'My' Manchester Day Parade. 2/6/13

Wow! Another Manchester Day Parade has happened and it was awesome. The crowds seemed bigger than they have ever been, and the amazing creations and enthusiasm from the participants just takes your breath away. Its such a privilege to be part of.

I've spent a lot of my spare time over the last six weeks or so volunteering down at the

Wow Workshop, a space that parade producers Walk The Plank organise for artists, volunteers and community groups to work on their entries. There have been times when I've been incredibly tired juggling work, other commitments like Manchester International Festival volunteering, and family and friends ( who have been somewhat neglected, sorry!) but I wouldn't miss it for the world. I often get asked why I do it, and I don't always give very good answers, so I thought a blog post might help to explain.

I have been volunteering for the Parade since it's inception in 2010. The previous year I had been a volunteer for the Manchester International Festival and loved being part of something arts based, and the buzz of a major event. As part of that I worked as a marshall on a play that was being produced by Walk the Plank and it was a brilliant experience. I was keen to do more events volunteering, and be involved in the arts, and looking for opportunities. Whilst I was on holiday at my cousins house in Australia I was reading the Manchester Evening News website and saw this new parade was going to take place, produced by Walk The Plank, to celebrate Manchester and its people. The article said  they were looking for volunteers to get involved. I signed up there and then, from a hideously hot Perth, and they've never been able to get rid of me since!

So to answer the question why each year I keep coming back, and give an increasing amount of my spare time to the Parade? Well on consideration it's a number of reasons, some purely selfish!

- I get so much satisfaction from creating things, but I don't think of myself as particularly creative, so it's great to work with an artist who has the ideas, can show you the techniques, and then lets you get on and make something. Over the last four years I've worked with quite a few of the artists on different items such as cabbage hats, hooped skirts, rocket ships, huge puppets, ribboned backpacks, comedy sharks, Lancaster bombers - and picked up loads of skills and confidence along the way. And you feel so proud when you see something that you made, even if it is just a tiny part of a structure, in all its glory on parade day. In fact I think my friends get sick of me pointing at pictures and saying 'i made that backpack/shark/crown etc'

- I have worked with and chatted to some amazingly diverse people that I just wouldn't have met in my day to day existence. It has really opened my eyes up to a much wider range of life experiences, and I think it's made me a better and more understanding person as a result. And I've seen how much involvement in the parade gives back to some of the community groups in terms of a sense of pride in what they have been able to create.

- I love ' my' Manchester, and it's brilliant to be part of something that celebrates the people, diversity and energy of my ' home' ( ok , I'm from Stockport, but I consider myself Mancunian!) and gives something back to the city and the communities that live there.

- I've had loads of fun!

This year's parade day was amazing - colourful, energetic and huge! Seeing it all come together is awe inspiring and makes all the hard work worth it. Walking out on to the packed streets of Manchester ( dressed as a giant bucket and spade, I was a last minute stand in and i still have the bruises to prove it) and seeing thousands of smiling faces is a fantastic experience. We had more spectators this year than ever before, and the parade entries just get more ambitious and creative year on year. I don't have many photos of the parade myself yet ( although I did have friends under orders to take them) but there are some great photos online, a couple of good Flickr sites are here and here.

The Manchester Day Parade is a fantastic free event, that gives back so much in terms of the groups and individuals that are involved, the local community, the spectators who attend, and the local businesses who benefit from the additional trade. It is also unique in the way it brings together an incredibly diverse range of people in such a joyous and collaborative way. Long may it, and my involvement in it, continue!

Manchester Day Parade 19 June

Well what an amazing day that was! 2,200 people involved in the parade, around 60,000 watching it, lots of energy, smiles, fun, laughter - and made me so proud to be part of it.

The volunteers assembled at the Castlefield visitor centre (current home of MIF volunteer HQ) on sunday morning bright and early and were assigned our roles. I had specifically requested being based for the morning at WOW as I had done quite a lot of work down there already, so after a quick briefing I led a happy band of volunteers down there to get stuck in. One of our first tasks was helping to transport the huge and very unruly (it was quite windy!) dragonfly to its starting position at Liverpool Road. Unfortunately, ahead of us a steam train had derailed (well lost a wheel) and we ended up in a traffic jam for a while as the tech teams administered emergency repairs. Just behind us in the jam was a 9 foot horse - we were getting some very strange looks from passing motorists!

