The Mancunian Way: Bonfire Night CANCELLED

It’s October 1st - how did that happen? One minute I was packing for my summer holiday, now they’re selling pumpkins in Aldi…

It’s time for a special few weeks across the UK as we celebrate Black History Month. Every year, millions of people come together to celebrate and recognise the contributions and achievements from black people in the UK and beyond.

There are plenty of events taking place in our region to celebrate both our local and national black heritage - we’ll have more for you below.

As the nights draw in we’re also looking at Bonfire Night celebrations - which have been axed by Manchester City Council for the FIFTH year in a row. The council-run events were first laid off during the pandemic, but have since failed to return to Manchester’s parks and public spaces.

The Council said they have ‘reprioritised funding to support and enhance the delivery of a wide range of free, community focused activities in parks across the city’. It’s the same response as in previous years, when such events have included pumpkin carving, Halloween in the City and the Christmas parade.

A Council report said the approach has been a success, claiming there have been over 30 additional free and community focused events in the target wards over the last two years, which have been family orientated and free to access.

This October will see the return of Halloween in the City, and an announcement is expected of the Festive Sundays and Christmas parade which took place last year.

There are plenty of events taking place across the city this Black History Month from quiz nights to film screenings.

This year’s theme is “Reclaiming Narratives” and is centred around correcting historical inaccuracies and unearthing and platforming