The Gaskell Garden Project are hosting the second in a trilogy of South American themed nights at Manchester’s The Wonder Inn this Friday. A night that aims to transport its revellers into the very heart of the Andes.

‘Freedom Matters: Party At The Peak’ promises to be a night full of surprises with organisers predicting an unrepeatable, transcendental journey through community action, permaculture and music, ending in a 3-hour, Latin American ritual, like nothing you’ve experienced before. The last Freedom Matters event before Christmas wowed crowds with live music, performance art, all you can eat spicy pumpkin soup, a human disco ball and shamanic glitter ritual.

Now the DIY collective of creatives and campaigners are returning to community hub and organic cafe The Wonder Inn in Manchester City Centre’s Shudehill for a night of music, live art and community activism.

The night will kick off with live acoustic music from Mica Sinclair, Anna Bailey, Maythias and Johnny Sly, alongside an All-You-Can-Eat Veggie Feast provided by Manchester’s FoodCycle for £5. FoodCycle is a charity which intercepts surplus food from supermarkets and works to reduce food waste, social isolation and food poverty in local communities.

Those out for a dance on Friday night can find Manchester Reggae Society in one room, and Ecuadorian Andes-Step “DJ-Shaman” Joaquín Cornejo in the other. Freedom Matters is Manchester’s only Andes-Step night. The organisers describe it as a ritual mountain experience with indigenous Andean rhythms, infused with electronica, house, psychedelia and dub.

All funds raised go towards supporting Moss Side based Gaskell Garden Project, a refugee community garden which provides weekly permaculture and artistic workshops for local refugees and asylum seekers and members of the community. Their activity involves supporting refugees and asylum seekers in legal cases, including the recent campaign to save Manchester community activist Dianne Ngoza from illegal deportation.

Beyond raising funds, Freedom Matters is an opportunity for the Gaskell Garden Project to promote their work and connect with local groups and community members. The Meteor will be there on Friday asking people about the stories they would like to see in their local media and mapping community action currently taking place in the city, as well as offering an opportunity to sign up for free community journalism training taking place this spring.

If Freedom Matters’ last event is anything to go by, The Party At The Peak will be a journey not to be missed, as the organisers of the night mischievously invite you to: climb the mountain, hop over the lava, crawl through the snow, to reach the Party At The Peak.

Alice Toomer – McAlpine

Tickets are £6 unwaged/£8 waged on the door

All proceeds go to support Gaskell Garden Project’s refugee community garden

17th February at the The Wonder Inn, Manchester 7.30pm start

Featured Image: Gaskell Garden Project

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  • Alice Toomer-McAlpine

    Co-founder and Co-editor of The Meteor, Alice is a community worker and journalist from Manchester who works across a range of roles including youth work, community organising, video production and creative documentation of non-profit projects. Alice is interested in how the stories we create and share shape the world we live in, and how communities can take ownership of their stories and build trust with local independent media to build collective power.

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