A huge free family festival is coming to MediaCity this weekend featuring Hey Duggee, Hacker T Dog and more.
We Invented The Weekend runs this Saturday and Sunday, September 10 and 11, bringing a whole host of workshops and activities to Salford Quays. There'll be a CBeebies Bedtime Stories live event, with the likes of presenters Rhys Stephenson, Katie Thistleton and Hacker T Dog reading stories.
Little ones will be able to join a Hey Duggee Story Trail, collecting a map from the Reading Lawn at MediaCity and spotting the Salford Literacy Trail book benches one last time before they are auctioned off, and can also take part in a Hey Duggee disco, which will take place in between story sessions.
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There will be appearances from the dog himself over the weekend as well as Elmer the Elephant and some CBeebies favourites. A Tiny Happy People tent will be there for under fives offering free activities including sock puppets and skittles and mums will be able to join in a babywearing dance class, with taster workshops from Dance Like A Mother.
Other activities across the weekend include music workshops and a whole host of sporting activities, with everything from skateboarding, cheerleading and basketball to tennis, rugby, cricket and even circus skills.
Gardening activities will be up for grabs as RHS Bridgewater presents We Get Green - a programme of talks, competitions and activities for aspiring gardeners of all ages.
For older kids, 13 plus, the University of Salford is hosting VR Gaming Experience sessions on the Saturday, and for ages six plus, there'll be stop motion animation, arcade machines and retro gaming and a 3D printing and activity workshop.
The event, which also includes workshops with Salford artist and Gogglebox star Helena Worthington at The Lowry and Story Seekers workshops at the Imperial War Museum North, has been planned to celebrate the fact that the weekend as we know it was invented in Greater Manchester in 1843.
Prior to that people had a six-day working week, but thanks to the pioneering campaigning of warehouse clerk Robert Lowes - who also happens to be the great grandfather of Sir Ian McKellen - workers were allowed to have Saturday afternoons off, paving the way for the modern weekend.
All the activities are free and while some need tickets - which can be booked online here - many are walk-in on the day.
Of course, it's not just about the little ones and there is plenty of fun for grown ups too, including a huge communal Sunday roast, DJ sets and get Your Docks Off musical boat rides along the Manchester Ship Canal, 'sailing you through the best musical eras from Britpop to Reggae'.
The CBeebies Bedtime Stories Tent opens from 11am to 5pm on both days, with the last session at 4pm. It's a drop-in event on a first-come-first-served basis.
For more details about the festival and specific timings, visit the website here.
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