Incredible food and festival space, Escape to Freight Island, to open at Mayfield Depot in July
Located at Depot Mayfield, part of the £1.4bn regeneration of Manchester’s Mayfield district into a distinctive and imaginative, world-class neighbourhood.
A revolutionary international food market, arts showcase and festival space is set to open at Manchester’s Mayfield Depot later this year.
Located on Baring Street, ‘Escape to Freight Island’ is part of the £1.4bn regeneration of the forgotten freight railway into a world-class neighbourhood and district – offering an array of “food, drink, music, immersive entertainment and family-focused happenings.”
Organisers have described their dream to create “an international destination akin to the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Coney Island in New York and Grand Central Market in Los Angeles”.
Escape to Freight Island will apparently be home to a number of different bars, restaurants, food trucks, as well as a 70s New York-inspired roller disco, hidden high-fi audio bar (which will transform into a karaoke venue called Queen Samantha’s) and a retro arcade games corridor.
There will also be a diverse ticketed events programme, with free festival-calibre entertainment 12 hours a day.
Escape to Freight Island opens in July 2020 with a limited 600-capacity first phase, expanding to welcome 2,500 people later in the year.
The first area to be launched is ‘Platform 15’, “a tip of the cap to neighbouring Piccadilly Station and a place for people to be together, safely and responsibly.”
Among the first traders on board are Madre, with its own non-traditional, upscaled, ingredient-driven taco, and Voodoo Ray’s Pizza following success in Peckham and Dalston.
A favourite of renowned restaurant critic Jay Rayner, Ramsbottom’s pioneering Baratxuri will hold court in the outside space, with a wood-fired ‘Asador’ grill, roasting large cuts of meat and whole fish.
Camden Town Brewery is also hosting a boutique craft ale bar in partnership with Salford’s Pomona Island brewery, alongside a cocktail space from the team at Ancoats bar The Jane Eyre.
The entire venue will be “soundtracked by a selection of music” from the likes of Homoelectric, We Out Here festival, Festival N°6, Love International and other iconic musical curators.
The launch of phase two is planned for August, with Escape to Freight Island adding specially-curated food and drink offerings as capacity increases.
Escape to Freight island is the brainchild of Justin Crawford and Luke Cowdrey of Volta, Electrik Bar and The Refuge, Gareth Cooper of Festival N°6, event production veteran Jon Drape of Engine No. 4 and Managing Director Dan Morris – who launched leading Manchester music venues Gorilla and the Albert Hall.
Electriks’ Luke Cowdrey, co-curator, said: “Escape to Freight Islandisn’t your average food market. It’s a new and unique destination in Manchester, it is the next evolution in the food market sector that will fill a hole in the life of our city.
He continued: “Platform 15 will give a flavour of what is to come when we launch the full Escape to Freight Island experience, so let’s all meet at Platform 15 to begin our escape to freedom.”
James Heather, development director at U+I for the Mayfield Partnership, said: “Mayfield has over the last three years been re-established in the hearts and minds of both Mancunians and visitors to our city as an outstanding location for culture and entertainment.
“With Escape to Freight Island, our partners at Broadwick Venues have assembled an amazing line-up of operators, brands and innovators which will take this to the next level.
“This is an exciting new chapter in Mayfield’s regeneration story and one which raises the bar further still for our city’s visitor offering, underlining our vision for Mayfield as Manchester’s true commercial, creative and cultural nexus.”
Bookings will be open next week. To get 24 hour advance notice for tables, join the community on the Escape to Freight Island website.
Table slots of three hours will be pre-booked from Thursday to Sunday, running from midday to midnight.
News
Rochdale has been named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2025
Emily Sergeant
Rochdale has officially been named Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture for 2025.
Taking over the reins from Bolton – which held the title in 2024 – and following in the footsteps of Stockport before that, which held the title in 2023, and even hosted a massive ‘Town of Culture Weekender’ festival with 50+ free events to celebrate and bring its title year to a close, it’s now the turn of the north-eastern Greater Manchester borough of Rochdale.
Rochdale’s year will build on the town’s already-rich cultural history and international reputation as the home of the co-operative movement.
More than 35 arts organisations will be bringing together an ambitious programme of festivals, exhibitions, events, and performances throughout the year.
