A three-day ‘summer street festival’ is coming to Deansgate Mews this weekend
The Deansgate Mews Street Festival will celebrate the eclectic independent food and drink businesses on the street, alongside welcoming 30 different music acts.
A festival full of food and live music is coming to Deansgate Mews at Great Northern Warehouse this weekend.
Completely free to attend and spanning three-days, The Deansgate Mews Street Festival will celebrate the eclectic independent food and drink businesses on the street, alongside welcoming 30 different music acts.
The festival will feature live music all weekend from the outdoor stage at The Lion’s Den.
On the music line-up this year are local acts such as Laura Farrow, Ash Palmer, Kate O’Malley, Uno Mass, Broke Casino, and indie-rock band The Siennas will be taking centre stage to entertain guests.
As well as live music, there will also be some delicious BBQ offerings from Deansgate Mews’ stylish new artisan shop, The Butcher’s Quarter. Already a massive hit with locals, The Butcher’s Quarter offers a selection of the highest-quality, locally-sourced cheeses and meats and also offers stylish tasting rooms for guests to experience tasty platters inspired by butchers and delis on the back streets of Rome.
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The Deansgate Mews Street Festival will be completely free to attend and welcome 30 different music acts over the weekend / Credit: Great Northern
On top of that, there’ll be be a pop-up Gift Emporium at the festival – which will host a variety of market stalls that offer a range of quirky gifts from sellers across Manchester.
“We’re extremely excited to take part in the Mews Street Festival and offer the people of Manchester the freshest and most scrumptious meats, cheeses and wines,” said Graeme Hogg, Owner of The Butcher’s Quarter.
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“With everyone that is lined up, it looks like this festival will be one to remember.”
The three-day festival will celebrate the eclectic independent food and drink businesses on the street / Credit: Great Northern
Market stalls at the Deansgate Mews Street Festival will be charged at £10 per day and these fees will be donated to local community charity, Forever Manchester, which is the only charity that raises money to fund and support community activity across Greater Manchester.
Any donations made by guests will be collected onsite and also given to Forever Manchester.
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And while the festival is free to attend, visitors can also join in the online raffle – where they can win an amazing bundle of culinary prizes courtesy of some of Great Northern’s finest establishments, with all profits going to the charity.
“We are delighted to once again be hosting The Deansgate Mews Street Festival,” said Mark Schofield, centre director at the Great Northern Warehouse.
“It was always our ambition to make this festival an annual part of the Great Northern calendar and it feels amazing to be able to welcome Mancunians for a free weekend of music, accompanied by food, drink and shopping, after a year’s break due to the pandemic.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CSJmmhuIV7t/
The Deansgate Mews Street Festival
Friday 6 – Sunday 8 August 2021
Deansgate Mews, Great Northern Warehouse, M3
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StreamGM and The Manc have teamed up to show some some serious love and support to the region’s renowned theatres, nightclubs, and live-music venues with the launch of SeeGM – a digital campaign to shine a bright spotlight on many of the amazing events, club nights, gigs and shows in our region.
Greater Manchester’s spooky steam trains are returning this Halloween
Emily Sergeant
Spooky season is right around the corner, and one of Greater Manchester’s most-popular Halloween events is returning.
What’s Halloween without East Lancashire Railway‘s (ELR) eerie ghost trains at this point? Generally selling out each year, the heritage railway’s Halloween Ghost Trains always prove to be top of the Halloween bucket list for people looking for some ‘spooktacular fun’ once the scariest time of year rolls around.
And 2026 is expected to be no different… in fact, it’ll be even creepier than normal, because the scream train has had a spooky makeover.
You can expect flickering lights, eerie sounds, creepy surprises, and perhaps a very unwelcome visitor climbing aboard.
Those brave enough at lending the Monster Squad a helping hand at banishing ghosts and ghouls will be whisked away on a haunted steam engine through the atmospheric Greater Manchester countryside.
Before you join them though, you’ll need to prove you have what it takes by making it through the Halloween Walkthrough on the footbridge with a fair few jump scares.
Once you reach the platform, you’ll be greeted by Halloween favourites, Vampire Brian and Veronica the Witch, who’ll prepare you for your terrifying train trip with a song, a dance, and probably a scream or two.
Spooky steam train rides through Greater Manchester are returning this Halloween / Credit: ELR
As you take in the autumn sights and delights of the local countryside out the historic steam train’s windows on your journey, there’ll be lots of spooky entertainment and music along the way, and as always, screaming and singalongs are to be expected – and encouraged – as this is all part of the experience.
Families are also encouraged to ‘show off your spookiest fancy dress’ on the day too, and if you make it to the end, then a goody bag for every child ‘full of tricks and treats’ awaits.
The Halloween Ghost Trains are happening over an extended weekend in late October, running from Thursday 29 to Saturday 31 October.
Tickets are now on sale, starting from just £15 per person, and you can book here.
Featured Image – ELR
What's On
The best things to do in Greater Manchester this week | 7 – 13 September 2026
Emily Sergeant
We all know that autumn in Greater Manchester is a thing of beauty, right?
