A celebration of poetry, prose, and people will be held in Withington this weekend as part of a fundraising campaign for a cultural hotspot after their controversial eviction last month.
Compèred by award-winning writer Sarah-Clare Conlon, Blah! Blah!! Blah!!! Writers For Café Blah will take place at Withington Public Hall Institute between 5 and 7pm on Saturday 23 November featuring 16 performers from across the city.
Neighbours and creatives have rallied together since the venue’s shock closure offering financial support, essential resources and solidarity with the Café Blah team.
Business owner Adam Porrino said: “We are still overwhelmed by how much Blah means to people.
“The support has been amazing from the creative community.
“These people weren’t just our customers but our friends.”
The event includes readings from Professor of Poetry at the Centre for New Writing John McAuliffe, Tom Jenks of The Other Room avant-garde reading series, and Broken Sleep Books poet Nóra Blascsók.
All proceeds (except Eventbrite fees) will be donated to the #SaveCafeBlah Just Giving campaign.
Sarah-Clare Conlon said: “As a writer, it’s been the indie venues where I cut my teeth and where I’ve found encouragement, confidence and inspiration to keep doing it.
“Blah! Blah!! Blah!!! is a one-off event drawing together writing talent from around the city.
“It’s rare to get this smorgasbord of styles all in one place, so it represents real value for money while all proceeds go to the #SaveCafeBlah campaign – everyone is contributing for free and Withy Public Hall, another great indie, has kindly given us the room for free.
“It will be fun!”
With the help of local businesses, artists and frequenters of the much-loved venue, Porrino’s crowd funder has already surpassed £10,000.
But securing another Withington venue is challenging, and Porrino hopes to raise a further £4,000.
He said: “We are working hard behind the scenes to get organised whilst scouting out properties around Manchester.
“There isn’t much out there at the moment and these things take time.
“But we want to get it right.”
Tickets cost £11.55 and you can purchase yours here!
Or donate to the fundraiser here.
Feature image credit: @manc_wanderer