Unfamiliar with what the ‘Greater Manchester Town of Culture’ title is all about? It’s an accolade that’s handed out every year to different boroughs across the region.
Bury was the inaugural title-holder 2020 and held onto it in 2021 too due to the COVID pandemic, before being followed by Stalybridge in 2022, Stockport in 2023, and of course, Bolton in the year just gone.
The title celebrates Greater Manchester’s culture and heritage.
As well as getting a new title to shout about, it also sees the towns given a grant from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) culture fund to help develop a programme of cultural events and activities throughout the year.
Rochdale has been named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2025 / Credit: The Manc Group | Rochdale Council
In Rochdale’s case, you can expect the ‘very best local talent’, as this year is promising to put ‘people power’ centre stage, with residents helping to plan, develop, and deliver a lineup of creative activities, alongside a number of major events.
This includes the popular free days out for families, an exciting new urban arts festival, two different food and drink festivals, a lantern parade, the Ignite Fire Festival, a Pride parade, and so much more.
You can also expect live music performances, a new people’s gallery, and even some major international collaborations that are yet to be announced.
Rochdale is taking over the reins from Bolton, which held the title in 2024 / Credit: Rochdale Council
“Rochdale is a place with a rich cultural history, so it is great to name it Greater Manchester’s town of culture as it’s town hall and town centre enter a new era,” commented Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham as the borough was crowned this week.
“Rochdale submitted a fantastic bid for this which, was incredibly exciting and ambitious, while being firmly rooted in its local talent and deep history.
“We are definitely going to see the very best of what Rochdale has to offer over the next 12 months and people will come from far and wide to see it.”
Featured Image – Rochdale Council
News
The Lowry Theatre undergoes revamp following Biffa Award grant
Danny Jones
The Lowry in Salford Quays has had a bit of TLC with one of its biggest theatre spaces undergoing a pretty significant refurb this past month.
Following a well-deserved grant distributed via the Biffa Award, a multi-million-pound fund that helps to build communities and transform lives through community and environmental projects across the UK, the legendary local theatre received nearly £75k last year.
As a result, all 440 seats and various other aspects of The Lowry‘s Quays Theatre have now been renovated and refurbished.
The short story is, she looks more gorgeous than ever – see for yourself:
Being initially handed over in March 2024, The Lowry was awarded a total of £74,816 to reupholster seating in the venue’s Quays Theatre with new padding and fabric.
After almost 25 years of constant use as one of the most popular theatres in the North, the seats in the Quays Theatre were much in need of a refurb, and with work completed in December, Lowry visitors can now enjoy watching the venue’s wide range of theatre, dance, comedy and drama in comfort.
The work was actually carried out between July and December, with seats being carefully removed in batches and reupholstered off-site.
This was made possible due to the Biffa Award’s most recent ‘Cultural Facilities’ theme, which aims to improve recreation, interest and education, drawing funds from the UK government’s wider Landfill Communities Fund.
The old fabric and padding were disposed of sustainably, with lots of it being repurposed where possible to minimise waste and all the new materials used meet current guidance for safety and quality.
The Lowry’s Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Development, Gwen Oakden, said of the long overdue update:“It is so important that our audiences are able to enjoy our world-class performing arts programme in a comfortable and welcoming space.
“For many visitors to the Quays Theatre, this is their first experience of live performance – often to see a family show or as part of a school trip. We really want it to be the best experience possible, and for them to begin a lifelong relationship with Lowry.
“As a registered charity, without the generous support of this Biffa Award, for which we’re hugely grateful, we couldn’t have carried out this important work for our audiences.
As we head into our 25th Anniversary year, we are delighted to be able to welcome audiences and visitors can enjoy the beautiful and revived Quays Theatre.”
As for the Biffa side of things, Grants Manager Rachel Maidment added: “We are delighted to have supported The Lowry in refurbishing the Quays Theatre seating, ensuring audiences can continue to enjoy performances in comfort.
“Through Biffa’s Cultural Facilities theme, we fund projects that provide engaging and inspiring spaces for communities. The Lowry is a key cultural venue, and we’re proud that our funding, made possible through the government Fund, has helped enhance the experience for visitors for years to come.”
Like most Mancs, we love The Lowry, so here’s to hosting countless more theatregoers in the most comfortable seats possible for generations to come.
We’ve been to some brilliant performances around here of late.
The Manc -
29th June 2020 
