A new festival celebrating ‘free time’ is coming to Salford this year

A brand new festival dedicated to the joy of free time is coming to Salford this year, offering an eclectic programme that spans sports, music, comedy, theatre, dance, workshops, talks, food, wellness and more.

We Invented the Weekend will take place on Sat 10 Sep & Sun 11 Sep, and will be completely free to attend. From water sports on the canal, community feasts and dance performances, to planting workshops and vintage markets, there’ll be something to cater for all tastes and hobbies.

The weekend was actually invented in Greater Manchester 1843, when Salford Lyceum director and workers’ rights activist Robert Lowes (also Sir Ian McKellen’s Great Grandfather) campaigned to win workers the right to leisure time on Saturday afternoons. Safe to say Greater Manchester gave an enormous gift to the world with that victory, and We Invented the Weekend will honour this in a celebration of leisure time, free time, quality time and me-time.

A host of familiar names are involved in the festival’s inception, with the BBC, The Lowry, the University of Salford, the Royal Horticultural Society, Eat Well MCR, Science and Industry Museum, The Open University’s Business School, HOST, Salford Community Leisure, Salford CVS, Sounds from the Other City and hundreds of community organisations from all regions of the city, all helping to shape it.

The full programme announcement will drop in early summer and partners and activities for the festival will include:

–        The BBC, including BBC Children’s bringing live activity including CBeebies Live Bedtime Stories, the BBC Philharmonic and more to be announced

–        The Lowry, leading on dance and performance

–        The University of Salford, who will collaborate with The Open University Business School on a Big Thinking strand

–        The Science and Industry Museum who will programme a range of fun STEM activities

–        RHS Bridgewater, leading on gardening activity

–        HOST, the Home of Skills & Technology, who will deliver a programme of fun and accessible technology activities

–        An exciting music partnership with Sounds from the Other City which will see the Salford institution expand from their Chapel Street base into the Quays for the first time.

To find out more visit the We Invented the Weekend website.