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PRESS RELEASE – 7th May 2015
FIRST STREET’S FIRST STREET PARTY
Family-friendly day of art, music, food and theatre to celebrate Manchester’s newest
neighbourhood
First Street, Manchester’s newest neighbourhood and the home of HOME, the city’s new
international centre for contemporary visual art, theatre and film, is to host its first ever
Street Party on Sunday 24th May.
The family-friendly day of art, music, food and theatre, which is free to attend and open to
all, will take place in Tony Wilson Place at First Street from 11am until 8pm with a whole
host of activities and entertainment lined up to introduce local residents and families to this
vibrant new city centre neighbourhood.
The event, which coincides with the venue’s HOMEwarming weekend, will see Tony Wilson
Place transformed into a contemporary street party complete with long communal tables
and a bandstand, featuring a line-up of not to be missed performances, alongside a rooftop
garden party with sets from some of Manchester’s finest DJ’s on the roof of Q-Park First
Street.
Street Party - Tony Wilson Place
Roaming performers and games including giant jenga and giant chess will keep older
children entertained while younger party goers will be fascinated by The World’s Tallest
Bubbleologist’s magical bubble shows.
From 11am – 1pm and 2pm – 4pm, families can enjoy a free three minute performance of
Talking Birds’ The Whale – a gleaming silver whale-on-wheels that holds a witty, charming
and child-friendly show, with spectators entering the jaws of the gentle giant to witness an
unforgettable performance. The Whale will be in situ in Tony Wilson Place for all those who
dare to board her! HOME itself will also be hosting a variety of family friendly activities
including storytellers, fun workshops and family-focused building tours and there’s a chance
to meet Meggie, the heroine from Inkheart, HOME’s 2015 family Christmas show.
Music lovers should grab a spot close to the bandstand where the Pantonic All Stars Steel
Orchestra will be starting things off with a bang at 11am. One of the oldest brass bands in
the world, Besses o’ th’ Barn Brass Band will take centre stage at midday, with Mr Wilson’s
Second Liners – a quirky band in celebration of Tony Wilson, fusing New Orleans travelling
band with 90s club classics - appearing at 2pm. Calaita Flamenco Son will bring a dash of
European musical flair to the party with their mix of authentic, traditional and contemporary
flamenco at 4pm, while Dr Butler’s Hatstand Medicine Band’s mix of ragtime, swing and
jazzy blues at 6pm is sure to have street party goers off their picnic blankets and onto their
feet.
Bring along a picnic or sample a variety of street food including hot dogs from Fat Annie’s,
Cantonese dim sum from DimSumsu, Vietnamese street food from Viet Shack and Bunny
Chow - a South African dish which fills a sourdough loaf with goulash, pulled pork or curry –
from Matilda’s. First Street hotel, INNSIDE by Melia, will be serving up a variety of
complimentary Spanish fayre from its Gazpacho station, along with drinks from the Tweed
Brewing Company and its restaurant and bar will be open all day. For those seeking a tipple,
Vin Van Voom will be serving up a selection of fine wines and fizz, while HOME will be
serving beer alongside pizza straight from its outdoor pizza oven. And for those with a
sweet tooth, head to Ginger’s Comfort Emporium for ice-cream with a twist or Coffee Cranks
Cooperative for coffee and cake.
Rooftop Garden Party – Q-Park First Street
Kick back in a deck chair with a Mr Flavours’ cocktail in hand and enjoy the spectacular
Manchester cityscape from the roof of Manchester’s newest car park, Q-Park First Street,
which will be hosting a garden party with ambient grooves from some of Manchester’s
finest DJ’s including Mof Gimmers (FREEK’N), Howling Rhythm, Red Laser Disco and Thom
Docking (Drunk At Vogue/Hotspace) from 11am – 8pm.
First Street is located just off Whitworth Street West and is a two minute walk from the
Deansgate-Castlefield Metrolink stop.
The First Street Party, produced by HOME, CityCo and Ask Developments and supported by
Q-Park and INNSIDE, is part of the HOMEwarming – a five day bank holiday weekend
celebration packed full of parties, films, visual art, events, tours and music to launch HOME,
Manchester’s new centre for international contemporary art, theatre and film.
For more information, please contact Anoushka Done at Echo PR on 0161 8271710 or
[email protected].
Notes to Editors
Roof Party DJ set timings :
11am – 1pm
Mof Gimmers (FREEK’N)
1pm – 3pm
Howling Rhythm
3pm – 5.30pm
Thom Docking (Drunk At Vogue/Hot Space)
5.30pm – 8pm
Red Laser Disco
CityCo
City centre management company CityCo is an independent, not-for-profit, membership
organisation funded by the private and public sector. It strives to make city centre
Manchester a better place to work, visit and live. It connects businesses with each other,
and public agencies, bringing together the people, ideas and energy to make great things
happen.
Its business network of over 100 members covers all sizes, sectors and locations across the
city centre. It helps businesses expand activities and connect with the right people at the
right time. CityCo also manages Manchester’s first Business Improvement District, the Heart
of Manchester BID. For more information go to www.cityco.com
First Street
A £500m development, First Street is being delivered in a partnership between Manchester
City Council and Ask Developments.
The initial phase of the 20 acre flagship regeneration scheme achieved practical completion
in May 2015. Phase one of First Street includes the UK’s first Melia INNSIDE hotel and
Number One First Street, the 180,000 sq ft Grade A BREEAM Excellent office development.
Companies which now occupy the building include: Engineering service provider Jacobs;
Digital marketing consultancy Amaze; Media publishing company Auto Trader; Ford Credit
Europe and Gazprom. On final completion, the scheme has the capacity to deliver over 2
million sq ft of new development in Manchester.
Sainsbury and Pizza Express have been confirmed as scheme tenants. Sainsbury’s has signed
for a 4,000 sq ft unit while Pizza Express has agreed a deal on a 3,000 sq ft
restaurant. Further announcements for the remaining seven units are likely to be
announced in the coming weeks.
First Street is proving to be an eye-catching location for occupiers because of the broad mix
of students, business people, local residents and theatre goers visiting the new
Cornerhouse/Library Theatre Company's “HOME”.
HOME, Manchester’s new centre for international contemporary art, theatre, film and
books will officially open its doors this Spring (celebratory weekend 21-25 May 2015).
Designed by Dutch architects Mecanoo and featuring a 500-seat theatre; a 150-seat flexible
theatre; a 500m2, 4m high gallery space; five cinema screens; digital production and
broadcast facilities; a café bar and restaurant, HOME was formed from the merger of two of
Manchester’s best-loved cultural organisations, Cornerhouse and the Library Theatre
Company. Inheriting and building upon their artistic legacies, HOME is predicted to receive
500,000 visits per year, adding significantly to the revenue contributed by Manchester’s
cultural venues to the local and regional economy. It forms the cultural heart of the £500m
First Street regeneration project off Whitworth Street West in Manchester City Centre, with
the 20 acres development being brought forward by Ask Property Developments,
Manchester City Council’s development partner for the project. Manchester City Council has
committed £19 million to fund the creation of HOME. The overall budget for the project is
£25 million, with £5 million being met by Arts Council England Lottery funding and the
remainder by fundraising. £250,000 has already been contributed by the Garfield Weston
Foundation and £150,000 by The Granada Foundation. The patrons of HOME are Danny
Boyle, National Theatre Artistic Director Nicholas Hytner, actress Suranne Jones, playwright
and poet Jackie Kay MBE, artists Rosa Barba and Phil Collins, filmmaker Asif Kapadia and
actress and author Meera Syal MBE. www.homemcr.org | @HOME_mcr