planet, climate activism and solidarity and using nature as a form of mediation. Visitors can learn how to create their own solar panels and make energy efficiency improvements to their homes. Other attractions include screenings of documentaries and films and refreshments from the Garden Centre’s own pizza oven, Tibetan Kitchen and the Moss Cider Bar. If that’s not enough for you, there’s an afterparty at the Old Abbey Taphouse, about 15 minutes’ walk from the festivities.

Sat 1 Apr, Hulme Community Garden Centre, 28 Old Birley Street, Hulme, Manchester, M15 5RG, Tel: Tel: 0161 227 8198, 12pm – 10.30pm, FREE entry, www.energise-mcr.info

Afterparty: The Old Abbey Taphouse, Guildhall Close, Hulme, Manchester, M15 6SY, From 8pm, FREE entry