Festival

June 6, 2026, 11:00 am - June 6, 2026, 5:00 pm

Manchester Histories Festival 2026 | Celebration Day

Celebrate Manchester’s stories past, present and future with a FREE day of live music, performances, family activities, heritage discoveries and festival fun in and around Manchester Central Library

Manchester Central Library, St Peter's Square, Manchester M2 5PD

Join us for a fantastic free day out as Manchester Histories takes over Manchester Central Library and the surrounding spaces for a vibrant celebration of histories, heritage, music, performance, and family fun.

From 11am–4pm, explore the Histories & Heritage Market Place in Rates Hall, where over 40 history and heritage organisations from across Greater Manchester and the North West come together to showcase the people, stories and places that have shaped our communities and beyond. Enjoy live performances from Open Voice Community Choir and lively steel drum bands, alongside pop-up performances, arts activities and interactive experiences throughout the day.

There’s something for all ages to discover, including family arts and crafts inspired by the 1926 Manchester Civic Week pageant, henna art with Nadia Sultana, the quirky Lunar Landings dance performances choreographed by Ruth Jones, and Eye of Newt Theatre Company’s wandering Billy The Meandering Goat and Beyond The Rooftops.

Booking not required. 

A woman leaning over a machine - she is dressed in WW2 overalls and has a green headscarf wrapped around her hair
Henna Hand

Hop aboard the Heritage Bus outside the library to explore transport history through photographs and objects, or enjoy Beyond the Rooftops, a touching family-friendly story of friendship and courage performed from a vintage travelling trunk.

The day also features a live recording of the popular podcast Since Attlee & Churchill with historians Richard Johnson and Lee David Evans, plus the festival finale, Corsets & Kippers by Paul Frost — a moving musical journey through wartime Manchester inspired by the diaries of Joan Gatley and the iconic portrait of Ruby Loftus by Laura Knight

A special event includes a lively discussion with tasty Mancunian food. Keisha Thompson, Programme Manager (Manchester), Legacies of Enslavement Programme, The Guardian and Yussuf M’Rabty, Project Manager, This Is Us: Tracing Manchester’s Histories host a series of mini-panel discussions with heritage tour guides, artists and historians.