Come and enjoy Marple’s 2012 Festival over the weekend of 21-23 September“If music be the food of love, play on” ShakespeareFollowing the success of last year’s Festival fortnight of over 60 events, this year has a different feel – a long weekend with the focus very much on food and drink, and music.
Daytime events on Friday and Saturday are centred around the highly popular and enjoyable Food & Drink market, to showcase Marple traders and their produce. For the first time, this is being held over two days…so you can buy more and experience the delights of shopping locally.
Friday 21 September 10am - 3pm
Saturday 22 September 10am - 4pmMarket Street and Derby Way will have local shops, traders, restaurants, delicatessens, and community groups showing their products and selling their wares!
Just see what you can buy on the doorstep. Hot food to taste and take away, stock up on your week’s fruit and veg, buy your meat and fish, bread and cheese…and meet other residents of Marple who turn out in droves to support the markets.
All aboard the folk train on the Friday: Manchester to Rose Hill on the 11.23 from Piccadilly. Listening to music as you travel has long been a part of the Food & Drink day and this year the Cowboy Outfit play Country Honky Tonk tales. Follow the sound as they continue playing on Market Street then at the Railway hotel.
On Saturday there is music, fun and activities for all the family – face painting, a busking competition, and a brass band, with Imagine FM radio broadcasting live.
Then Marplebury will once again be highlighting the best of our local groups playing live 11-6 on Derby Way, plus kids’ rides, real ales and delicious food.
So come and support our local traders, buy fantastic food and drink, have fun, and listen to superb music. Attendance is free.
The enjoyment of food and drink continues at Marple Cricket Club on Bowden Lane with their real ale festival. Sample locally brewed real ales, wines and speciality lagers and ciders, from Friday evening through to Sunday lunch.
There’s more to do in the evenings with exciting plans for music events. On Friday 21st September the internationally renowned Northern Chamber Orchestra will perform at 7.45pm at the Holy Spirit Church, Leigh Avenue, Marple with a great opportunity to meet members of the orchestra at a drinks reception from 7pm for ticket holders, sponsored by Helen Winterson. The NCO members are distinguished chamber musicians who play as principals with other orchestras and regularly appear as soloists. The NCO is proud to be 'Orchestra in Residence' at Manchester Metropolitan University and Blackburn Cathedral and has a long association with Buxton Festival.
The varied programme will include Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Grieg and Bartok. Tickets are £15pp and £8 for under 18s.
Saturday 22nd September features the Food of Love concert, with music from the region’s finest young artists, organised by the charity Music in Hospitals at the RNCM. The repertoire of Astrum guitar duo is wide-ranging, including music from the renaissance to the present day and covering a broad range of styles. Mezzo-soprano Frances Marshfield and pianist Tim Abel will be performing a selection of English and Spanish songs, including works by Roger Quilter, Xavier Monstalvatge and Kurt Weill. Absolution is an award winning young saxophone quartet who enjoyed performing for HM Queen Elizabeth II as part of her Diamond Jubilee tour in March 2012. They will play music ranging from traditional works for saxophone quartet to arrangements of classical works. Tickets are £8pp and the concert starts at 7.30pm at the United Reformed Church on Hibbert Lane, Marple.
Vernon Building Society and Northern Rail are main Festival sponsors once again.
Tickets for both concerts are available at the Vernon Building Society (near the Co-op) in Marple. Payment by cash or cheque only.
Keep up-to-date with Festival events on
www.marplefestival.org.uk
For fantastic photos from last year's Festival taken by local people visit the Virtual History Tour
