THE 10th anniversary of an iconic centre is set to be celebrated in style.

The anniversary of Trafford's Waterside Arts Centre will be marked as an important milestone in the venue’s development.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary season, the centre will be holding ten special events in the arts centre, within the Sale community and across Trafford with a Waterside 10 logo which will highlight each event.

The venue which opened in November 2004 after the former Sale Civic Theatre closed and plans were made to rebuild and update the site into a new arts venue.

Rosie Scott, the centre manager, said “Over the last ten years, over one million visitors have been welcomed through the arts centre’s doors and we continue to grow from strength to strength. Recently we have hosted the same production as The Southbank Centre in London placing us into that calibre of venue.

"We are extremely proud of the high quality arts programme that we bring to Trafford and the fact that at the same time we offer unique opportunities to the local community to become involved in what we do.”

Located in the heart of Sale, it comprises The Robert Bolt 350 seater theatre, the immaculately preserved 1930s Council Chambers performance space, art galleries, studios and workspaces.

Executive councillor for communities John Lamb said: "Waterside Arts Centre is thriving and has established itself as an important regional hub for both performance and visual art. It is a major touring venue for some of the best musicians, artists and performing companies from across the country and also provides a vital local community resource.

"Over the past 10 years, established itself not only as a popular part of Trafford’s cultural scene, but also a regional arts hub.

The first of these events will be the Big Family Birthday Party at the arts centre on Saturday, September 13, starting at 11am. Free entry and activities including ‘Meet a real life mermaid’, children’s theatre, dance and drama taster sessions, face-painting, balloon modelling and more.

The anniversary celebrations will continue throughout the autumn season and will include a performance on a canal boat, a pop-up gallery shop in Sale shopping centre, a Christmas lantern parade by local children and a classical music concert by professional musicians at Sale High School. A full programme is available.