Longsight Winter Welcoming

It’s our favourite part of winter… the Winter Welcoming celebrations.

Longsight Library’s good friend, artist, Emma Martin from Building the Bridge, secured funding to work with local primary schools and the library to create this year’s Winter Welcome festival.

Emma worked with local schools to create the Wish Ribbons that decorate the outside of the library and also to build the lanterns for the festival highlight the Lantern Parade.

The Wish Ribbons were distributed to schools for children to decorate with their wishes. If you haven’t seen them it’s really worth popping over to the library to have a read of their wishes … both poignant and joyous in equal measures. Make sure you take a hanky with you though!

By Saturday the 14th December all the tireless work of Emma and her small team had come to fruition and the lanterns were at the library on their bamboo canes, threaded up with lights and ready to go.

We held a mini-lantern making workshop in the library on Saturday afternoon. There was a fantastic selection of creations, once again Longsight children showing what brilliant artists they are!

Everyone who made a mini-lantern were then gifted a free book thanks to the lovely people from Save the Children Longsight.

Once twilight arrived, everybody headed outside the library with their mini-lanterns and the big school-made lanterns, were distributed to children and adults to carry. The huge Winter Welcoming Snail Lantern was brought out to lead the parade. Once everyone was in place the Lord Mayor of Manchester (Councillor Paul Andrews) joined by Andrew Gwynne MP, Cllr Suzanne Richards & Cllr Abid Chohan opened the parade.

Everyone had a fantastic afternoon and evening. once the parade returned the Christmas lights were switched on and everyone went in to the Pakistani Community Centre for a picnic and a performance of the Magic Porridge Pot by Peoplescape Theatre.