Word of Warning... Manchester Festival City!
So we're exactly 24 hours away from Hazard and understandably giddy. We have a gazebo, badges, t-shirts, sandwich boards and banners... and above all rain ponchos at the ready! All we need now is a vintage double-decker bus, some artists and a city full of people and we'll be off. Please do come and join us in St Ann's Square between 12 and 5pm tomorrow Saturday 21 July or keep your eyes peeled for yellow and black idiosyncracies all round town! We're print-free this year, so all the details are online at hazardmcr.org. We're really looking forward to welcoming our Nottingham visitors, Hatch, when the vintage bus rumbles slowly into town - and yes, we'll be holding our breath til it does! Meanwhile, if you feel like getting active, there's gaming aplenty from Larkin' About, and please, help us keep the #hazardmcr hashtag lively! Despite frantic preparations, it hasn't escaped my notice that Manchester is absolutely bursting with festivals this fortnight - there's a dramatic collision of four festivals this weekend alone - all developed firmly in the city, showing the full variety of what Manchester has to offer and featuring an eclectic mix of local, national and international work in every form imaginable! Just as Hazard springs into life, Manchester Jazz Festival reaches its climax... and 24:7 Theatre Festival (20-27 July) steps in to take its place. We are very happy to be working alongside the Truth About Youth Festival (16-29 July) at the Royal Exchange Theatre, featuring Quarantine, Company Chameleon and lots of work by lots of young people. There's also the ongoing 'new kid on the the block', the Greater Manchester Fringe Festival and the fortnight then comes to a choreographic close with Urban Moves Festival (27-29 July) just before we all metaphorically take cover for the Olympics! And finally not a festival but exciting nonetheless, Blank Media Collective is also stepping outside its traditional home with the Projector Series, which launches at the Salutation on Thurs 26 July. Anyway, back to weather proofing anything that's not tied down - hope to see you at Hazard tomorrow.
Best Tamsin
Best Tamsin