Leeks Hit The Streets

And not just leeks – cabbages and dragonfly puppets too, says Sarah.

On Sunday 20th June, a contingent from Manchester Friends of the Earth took the opportunity to dress up! Some of us dressed up as cabbages and leeks, whilst others operated dragonfly puppets. Why, I hear you ask! We were taking part in the Manchester Day Parade organised by Manchester City Council.

The parade was the first of its kind, inspired by a similar event in New York City, with the theme “Out of this world”. Manchester FoE worked with other environmental groups from across the city as part of a ‘moving allotment’ – sending out a message of sustainability and biodiversity with our props and costumes, designed by local theatre prop designer Brian Hanlon. Many community groups, schools and colleges took part and we all worked together in a warehouse down in Castlefield having fun making costumes, puppets, props and decorations for the event.

Manchester FoE’s leeks and dragonfly meet some sunflowers outside the Great Northern on Deansgate

On the morning of the parade it was inspiring and a great feeling to see the fruits of our labour come to life in the sunshine as thousands assembled with their various costumes and floats. The spectacle was amazing – space ships, dancing cyclists and Wizard of Oz characters! We joined our moving allotment alongside butterflies on stilts and a giant beekeeper and took to the streets of Manchester. Deansgate was closed off to traffic for the parade and the streets were lined with an estimated 75,000 people who turned out to watch and enjoy the spectacle.

Although the event brought many people together to work creatively, from a recycling standpoint it would have been even better if materials used for props and costumes had been sourced from recycled materials or trash instead of virgin resources. This would have made the event less wasteful. And we would have liked a vegan snack afterwards – however, this didn’t detract from the fun!

Event producers Walk The Plank were pleased with how well it went, and all involved had a brilliant time. I hope they do it again next year and, if they do, you should definitely come along and join in the fun!