The Mossley, Manchester-based Carnival Centre of Excellence in the North is to open officially on September 10 and 11 with a special weekend to mark the £1 million refurbishment of its former mill premises.
The new Vale will have year-round live music, dance, cinema and theatre – the building now has a 300-plus seat theatre space – as well as space for live music, studios and artist accommodation.
The centre, opened in 2015, will continue to be operated by carnival-arts company Global Grooves, which received major grant aid to complete the refurb project – almost £240,000 from the Culture Recovery Fund before Christmas, and almost £500,000 from Arts Council England. Money has also come from local sources such as the town council and youth organisations.
The project fell behind during the pandemic and Global Grooves, which began in 2003, wasn’t able to earn money to put into the work, as it had expected. The company has now become one of the Arts Council’s “portfolio” organisations, guaranteed a £125,000 annual grant until 2023.
Global Grooves originally started The Vale as a social enterprise and will continue create the large-scale carnival events and training workshops it has become famous for. The company works on carnival entertainment around the world, regularly performing to crowds in the tens of thousands
Leon Patel, Global Grooves chief executive, said: “There will be something here for everyone, from dance to live music and of course carnival. We can’t wait to welcome people into the space.”
See our original post about The Vale here