With September well underway now and the trees starting to change colour and a chill reappearing in the air, that means the cosy seasons are on the horizon, and, of course, there’s loads happening across Greater Manchester this week.
If you’re finding it a bit tricky to pick what to do though, no worries, as we’ve chosen a few of the highlights for another edition of our ‘what’s on‘ guide.
Both free things and those that’ll set you back a few pennies are featured.
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Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos
Science and Industry Museum
Monday 7 September – onwards
Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos / Credit: BBC | Science Museum Group (Drew Forsyth)
Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos has made its world premiere at the Science and Industry Museum, and is inviting visitors to explore our wondrous Solar System.
Fresh off-the-back of the new BBC Children’s and Education TV show, Horrible Science, the ‘thrilling’ new exhibition encouraging visitors to ‘do science the horrible way’, and join both scientists and supervillains to unveil the secrets of space.
The new exhibition propels families up into space where mystery, intrigue, and rocket-loads of silly and surprising science await. You’ll get to venture through a series of cosmic zones, walk in the shoes of astronauts, explore the life-giving energy of the sun, marvel at mysterious moons, and discover far-off weird worlds.
High School Musical / Credit: Matt Crockett (Supplied)
If you want to relive your childhood, High School Musical is now on stage at the Lowry.
We all know how High School Musical goes, right? Set at East High, we follow Troy and Gabriella (the star basketball player, and the geeky new girl) who meet over New Year, and then become ‘star-crossed lovers’ when back at school as they’re part of two different ‘cliques’.
The duo mess with the ‘Status Quo’ when they audition for the school musical. But will they stick to what they know? Or become stars of the stage? I’m sure you know the ending.
Read our review of the show and get last-minute tickets here.
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Manchester City Stadium Tours
Etihad Stadium
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Monday 7 September – onwards
Manchester City Stadium Tours / Credit: The Manc Group
If you’re looking for something to do this summer, did you know you can currently get 15% off Manchester City’s tours of the Etihad Stadium?
You’ll get to walk in the players’ footsteps down the tunnel, sit in Enzo’s seat, get pitchside, see the Domestic Double Winners’ trophies, and loads more. Plus, from 17 August, you’ll be able to see City’s brand-new dressing room too.
The UK’s largest festival of history and culture has returned, and there’s thousands of free events on the lineup this next week.
Always proving to be a smash-hit success, both here in Greater Manchester and nationwide, over the last 30 years, the National Trust’s Heritage Open Days are back by popular demand for the next couple of weeks, and this means loads of the UK’s top attractions will be open to visit for free.
You can explore historic houses, factories, museums, music halls, and countless of other places and spaces – some that are normally closed to the public.
Greater Manchester’s iconic heritage railway is currently hosting one of the most unique fine dining experiences in the region this autumn.
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Running on selected Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through the year, East Lancashire Railway’s ‘Red Rose Diners’ are described as being ‘the ultimate first class foodie experience’, as they start with a glass of fizz and stretch over an almost three-hour steam train journey through the Irwell Valley.
The experience includes a four-course dinner with complimentary sparkling wine, followed by tea or coffee and after-dinner chocolates.
Just like we do every month, we’ve rounded up some of the best things we got to eat in August, so if you’re on the hunt for somewhere new to eat in September, then we’ve absolutely got you covered as there’s plenty of places across the city region.
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It’s been another jam-packed month of insanely delicious eats, and we’ve been lucky to have a bunch of new openings too.
Did you know that Go Ape now runs adult-only sessions?
We nipped over to Go Ape at Rivington as we heard you can now act like a big silly kid there without having to share anything with actual children.
It’s one of the region’s top attractions for good reason, giving you a chance to clamber and fly through the treetops on a sky-high obstacle course, and now every Thursday and Friday evening, you can escape your work inbox and switch it out for a maze of ziplines, ladders, swings, and more.
Less than an hour from Manchester, you’ll find what is essentially a gigantic floating bouncy castle which makes for an incredibly silly afternoon out.
At Wild Shore Delamere you can take on slides, monkey bars, ninja jumps, tyre runs, and plenty of other opportunities to slip and spectacularly fall into the lake. And if you don’t fancy wiping out in front of a lake full of children, there’s also paddleboarding, wakeboarding, open-water swimming, and even a lakeside sauna.
How about that Manchester Museum is hosting its first-ever sleepover?
For the first time in Manchester Museum’s history, one lucky family will be given the chance to experience an incredible night at the museum.
This unique opportunity is being offered as part of a prize draw, allowing visitors to find out what happens once the sun goes down inside the Fossils and Dinosaurs gallery – in the company of Stan, the famous Tyrannosaurus rex, of course.
Not only will the lucky winning family enjoy an overnight stay in the gallery, but they’ll also be treated to a guided torchlight tour of the galleries after the Museum has closed, as well as other fun activities and a film screening too before bed.
Schools may be back, but unfortunately the rain has arrived, so if you’re running out of things to do, don’t worry as we’ve got you covered. To make life even easier, all the activities are accessible by the Bee Network AND they’re tried and tested by us, so we can guarantee you’ll love them.
Emily Sergeant -
4th August 2021 
