There was lots of activity in Brunswick in December, from tree lights and carol singing to festive meals and crafts, it was a hive a of activity with the whole community coming together in true Christmas spirit.   

The Christmas Tree light switch-on took place in Gartside Gardens on Friday, 6th December, with Co-op Academy School Choir singing a selection of Christmas songs. There was even the chance to meet Santa! View a selection of photographs here. 

Brunswick Village also received its very own Christmas tree installation in the garden area courtesy of the MEARS team. A huge thanks to them! Residents and visitors could see the tree from their homes at the rear and also enjoy the colourful sight from the Bistro. A beautiful addition to brighten any winters day. 

There was also the Holiday Crafts and Santa event which took place Friday, 20th December in Brunswick Community Space where once again Santa made an appearance, telling stories, singing songs and giving out gifts, while everyone enjoyed making Christmas crafts to take home with them. There are lots of pictures from the event here. 

The Community Pantomime Sleeping Beauty offered two performances. Both shows were well attended with free refreshments being made available and each child was given a chocolate treat to take home.

Brunswick Church delivered their annual Community Christmas meal which was a great success with over 100 people in attendance who all treated to a delicious 3 course meal partially funded by S4B. Diners also had an additional gift of free food items supplied by Food Justice who are planning to provide surplus food to residents of Brunswick who need it on a regular basis.

Social Investment Specialist, Sharon Thomas, represented S4B at the Brunswick Church Carol Service by delivering a festive bible reading. It also featured Rockwell Woodwind Ensemble which was only established in June 2024 and they played Christmas carols and sang festive songs. They also had a special visit by Flash with many grabbing the opportunity to take a selfie with the superhero!

Food Justice Network for Manchester (Food Justice MCR) is an organisation of community minded volunteers that identify surplus food and convert it into an opportunity and we were pleased to be able to support them with food distribution at Brunswick Village Community Space on Christmas Eve. There were two sessions, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. The sessions proved to be very successful with queues at each one of over 30 people attending to collect food, which included a large cool box of pies & 3 trays of cookies. One resident said “Thank you all so much for this opportunity which means we can eat properly over Christmas”. 

For further information on any of the above, or for information on the ongoing S4B foodbank, please get in touch. Send a WhatsApp message to 07500 065 270, email info@s4bmanchester.co.uk, visit the S4B housing office, or give us a call on 0300 555 0128.