Three to see this weekend: wildlife artistry, stories in Merseyway and Manchester musically
- By Simon Bowers
- Published 5 February 2019
- Updated 4 years ago
Chinese New Year celebrations are in full swing, and you can join in across the city – read our guide on what’s on here.
There are events taking place at Central Library, Manchester Art Gallery and across the city’s squares – everywhere you go this weekend you can celebrate the Year of the Pig. The big finale will be in Chinatown on Sunday evening in the form of a fireworks celebration.
Storytime In Merseyway
Mark National Storytelling Week with a story time event at Merseyway Shopping Centre in Stockport.
Featuring a giant peach, a magical bookcase and a mythical story trail, children of all ages will be able to enjoy storytelling sessions and select a book from the magical bookcase to take home, free of charge.
The giant peach in the undercover mall will be open on Saturday from 11am, with storytelling sessions taking place every 30 minutes.
Local author Kate Robinson will be joining the event to perform a reading of one of her Breezie Boo Adventures books, where Breezie Boo the Beagle likes to dream of her favourite places to visit whilst her Mummy is busy baking in the kitchen.
“This event is all about sharing the love of reading and ensuring books are easily accessible to children in Stockport,” said Merseyway centre manager Victoria Nichol.
Story Time is on from 11am until 3pm on Saturday 9th February. Entry is free.
An Evening of Baroque Concertos
Saturday marks the launch of Manchester Baroque, a new musical group for Manchester. It also marks the launch of a project to re-create the 1744/5 concert series of Manchester’s “Musick”, perhaps the earliest documented classical music series performed in the city.
Over the next two years, Manchester Baroque will explore the repertoire of Manchester Musick’s programmes of 1744/5.
The launch concert takes place at 7.30 pm in St. Ann’s Church and will comprise of music by Vivaldi and Corelli, ending with Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto Number 5.
It’s a fitting way to start the life of Manchester Baroque, Manchester’s newest ensemble dedicated to playing on original instruments. The group is committed to bringing new insights to this old music, the performance of which prefigures the growth of the great industrial city Manchester was to become.
Tickets are available online from £10 full price or £3 students.
The Lost Words: Spell Songs
Singing nature back to life through the power of music, poetry, art and magic…
Those already familiar with The Lost Words by author Robert Macfarlane and artist Jackie Morris will know it as a work full of wildness, beauty and power. It’s a place where poems become spells or incantations, and where art makes magic.
The Lost Words began as a response to the removal of everyday nature words from a widely used children’s dictionary. But it grew to become a much broader protest at the loss of the natural world around us, as well as a celebration of the creatures and plants with which we share our lives.
Commissioned by Folk by the Oak, The Lost Words: Spell Songs brings together eight musicians whose music already engages with landscape and nature to respond to the creatures, art and language of The Lost Words. As part of the performance, Jackie Morris will create live illustrations alongside the musicians.
The performance is Sunday 10th February from 7.30pm at the Royal Northern College of Music. Tickets are available from the box office from £20.
Read more
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