Free Stockport Mad Hatter street tea party on 20 June
Stockport Market Place will host the first Saturday Snack Down event on Saturday 20 June, with a free Mad Hatter’s Street Tea Party bringing food, entertainment and surprises into the town centre.
The event is aimed at all ages and no booking is required, according to details released by Stockport Council and Market Place (Europe) Ltd. A start time has not been stated in the source information, so visitors should check local market updates before setting off.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Event | Saturday Snack Down: Mad Hatter’s Street Tea Party |
| Date | Saturday 20 June 2026 |
| Time | Not stated in the source information |
| Venue | Stockport Market Place, Market Place, Stockport |
| Price | Free |
| Entry | No booking required |
| Audience | All ages |
| Organiser | Stockport Council / Market Place (Europe) Ltd |
First Saturday Snack Down starts at Stockport Market Place
Saturday Snack Down is a new monthly food-themed event series taking over Stockport Market Place from June to October. The opening event, the Mad Hatter’s Street Tea Party, is being billed as a day of food, entertainment and surprises in one of the town centre’s best-known public spaces.
The format gives local residents, families and visitors another reason to use the Market Place beyond the regular shopping week. The source material describes the first event as designed to bring people of all ages into Stockport town centre for “a day out with a difference”.
For readers deciding whether to go, the practical appeal is straightforward: it is free, it is in the Market Place, and it sits within a wider summer programme already expected to draw more visitors into the area.
Food, entertainment and a wider summer programme
The Mad Hatter’s Street Tea Party opens a new run of Saturday Snack Down events, with the series planned monthly through to October. The brief confirms food and entertainment as the main supported highlights for the first date.
The Market Place will also continue to host returning events across the year, including Foodie Friday, Makers Market, STOCK Party, Armed Forces Day celebrations and Stockport Pride. Those events form part of a broader calendar around Stockport Market rather than the single Saturday Snack Down date.
Another confirmed summer fixture is Stockport Vintage Spectacular on Sunday 12 July, when the Victorian Market Hall is due to be transformed by So Retro Events with vintage fashion, vinyl, jewellery, homeware, collectables, live swing music, retro entertainment, free vintage bus rides, close-up magic and pop-up experiences. Tickets for that separate event are available via Eventbrite, according to the source text.
Why the market is getting more attention
Stockport Market is being presented by the council as a flagship part of the town centre’s wider transformation. The market is home to more than 50 independent traders and has more than 750 years of trading history.
The council says the surrounding town centre has seen sustained visitor growth, with nearby Merseyway welcoming more than 10 million visits in 2025. The Market Place has also attracted new independent businesses over the past year, including Stockport Provisions, The Pet Grocer and The Brick Prof, while artist Kate O’Brien has expanded into a larger stall.
The Brick Prof, a specialist LEGO stall, opened in March 2026 and sells retired and hard-to-find LEGO sets. Lou’s Café has also taken over the long-established John O’Mara’s café unit, continuing the market’s tradition of independent cafés serving traders, visitors and the local community.
Cllr Micheala Meikle, Stockport Council’s Cabinet Member for Economy, Regeneration and Skills, said the market’s continued success showed what could happen when people, independent businesses and local character came together. She said the summer programme would give more people the chance to experience “one of the most vibrant and historic destinations in Greater Manchester”.
Andy Pidgen, Operations Director at Market Place (Europe) Ltd, said the summer programme was intended to give people more reasons to spend time in the Market Place, discover local businesses, enjoy food and entertainment, and experience the atmosphere around Stockport Market.
Check before travelling if you need a fixed time
The confirmed details for Saturday Snack Down: Mad Hatter’s Street Tea Party are the date, place, free entry and no-booking arrangement. The published information does not give a start time, transport advice or accessibility details.
The market team is also encouraging new independent businesses to get in touch, with a rare opportunity currently available inside the Market Hall and applications open for traders interested in joining the weekly outdoor market.
Source: Stockport Council
Context & actions About this article
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This preview is based on the published Stockport Council event information and keeps unsupported details, such as start time and access notes, out of the article.
- Matched the event name, date and venue to the published Stockport Market programme.
- Confirmed the event is free and listed as no booking required in the supplied event brief.
- Checked that the start time was not present, so no time was invented.
- Separated the 20 June Saturday Snack Down event from other summer market events.
- Source
- Stockport Council
- Scope
- Stockport
- Updated
- 2026-06-09 19:50
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