Singing, dancing, music, a big parade and a Dakota fly-past over the city centre will all help mark the role of service veterans of all ages in Manchester this weekend.
On Friday (27 June) - National Veterans Day - there will be a special celebratory service in Manchester Cathedral, starting at 11am, to recognize the work of veterans of the armed forces and support services.
Afterwards, starting at about 12.30pm, 200 veterans will parade from the Cathedral along Corporation Street and Cross Street to the Town Hall, Albert Square.
Waiting there to take the salute will be the Lord Mayor of Manchester, Councillor Mavis Smitheman, the Lord-Lieutenant for Greater Manchester, Warren Smith, and Baroness Taylor of Bolton, Minister for Defence Equipment & Support.
The Dakota from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight - a propeller-driven plane of the type that carried paratroops to the D-Day Landings in 1944 - will pay tribute to the veterans by flying at 2,000 feet over Albert Square at 12.50pm.
In Albert Square veterans will see a special garden created by Manchester-based volunteers from the Prince's Trust working with veterans, as part of Manchester Garden Market.
Specially discounted refreshment vouchers are available to all veterans and can be collected from the National Veterans Day information stall in Albert Square.
The Lord Mayor will host a civic reception for veterans in the Town Hall then about 40 veterans of all ages, representing the range of armed forces and support services, will be presented with their Veteran's Badges by the Lord-Lieutenant.
On Saturday (28 June) there will be a FREE Fun-Filled Family Celebration at Castlefield, just of Liverpool Road, from noon to 5pm.
There will be live music from the 1940s to the present, including Manchester's very own Cole Page with his 7-piece orchestra. Dancers will show you the moves of the time, so everyone can get up and have a go.
Shop Front Home Front, a living history drama, will be performed throughout the day, presented by the People's History Museum.
For the more active, there will be an inflatable assault course and penalty shoot-out.
Display of military vehicles including a 1940s cockpit. Command tasks using mental and physical skills from Skill Force. Young and old can join together to win prizes.
Imperial War Museum North will be providing free object handling sessions linked to the Home Front and the Second World War, lively quizzes about rationing and plenty more activities to spark off sharing memories and intergenerational reminiscence.
Guided walks around Castlefield will be provided by Manchester's Blue Badge Guides. To pre-book call 01457 765 417.
There will also be fairground, information stalls for veterans and food available at Castlefield.
At the nearby MOSI (Museum of Science & Industry) there will be a Homelife Memories event from 12.30pm to 3.30pm in which visitors are invited to share wartime memories and discover more about 1940s homelife in Manchester.
MOSI will also host a variety of street performers over the weekend, including a samba band, stilt walker, face painter and science buskers.
Veterans who are disabled badge holders can access limited free parking via Duke Street, off Liverpool Road.
For more information call: Manchester Visitor Information Centre on 0871 222 8223* or visit http://www.manchesterlive.co.uk/
* Calls cost 10p per minute from a BT landline, calls from other providers may vary.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Martin Hellewell, Press Office, tel: 0161 234 3729