Art and health festival featuring 'menopause choir' is coming to Manchester'

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

In a first for North Manchester, an open-top bus menopause choir will be performing as part of a multi-arts festival. It's all part of SICK! festival, an arts and health event that faces up to the complexities of mental and physical health.

The festival where health and creativity meet will span the entire month of May, and will be based in Harpurhey, Charlestown and across Greater Manchester. Most of the festival's events will take place in North Manchester and are bolstered by a commitment to the area for the next ten years.

The festival's first events to be announced include an open top bus Menopause choir, led by Gospel singer-songwriter Tosin Akindele and Swiss musician Sbiylle Aeberli. Musicians, choirs and local communities will board the 'Menopause Bus' to shout and sing about the rarely discussed topic as part of a international collaboration between Manchester and Zurich.

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Festival director Helen Medland said: “This year we’re bringing the festival right into the heart of Manchester, we’ve just made a commitment to work in Moston, Harpurhey and Charlestown for the next 10 years, so we’ll be delivering a lot of the festival there. We’ve been working with a whole range of different communities, thinking about what affects their health and wellbeing. We’re really excited to be building long-term connections in these neighbourhoods.

“It feels like an important time to think again about some of the subjects that we often struggle to talk about like mental health, domestic violence and health inequalities. We also want to explore wellbeing and celebrate the great stuff that goes on in our communities. It’s a festival that you really can get out there and explore.

"We’ve got some fantastic artists in the