Chorlton Coffee Festival: Wake Up And Smell The Suburb

JUNE sees the launch of Chorlton Coffee Festival.

This is the brainchild of Canadian-born Lorelei Loveridge who decided it was time to bring late cafe culture to the south Manchester suburb, Chorlton, when refused a cup of coffee after 9 pm.

"When I moved to the UK," she says, "I would say 'Let's meet for a coffee' and people would respond with 'Or a drink'.

The festival will take place in cafes, bars and restaurants around Chorlton, and will also host a festival 'hub' in Chorlton Central Church on Saturday 29th June. The hub will feature various workshops and talks, such as 'How to Become a Home Barista' and 'One Chemex, Five Coffees'.

Over thirty cafes, bars and restaurants in the Chorlton area are involved in the festival and will be hosting various events over the weekend, as well as offering coffee-based drinks specials for festival attendees.

Cafe events currently include a poetry workshop with Chorlton-based published author, Rosie Garland, an intimate gig performance from Kirsty Almeida, and 'Tour de Cafe South Manchester', a cycle tour around the coffee haunts in Chorlton and beyond!

Festival producer, Lorelei Loveridge, lived in Saudi Arabia for 11 years, travelling and sampling the teas, coffees and cafes of Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Oman and the UAE as well as India, Nepal and other parts of South and South East Asia.

The coffee culture of these places inspired Loveridge to come up with the idea for the festival after having settled in Manchester for a number of years. 

The festival is mostly free to attend, while entrance to the festival hub will cost £3 for adults and £1 for children.

The festival website is here.