‘An enormous variety of fun things to do for people of all ages’
The ‘We Invented the Weekend’ festival, returning to Salford for the third time in 2026, celebrates the origins of the workers’ rights campaign that secured the half-day Saturday, helping to create the modern weekend. It’s packed with a wide range of cultural activities, including sport, art, food, and fashion.
Most of the activities and events are workshops or performances aimed at families, but there were also links to the festival’s more explicitly political origins through banner displays and talks, such as Morag Rose’s The Feminist Art of Walking.
Visiting on the Saturday, the first of the two days, the festival became incredibly busy after a quiet start on a windy morning that the stallholders seemed amusingly unprepared for.
There was a very welcoming atmosphere throughout, with plenty of good conversations taking place and everyone seeming genuinely friendly. The signs and maps across the different locations were clear and well placed. The various areas were relatively easy to find and close enough together to move between without difficulty.
That said, there were some accessibility issues throughout the day. Having all the areas so close together meant that sound from different talks often overlapped, making speakers difficult to hear and creating a somewhat overstimulating environment. The stages for speakers had also been installed with little apparent consideration for people with mobility issues.
The food and drink stalls were definitely overpriced – the cheapest burger was £12 – but what I tried was tasty, and there was also an ice cream van in one area. The ‘charity shop supermarket’ had plenty of good, inexpensive items, particularly clothes, as well as books. Different chutneys could be sampled for free, and the coffee in the Hot House was enjoyable. Of course, with the festival itself being completely free, along with the vast majority of activities on offer, there is only so much you can complain about.
There was a huge variety of things to do, catering to all sorts of tastes. Occasionally, the most interesting events seemed to be scheduled at opposite ends of the site, although that may have been more down to my poor planning than anything else.
Throughout the day, British Taekwondo and the Manchester United Foundation gave visitors the chance to try their sports, while there was also mini golf, hopscotch, and climbing. Nearby, the Piazza Stage hosted singing, dancing, and yoga workshops. The National Literacy Trust handed out free books as well as selling them. At one point I heard ‘Don’t You Want Me’ by the Human League playing in the outdoor tented club area, which is obviously a massive plus.
The most spectacular show was easily Pirate Taxi’s musical circus comedy. Even though the performance ended up taking place in pouring rain at the end of the day, people still gathered around the rope circle outside the Lowry Theatre to watch aerial silk, ladder, and hoop routines, often accompanied by live singing. It was incredibly impressive.
Walk the Plank and English National Opera had also collaborated on a football-themed opera, Perfect Pitch, with singers playing both fans and players from Bury FC and, naturally, Brazil. The immersive experience of standing right in the middle of the action worked particularly well and attracted an enormous crowd.
In many ways, though, the smaller stands and workshops were the highlights. There were plenty of relaxing activities, including collaging, stamping, drawing, and printing, and even boat rides along the quays. The RHS, Art With Heart, and Salford Badge Club all had stalls where visitors could speak to those involved, take part in activities, and learn more about their work.
Having never properly been to We Invented the Weekend before, I now know I’ll definitely return, hopefully for both days. I’d happily recommend it to others. There really is something for everyone, and it makes for an easy and relatively affordable day out.