Girl Gang’s 10th Birthday Party!

A DECADE: 10 Years of us, 10 years of YOU!

Girl Gang's 10th Birthday Party

What does it mean to evolve, thrive, persevere, survive and stay true to yourself and your values for ten whole years?

Part retrospective, part relaunch and definitely part party, join us for a community “day to night” party celebrating ten years of surviving and thriving as individuals, a community and a DIY feminist events collective in Manchester! We’ll be hosting reflective workshops, reunions, crafts, games, talks, performances, panels, art installations, decor, DJ’s and dancing!

Reflecting on the resilience required to persevere (whether as an unfunded independent organisation like us, or just as a person in the world!) in an ever-evolving and progressively more expensive city- we want to toast you all, take stock and give ourselves a pat on the back for being big brave girls!

We’ll be looking back over our HUNDREDS of events and projects, reviving some old classics and collectively calling in a promising future for us all.

Expect cuteness, community, cake and chaos

VENUE: Stretford Public Hall

DRESS CODE: It’s our big birthday and we’re seeing it as an excuse to get our glad rags on! Feel free to get involved! Spruce yourself up and bring along your lovers- girlfriends, boyfriends, non-binary partners, spouses and polycules all very welcome!!

Timings overview:

5pm: Girl Gang reunion! Invite only

6pm: Event starts

6pm-9pm: Workshops, art installations, drop in activities, talks.

9-11pm: Dance party & performances

11pm: Event finishes

Swing By

Drop in activities overview:

Red Carpet Arrival Experience

Starring YOU as a valued member of our community, capturing your attendance and finding out what girl gang(s) mean(s) to you.

Our Decade: Art Installation & Community Zine Creation

Inspired by our Cultural Timeline scene from Millennial Pink- step into our interactive ten year timeline experience where we attempt to capture ten years of Girl Gang events and projects, ten years of global politics and pop culture and invite you to share your personal milestones and memories across those ten years with us!

The timeline will be accompanied by a craft table where we encourage people to create contributions to the creation of a zine we will be publishing to celebrate our tenth birthday.

Gifting station

Give to receive! Share the joy! Bring something you don’t want / need any more or something handmade, wrap it up and take something away in return. Or just give to give- we’ll also have a table collecting donations for Emmeline’s Pantry Foodbank.

Make your own party hat

Tap into your inner child and honour the fact it’s our tenth birthday after all with a throwback children’s party hat customisation station.

Walk Down Memory Lane- Decor From the Archive

Displaying some classic Girl Gang designs from our archive including our Processions banner from 2018, Love & Rage banner from IWD @ Aviva Studios 2023, The Eiffel Tower from our immersive screening of Bridesmaids in 2017, The Moon from Moondance Menagerie 2017, the winners podium from Bend It Like Beckham 2023 and many more!

Screening Stations

Enjoy previous Girl Gang projects and campaigns such as; Ode to Bedroom Dancing, Everything I Know, I Felt exhibition film, Bed Talks from artists activists and academics during lockdown, (I Fell In Love and) Everything Was Beautiful, Do you understand whats in your blood? #SpreadtoPledge, A Woman’s Place is in the Home

Commit To The Bit

Stay for 30-60 mins workshops & activities in specific time slots

6.30-7.15pm & 7.45-8.30pm: Not a Girl, Not Yet A Woman ritual

A reflective, calming and cathartic ritual based workshop where we honour our past selves and reflect on the way we, the world, ourselves and our lives have changed. This workshop encourages participants to take a moment to mark, mourn and celebrate the passing of time, grieve previous versions of ourselves and welcome in new iterations.

7pm-7.30pm: Looking Back, Looking Forward

A panel discussion with local feminist figures to reflect on how the feminist landscape has changed in the last 10 years and envision what we want for the next 10 years!

7.45-.8.30pm: Party Games with a Feminist TwisT

Reviving a Girl Gang classic, expect such treats as “Pop the Patriarch”, “Get over the Glass Ceiling”, “Poo the Pay Gap”, “Pass the Privilege” and “Musical Chairwoman of the Board”.

8.45pm: Girl Gang- 10 Things We've Learned in 10 Years

What we are saying yes & no to as independent artists moving forwards. A little speech, toast, reflection and cake cutting ceremony!

8.55pm: Manifesto Relaunch & Re:Evolution Ritual

Collectively getting things off our chests and out of our systems to create space for a new era and kick off the party!

9-11pm: 10th Birthday Disco & Pop Up Performances

Expect decade spanning multi-genre feminist bangers solley from artists of marginalised genders, theatrical moments and surprises ranging from poetry to burlesque.

11pm: Event ends

We really hope you can make it!! Lots of love from your local Girl Gang xxx

Other vibes & happenings include

2026 Programme Sneak Peak and Campaign Launch

Reunion! We’ll be inviting all previous Girl Gang core teams and collaborating artists along to celebrate and say thank you! Girl Gang has always been a fluid collective and literally hundreds of artists, activists, volunteers and instigators have been involved over the past decade- we wouldn’t still be going without them!

Platforming the work of other independent feminist organisations making cool things happen across the city – we’ll be reaching out to loads of groups with similar values and encouraging people to connect and share learning, recognising we are part of a larger DIY feminist ecology and encouraging more support and sharing of resources.

We’ll use the party as an opportunity to reconnect with people who have been around from the start and those who are just discovering us and are hoping to collect testimonials to evidence our impact and help us secure more funding and stability in the near future.

ACCESSIBILITY INFO

Stretford Public Hall offers accessibility with step-free access via a ramp at the main entrance (Chester Road) or a side entrance (Dorset Street), plus a lift to all floors. Accessible toilets are available on both levels and disabled parking is available on Dorset Street. Unfortunately there is no hearing loop in this venue at this time.

Stretford Public Hall is well connected via local buses (routes 79, 253, 255, 256, 263, 272, 277) and a short walk from Stretford tram stop. Car parking is available via the car park on Dorset Street.

We happily offer free tickets for personal assistants, please email us at girlgangmanchester@gmail.com to arrange this.

The room will use dim lighting and we will have background music during the first part, moving into louder music as the party gets started. As there will be lots of activities taking place in the same room, the event could be loud! We encourage you to find seats and corners away from the main activities if you need.

We won’t be using strobe lighting at this event but there will be colourful “disco style” lighting from 9pm and low light for dancing.

As we all know, Covid still exists and we ask that people act responsibly in the care of our community – please DO NOT come to the event if you are feeling unwell, or have knowingly had contact with a positive case.

A Girl Gang Manchester team member will be in charge of each activity and can be a point of contact throughout the event if you require anything.

If you have any other access requests or worries, please contact us at girlgangmanchester@gmail.com. We are super proud that our events and club nights are welcoming and that there are always people who feel comfortable to attend on their own.