Beat Bazaar is proud to be organising the upcoming Harpurhey Parade, taking place on Sunday 29th June 2025 – a vibrant celebration of community, creativity, and unity.
Working in collaboration with a wide range of local groups – including community centres, youth groups, church groups, youth theatre projects, and local creatives – the parade aims to shine a light on the incredible spirit and diversity of Harpurhey.
In the lead-up to the event, many groups have been participating in creative banner-making workshops with artist Jamie Rennie, designing unique and expressive banners to represent their organisations and celebrate their journeys and achievements.
Alongside the parade, groups are also preparing a range of exciting activities to engage and entertain on the day. After the parade, everyone is invited to Queen’s Park for a family fun event filled with:
This promises to be a joyful day for all ages – full of fun, creativity and connection.
We can’t wait to welcome you
Save the date: Sunday 29th June 2025
Parade followed by a family fun day in Queen’s Park
Watch this space for more details coming soon.
#HarpurheyParade #CommunityCelebration #HarpurheyUnity
We are thrilled to announce that Góbéfest 2025 will take place from 20th–22nd June at Cathedral Gardens, Manchester! Now in its 9th year, Góbéfest has grown from a grassroots celebration inspired by and rooted in Transylvania into an international folk festival, showcasing a vibrant mix of cultures from Eastern Europe and beyond and attracting over 10,000 visitors annually.
This year, we’re introducing a "Pay What You Feel" model, making the festival more accessible while allowing attendees to support the event in a way that suits them.
Expect an incredible lineup of live music, dance, food, workshops, and cultural experiences. Enjoy performances from world-class folk musicians, energetic dance troupes, hands-on craft activities, storytelling, and, of course, authentic traditional cuisine.
Join us as we celebrate community, heritage, and cultural exchange in a vibrant festival atmosphere. Save the date and stay tuned for more exciting announcements!
📍 Location: Cathedral Gardens, Manchester
📅 Dates: 20th–22nd June 2025
🎟️ Pay What You Feel – Contribute what you can to support the festival!
For more details and updates, follow us on www.facebook.com/gobefest or visit www.gobefest.com
We are thrilled to announce that Beat Bazaar has successfully secured a Project Viability Grant from the Architectural Heritage Fund. This crucial funding will allow us to continue our important work on the Oldham Mural and explore the repurposing of the Holy Rosary Church in Oldham.
With this grant, we have commissioned financial experts from Counterculture LLP to build on our feasibility study, providing a comprehensive financial analysis of the building's potential. Their expertise will help us gain a clearer picture of how the building can be repurposed in a sustainable and impactful way. Additionally, Counterculture LLP will offer governance advice and guidance, ensuring the project is well-structured for the future.
This funding marks a significant step forward in preserving and revitalizing Oldham’s cultural and architectural heritage. We look forward to sharing more updates as the project develops!
For more information or to get involved, please contact us.
Come along to an exciting Summer Pop-Up Event happening this weekend, showcasing some of the fantastic talent within the Wythenshawe community. Find out more about the exciting plans for the Wythenshawe Culture Hub & the new Creative Space in the Forum Library opening in September.
It’s going to be a day filled with music, dance, and activities. Featuring an array of talent from community groups such as Expressive Artz C.I.C, Block Cinema, Shooting Star Theatre School, Shana Keeler School of Dance, TK Ripni-Ka North West Bulgarian Community, We Will Rick You Guitar Collective, and lots of solo singers, songwriters and rappers this event is not to be missed.
Mark your calendars and bring your friends and family!
🗓 Date: Saturday 13th July 🕒 Time: 11am-3pm📍 Location: Wythenshawe Civic Centre, Main Square Outside Costa
It is with great regret that we have made the difficult decision to postpone our festival until later in the year.
In the last few days our festival manager has become aware that she has a serious heart condition that requires a prompt response and a rapid coronary procedure.
The timing and urgency of this issue will have a significant impact on our small team of brilliant freelancers and volunteers' ability to proceed as planned in June.
Organising a festival is always exciting, risky, unpredictable as well as stressful and it requires a strong heart. In the circumstances, we have decided that the best approach is to postpone until September.
This will enable our festival manager to regain her strength and come back to lead our lovely team to deliver another fantastic festival.
The new dates for Góbéfest 2024 will be Friday 20 - Sunday 22 September.
