To coincide with the exhibition ‘Wonderland by the Waves’, outreach activities were also organised along the theme of Blackpool and holidays. 

Spectacular Saturday

 The first of these was at the Saturday Spectacular, a monthly event for children at Central Library, where the theme of the afternoon was holidays. The exhibition team had some space to organise their own activities alongside the ones being run by the library. 

 During the Saturday Spectacular, there were archives out for visitors to handle, including brochures and guides dating back to the early 1900s. There was also a “design your own postcard” activity aimed at children. 

 Throughout the afternoon, many families visited the space to get involved with the activities on offer. Both children and adults enjoyed the opportunity to talk about their memories of the holidays they had been on. The postcard activity provided them with an opportunity to draw these onto their own postcards. 

 Many of the participants had been to Blackpool too and the archives and pictures of Blackpool triggered discussion and debate about the famous landmarks in the town and how it had changed over the years. 

 By the end of the afternoon, an eclectic and creative selection of postcards had been made to put up on the postcard sender and digital wall in the exhibition and for children to take home.

Age UK

Using the Central Library's digital screens meant that Manchester Wakes could interview local residents in Manchester and ask them about their holidays in the UK. Many had memories of Wakes Week and spoke about their family holidays. The project gained an insight into the real history of Wakes Week and how families enjoyed their time off as well as getting to know people local to Manchester.
"Wakes, in Wakes Week that was when all the... you know, when factories all closed down...waiting on just going on holiday" 

Public Donations

During the Manchester Wakes on-line campaigns a call for donations was sent out to the public. The archives used in the exhibition were all donated by the local Manchester public before the library was refurbished and Manchester Wakes wanted to recreate this approach.

Made by Maria Walker an artist who studied in Manchester
A donation from a personal collection of postcards.

Audio Tour

 Manchester Wakes wanted to reach out to as many as possible who may want to remember, reminisce or learn about Blackpool or Wakes Week in general. To take the exhibition to people's homes for those who may not be able to visit the library or those who been we have developed an audio tour that depicts the atmosphere of the exhibition. This tour takes the listener round the library capturing the sounds, sights and interactive features of the exhibition.

Not only does it allow you to take a tour of the exhibition from the comfort of your home but it will entice you to visit the exciting new central library to experience it first hand.

If you have any requirements to access the library please contact them to find out what facilities they have to offer you.

Listen to and download the tour below:



 Miles Platting Plodders

The Miles Platting Plodders are an energetic group of over 50's who get together once a month for walks around Manchester. They visited the Central Library to have a tour around Wonderland By The Waves. The virtual archive was a big hit with most of the group who spent half of the tour searching through digital books and endless archives. The displays in the reading room brought back lots of good memories for some who were excited to share their stories and memories of Blackpool.

The organiser Diane has told us that:
"All the group enjoyed it and some stayed for lunch and then went back for another look!"



A Grand Day Out

A Grand Day Out is a group that gets together at the Wythenshawe Forum to socialise, organise trips and create arts and craft items to fundraise for the group. Manchester wakes delivered a presentation to the group all about the project and encouraged a visit to see Wonderland By The Waves. The group were full of conversation about Blackpool, sharing stories and reminiscing with one another. 

A mother and daughter at the group spoke about the "Lost children's point, where all the children used to wait if they couldn't find their parents."
Another group who had never been on holiday together, but reminisced as if they had, shared  a story about "tying ropes to the gas lamps in the street, tucking their skirts in their stockings and swinging round the poles."

Manchester Wakes have connected with people all around Manchester to share our project and listen to their stories. If you have a story that you are itching to tell then why not e-mail us at manchesterwakes@gmail.com and you may see it appear on this site!