After that it was just all hands on deck with whatever needed doing. One artist had stayed up all night finishing her rocket ship so I got some food for her, and I was also asked to decorate a trolley that contained a PA system (I was quite proud of the results of my emergency 'make' but sadly forgot to take a picture). Then the volunteer coordinator came and found me and asked if I would pop up and see the stage manager for the Lancaster Bomber section that I had worked on before. I went up there assuming that I would be marshalling that section, but on arrival was given a boilersuit and biggles hat and went on wing duty!

Walking round with the parade was amazing, so many people lined the route, lots more than last year. It actually got quite tricky at times as it was so windy that we had to keep tight hold on the wings. And people spilling into the road made for some dicey moments as I tried not to decapitate the public! Looking at the photos later though the bomber was brilliant, and I was really proud of my part in making that happen.

The route is about two miles long, and the kids did really well as it must have been tiring for them. We had a band right behind us which helped keep the energy up. As we returned to the starting point the sun came out, giving us a perfect end to our parade.

The only problem with being in the parade is that you don't get chance to see all the entries, so I did a lot of internet searching when I got home. There were some amazing sights - huge footballers, a rocket, the striking dragonfly, a 'chinese dragon' train being just a few of them.

A wonderful day for Manchester, and for all the people around Manchester who had worked so hard in making it happen.

Parade Preparations

Well as I mentioned in my last post, I was off to the depths of Castlefield last weekend to volunteer at the WOW workshop which was getting some of the entries ready for the Manchester Day Parade, on Sunday 19^th June.

The theme this year is Voyage of Discovery, and everything has to have a connection to both the theme, and to the city. Walk the Plank organise these weekends for a few of the artists and community groups to get together and work on their entries, although there is also activity happening around the community as well. Last year there were 1700 people involved in the parade I think, and this year it is nearer 2000. Looking at some of the designs that were posted up in the corridor it looks like it is going to be even bigger, more colourful, and noisier than last year.

I had a bit of a nosey round the workshop and some of the things I saw being prepared were a huge Gulliver, a massive headless torso that I think might have been going to be a footballer, Amnesty candles, a massive dragonfly, some dark satanic mills and a gigantic recycling monster!

The main group I helped out with, Chatterbox, with the help of their artist Sarah, are making a large and colourful Lancaster Bomber. I did a lot of drilling (great fun) and securing, and was let loose with a glue gun. I have decided I want both a power drill and a glue gun now! I also helped make a frame for a steam train, and parts of a humongous dandelion seed head (out of plastic bottles!). The whole weekend was great fun and I’m hoping to go back and help again before the actual parade.

Lots to Look Forward to

There are lots of exciting things ‘culture’ wise going on in Manchester this year, and I am lucky enough to be involved in a couple of them – the Manchester Day Parade in June, and the Manchester International Festival in July. I am sure I will be blogging about them more in the coming weeks but I thought I would tell you a little bit about the first of them.

The first Manchester Day Parade was held last year. It’s a carnival style parade through the streets of Manchester, and its all about celebrating Manchester and its people. Its organised by a fabulous company called Walk The Plank, and supported by a number of sponsors, but one of the key features of it is getting various community groups and individual volunteers, involved in its creation.

In short, there is a theme for the event, and groups are invited to submit their ideas for what this could mean to them. Then, for those entries that get chosen, artists work with the community groups, and other volunteers, to turn those ideas into elements of the parade. Last year’s theme was ‘Out of This World’ - have a look at some of the amazing pictures in the gallery to give you an idea of the diverse ways in which this theme was realised.

Last year I helped out with some of the making of the entries – I made a 9 foot beekeeper’s, thighs, his hands, some cabbage hats and helped with a huge Wicked Witch’s hat! It was really good fun, I had never done anything like that before, the other people I was working with were great fun, and it was exciting to see all the elements of the parade that were being created at the workshop. And that was just a tiny part of what came together on the day.

On parade day I helped out with dressing one of the groups, and then joined the parade as a marshal (in an extremely snazzy high vis jacket!!) . Walking round with the parade was amazing, so many people lining the route, and all of them smiling and having a good time, as were the participants; it made me so proud of my city.

I’m off to a workshop this weekend to help with the entries for this year’s theme ‘A Voyage of Discovery’ – I can’t wait to see how that has been interpreted.

I really would encourage anyone that can to come into Manchester on 19^th June and experience the Manchester Day Parade for themselves; it’s a spectacular event, and an amazing atmosphere.