For those of you who have already purchased tickets, you can either request a refund or hold on to them for the rescheduled dates. If you do decide to hold on to your Friday or Saturday tickets until September, we will also provide you with a free drinks voucher as a thank you. Keep an eye on your inbox for further info and updates.
We are truly sorry for any inconvenience this may cause and have decided to bring back early bird ticket prices throughout the summer.
Please note: The Marta Sebestyen concert on Saturday 22 June 2024 is not affected.
Thank you for your continued support and for your understanding.
Since September 2024 Beat Bazaar has been delivering the The GoBe Leaders Programme at Sharon Youth Centre, taking place event Saturday afternoon. The intergenerational training programme entails weekly creative workshops for young people including music tuition in the Zither instrument and Hungarian folk dancing, covering different style of folk dance from all around the Carpathian basin. Following the music and the dancing, participants also engage in scouting , group building, youth work activities on a weekly basis. Participants have also embarked on an Arts Award Bronze accreditation.
Whilst the young people are busy in the workshops the project has also involved their parents in various activities and training sessions. There has been workshops for adults in freelancing and self employment including budgeting and money management, safeguarding, running a food stall. Scout leaders and volunteers have also received additional training in facilitation and youth work best practice. Parents have also been able to get involved in adult folk dance workshops.
As a result of the Gobe Leaders programme, we have established the UK’s one and only Zither Ensemble, which has been given the name : Tulip Zither band and Folk Arts. Thanks to the ongoing instrument tuition sessions, young people have been able to become part of a band and they have also been invited to perform at various events. Currently there are 34 participants in the project.
During Spring the participants and their parents are busy preparing for our annual festival Góbéfest, set to take place in June. Volunteer Steward training is in the pipeline. Some parents will be running their own stalls and activities or working as freelancers at the festival.
Overall the project has helped to build a strong, intergenerational team and community. Both young people and their parents have gained new transferrable skills as well as leadership skills, which will support their employability and future prospects. The project has resulted in a real impact on the participants and the community, and it was made possible by the Community Fund.
Check out some of the photos from the project.
Beat Bazaar is excited to bring you a family rave like no other. Join us for a delightful experience as you and your little ravers immerse yourselves in your favourite jungle, hip hop & rave anthems. Highly skilled DJs Veba, Outlander, Helen K, will be spinning top notch tracks and we will offer an array of interactive and creative activities for children, from DJing to music production, folk dancing to Hip Hop yoga, we have it all covered. Our music workshops provide hands on music making experiences that foster a love of music from an early age.
1pm-3pm Music Workshops & Creative Activities
3pm-4pm Yoga, Dance, Arts & Crafts
4pm-7pm Family Rave - Quality DJs & Top Notch Tunes
PLUS
Terms & Conditions
On the 23rd -26th June, we organised the 7th edition of Góbéfest, our annual festival of music, dance and culture from the Carpathian Basin, Eastern & Central Europe. Once again over 15000 people came along to enjoy the vibrant stage programme and unique creative activities for the whole family.
This year we welcomed our biggest band to date, the Children's Philharmonia from Szentegyháza in Transylvania, a 140 piece children's choir and orchestra. The Manchester Youth String Orchestra and Kalinka Balalaika orchestra also performed from One education| Manchester Music Hubs. Our very own Manchester Zither Orchestra performed at Góbéfest for the first time and were featured on BBC Radio News, for being the one and only Zither Orchestra in the UK.
Góbéfest 2023 also showcased 7 dance groups from all around the United Kingdom. The live music offering was oustanding, showcasing award winning acts such as Koszika alongside Yek Duy and more. Check out the photos taken by Donald Judge.
We are delighted to have received funding from the Community Fund to deliver a new project. The GoBe Leaders Community Leadership Project will be a hands on intergenerational training
and creative workshop programme for a group of young people and their parents/ guardians from
around Greater Manchester; who have been attending Sharon Youth centre in Old Trafford every Saturday. The project will provide structured creative workshops for young people. Participants will work towards an Arts Award Bronze. Parents and guardians will be invited to get involved in training opportunities and workshops to improve their employability and wellbeing.
Would you like to become a board member and get involved with Greater Manchester’s music industry?
If so then there is an opportunity for you to help steer and shape Greater Manchester’s' world famous music industry by becoming a Music Business Trustee.
