ESEAHM x MCR Festival

Are you ready to celebrate ESEA Heritage Month, Manchester?! If so, SAVE THE DATE: SUNDAY 3RD SEPTEMBER, 12-8PM.

Non-profit organisations Voice ESEA, On Your Side and Be Inclusive Hospitality have teamed up to host a celebration of Manchester's East and Southeast Asian community at Grub on Sunday 3rd September for what will be a day full of food and drink, as well as fun activities and learning opportunities.

Taking place every September, ESEA Heritage Month was first started by besea.n (Britain’s East and Southeast Asian Network) in 2021 and this year aims to really take off, with events happening all over the UK. ESEAHM X MCR kickstarts the month dedicated to East and South East Asian heritage, culture, history and everything in between in Greater Manchester. It’s a chance to celebrate, acknowledge and learn about the incredible ways in which our communities have helped to shape the UK.

What is there to do?

Sumi-e Brush Painting Workshop with Floating Art (2-4.30pm): You buy tickets separately for these here where the entry ticket for the event will be included or if you want to add more things for the day, you can do so through this page. Max. 30 people, £19pp.

G&T Masterclass with Tarsier Spirit (2.15-3.15pm): Stockport-based Filipino-owned gin company Tarsier Spirit will be showcasing their 5 Southeast Asian-inspired flavoured gins and telling the history and culture of the company and gin in the Philippines. Max. 20 people, £16.50pp.

Batik craft workshops with Maketh by Me (2-4pm) - SOLD OUT: Batik is a cloth craft technique popular in Indonesia and Malaysia. Sheenaanne Law, owner of Maketh by Me will host a session and be selling some of her crafts. Max. 8 people, £25pp.

ESEA Film screenings (2.15-3.45pm and 4-5.30pm, 18+): MILKTEA, show the best of East and Southeast Asian cinema in the UK. We’ll be sharing our highly successful & sell-out short film programs: MIXTAPE VOL. 1 and MIXTAPE VOL. 2 plus a to be announced very special new film ahead of its UK release, which will be shown on the 4th. Watch this space! MILKTEA screenings are free, but you will need a paid festival pass and to book a seat to grant access to our screenings.

Mid-Autumn Festival storytelling and lantern craft making session (age 3+): Did you know, Mid-Autumn `Festival, also known as the Mooncake Festival, is celebrated across the ESEA region and by ESEA people every September or October? Author of children's book "I Love Chinese New Year" Eva Wong Nava, will be telling children the story of this important festival over three sessions and teaching them how to make their own paper lanterns. Max. 6 children per session, £2 per child (adults can attend to supervise).

Face painting for children courtesy of Connie Wong from Just Face Painting available throughout the day.

Dance workshop with Lisa Chearles (7-8pm):  Discover a captivating world where art and movement unite! This fun 60-minute workshop offers a contemporary approach to Chinese calligraphy through body painting on paper.

• Witness a mesmerizing performance.
• Embrace your body's rhythm with gentle warm-up exercises. 
• Become the brush, paint on paper through movement.
  
• Create your own masterpieces to take home.

Join us and unleash your creativity! Reserve your spot now. All ages and abilities are welcome. FREE (with an entry ticket), max. 15 people.

Food and drink vendors:

• Rosa's Thai
• Little Yellow Rice Co.
• Wong Dumplings
• Jyoti's Momo
• Phat Rollz
• Starry Cakery
• Tarsier Spirit

Others:

• Hút
• Ickle Bao
• ESEA Sisters
• Maketh by Me
• Royal Exchange Theatre
  
• LGBT Foundation
• Show Racism the Red Card
• akt (Albert Kennedy Trust)
• Glaucoma UK
• Royal British Legion

About GRUB

The award-winning Grub is Manchester's biggest and friendliest street food venue and events space based just a 5 minute walk from Manchester Victoria train station. It is both child and dog-friendly. Please visit their website for accessibility information.

For more...

To sponsor the event, exhibit at it or for press enquiries, please email us at voiceesea@gmail.com.

To subscribe for more information and updates, please do so here.

To sign up for our upcoming webinar aimed at organisations who want to better support and include their ESEA colleagues, go here.

To donate to our Ko-fi page, click here.

Refund policy

If you cannot attend the event we will refund money paid for workshops (minus the transaction fee) via bank transfer up until 12PM on 3rd September but you MUST tell us by this time.

We can also refund entry tickets as above but if you wish to still allow the money to go towards funding Voice ESEA and On Your Side, we'd be grateful of your generosity. Please let us know either way.

We look forward to seeing you there!