The Greater Manchester Music Commission is determined to improve the diversity of the sector and has teamed up with Beat Bazaar to get as many new voices as possible on the boards of Manchester's music businesses.
On Monday 6th of March, from 6pm at Gorse Hill Studios, we are holding a panel discussion focusing on Youth Governance, followed by a music business networking session .
You can register on this link: Become a Trustee
Born and raised in various towns around the north of the UK, Owen Smith has used music as a medium to talk about his experiences growing up and overcoming many barriers to pave a way for a greater life. He’s been operating in the music industry in Manchester and beyond since 2016, as an artist and events promoter, and has found his way into the youth work sector, working in creative engagement at Gorse Hill Studios. He’s a member of the youth board at Factory International and is a big advocate for youth representation and access.
Victoria Robinson was appointed as the first female Chief Executive of The Met in December 2014 and led the £4.6million capital project and transformation of the organisation in 2016. Now a female led organisation, The Met exists to inspire excellence in music and creativity, enhance the quality of living and working in Bury and Greater Manchester by engaging communities with brilliant live experiences.
Regionally, Victoria is a member of the Greater Manchester Music Commission, actively involved in the diversity group and a member of the GM Night Time Economy Group. She is actively involved in placemaking as the Chair and a Director of the Bury Business Improvement District and a member of the Town Centre Advisory Panel overseeing the regeneration of the town.
Victoria has worked in music and the arts for over 25 years, and been passionate about live music for even longer. She started out writing about her native North East live music scene, before leading on gig and club promotions at the legendary Leadmill in Sheffield. After completing an MA in Public Relations at Manchester Metropolitan University, Victoria worked in commercial PR before returning to music in 2004
Ali Wilson is a producer, artist and comedian based in Manchester. She is currently Vice Chair of the Board at Contact where the Board is made up with 50% young Trustees. She is also a former member of MIF's Young People's Forum, and led neurodiversity awareness project Every Brain as Director from 2020 - 2022.
Josh Wilkinson is a Manchester based performer, presenter and filmmaker. He creates community focused theatre and digital pieces with his theatre company, Malandra Jacks, and regularly facilitates creative arts workshops across the UK. Josh is also a board member at Contact Theatre, Manchester and a recent member of MIF’s youth forum.
Being a Music Business Trustee would mean you would sit on the board of a music company in Manchester and meet quarterly to help plan, support and develop Greater Manchester’s music industry across events, gigs, festivals and other activities as well as providing an essential young voice amongst the other board members.
It would give you a chance to meet and network with professionals from across the music industry and find out more about the different job roles, opportunities and exciting artists that are performing and recording in the regions many studios and venues.
Being a board member is also a great way of developing your skills, experience and a great addition to any CV.
You can register on this link: Become a Trustee
We are super excited to begin the second part of the Spark Project. Packed with exciting panel discussions, opportunities, workshops and masterclasses, the project is due to start on Monday 30th of January at Gorse Hill Studios between 6pm-8pm. To get involved you can register here: and fill out an application form. The project is also offering free studio time and a performance opportunity, so don't miss out, get involved.
Would you like to become a board member and get involved with Greater Manchester’s Music industry?
If so then there is an opportunity for you to help steer and shape Greater Manchester’s' world famous music industry by becoming a Music Business Trustee.
Being a Music Business Trustee would mean you would sit on the board of a music company in Manchester and meet quarterly to help plan, support and develop Greater Manchester’s music industry across events, gigs, festivals and other activities as well as providing an essential young voice amongst the other board members.
It would give you a chance to meet and network with professionals from across the music industry and find out more about the different job roles, opportunities and exciting artists that are performing and recording in the regions many studios and venues.
Being a board member is also a great way of developing your skills, experience and a great addition to any CV!
This opportunity is provided by the Greater Manchester Music Commission. The role of the Greater Manchester Music Commission is to support and promote music in Greater Manchester. You can find out more about it here:
We aim to diversify the governance of local music businesses and get more young people involved in the boardrooms of Manchester’s music organisations. We’re especially interested in hearing from people under 30, to help provide direction, challenge and support the leadership of Greater Manchester’s Music Businesses.
The future of the industry is in your hands so get your voice heard, make a difference and make a change!
You can register on this link: Become a Trustee