Great Northern has reopened its giant sandpit and free family-friendly play area just in time for the school summer holidays.
Looking to get the children out of the house and to engage in some fun, creative play now that home schooling is done, dusted and out of the way?
Well you’re in luck because the Great Northern Warehouse’s iconic amphitheatre has reopened its newly redesigned playhouse and ever popular giant sandpit this week for families to enjoy throughout the summer.
Open play spaces that are free and family friendly can be tricky to come across when you’re in the heart of a city centre, which is why the Great Northern community is key as the amphitheatre is solely dedicated to providing a fun space for kids to play and let their imagination run wild while parents and guardians relax.
Bringing a new pop of colour to the outdoor space, the playhouse has been totally redecorated by Manchester street artist, Moze. With a combination of colourful fruits and flowers, the vibrant exterior is now perfect to brighten up any dull day in the city.
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Great Northern
The playhouse is COVID-safe for children however, the books and small toys have been removed to prevent unnecessary contact for now.
The ever-popular giant sandpit will be open for children to play in and enjoy, but once again, in the name of safety, the sand toys will not be be put out, so you are advised to bring your own.
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To allow families the chance to sit and enjoy an afternoon together in the sun, colourful picnic benches are situated in the amphitheatre, or if you book in advance, you can visit one of the recently reopened café’s or restaurants at Great Northern, including Almost Famous, All Star Lanes, Evuna and more.
Mark Schofield, Centre Director at Great Northern, said: “We are proud to provide an outdoor space in the community for families to enjoy.”
“You can never count on the weather here in Manchester, but when it is sunny we know that young families count on free spaces like this for children to play in. It’s been a tough few months for everybody having to stay indoors, but now that summer is here we hope that visitors will be able to make the most of our sandpit and playhouse, as well as visit some of our amazing bars and restaurants which also recently reopened.”
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As with all public spaces, COVID-safety measures are in place across the entire Great Northern side and these include the usual careful management of the sandpit, as well as one way systems and cashless payments for many brands.
For more information and bookings, visit the Great Northern website here.
What's On
Yard Act announce handful of new headline shows ahead of 6Music gig in Manchester
Clementine Hall
Yard Act are back as they announce first round of UK headline dates since 2024, including a show right here in Manchester – but not before their BBC 6Music Festival gig later this week.
We are so, SO back.
It’s been a few years, but Yard Act have just announced a limited run of domestic shows for later in the year including their homecoming gig at the O2 Academy in Leeds on Friday, 6 November.
But after playing over in Yorkshire, the lads will be performing shows at the O2 Victoria Warehouse on the following Friday (13 Nov).
Yard Act completed the touring for their critically acclaimed second album, Where’s My Utopia?, with a victory lap back home at the 5000 capacity Millennium Square in Leeds in August ’24.
It was a record that brought a stark change of pace to the acerbic, post-punk of their debut, embracing something altogether more playful and bringing a different energy.
It shifted the dynamic on stage too, with the addition of dancing backing singers and additional musicians and openly challenged listeners to reconsider who they thought Yard Act were.
Since then, the band have been keeping busy writing and recording their third studio LP, as well as heading out across the UK and Europe with The Hives – oh, and that intimate one-off show at Blackpool Tower last May.
Following a lengthy stint in the studio, the band now look to this coming autumn for three big UK dates and we cannot wait. We spoke to them a little while back and know how much big stuff they’ve got further pipeline; you can see the interview HERE.
Booking just three headline slots, the handful of tour dates are as follows:
06 Nov – Leeds
13 Nov – Manchester
26 Nov – London
Tickets go on artist presale from 10am on Wednesday, 25 March before hitting general sale at 10am on Friday, 27 March. Sign up to grab yours right HERE.
As for those wanting to find out more about this year’s 6Music Fest, you find the full lineup and more down below.
Enter Shikari announce SUPER intimate show in Manchester
Danny Jones
Much-loved British alternative band Enter Shikari have just announced a very, VERY intimate gig in Manchester city centre, and it’s happening rather soon.
It doesn’t matter how die-hard or casual a fan you are, you are simply not ready for this one…
Almost a full 20 years from what they still covet as a watershed breakout gig here in Greater Manchester, Enter Shikari are set to play none other than grassroots rock bar and nightclub, Satan’s Hollow, right in the heart of the city centre.
Pretty much the life and soul of the heavier music scene here in 0161 for decades now, it remains not only a treasured small-cap venue but arguably still among thego-to post-gig spots after any hard gig; you could say Enter Shikari are simply cutting out the middle man.
It’s fair to say that a group of their size very rarely get to play rooms as tiny as this one these days, so it’s sure to be quite a rowdy one for the electronically influenced post-hardcore outfit.
Formed way back in 1999 (if you can believe that), they’re more used to selling out arena tours all over the world, including their upcoming Co-op Live gig this winter.
It’s also worth mentioning that this will be their single biggest domestic headline show to date.
But not before they go back to where it all started for them in this city, booking a certain-to-sell-out Shikari show at Satan’s Hollow – a Manchester venue they first played in 2006.
In fact, they’ve actually shared footage from that fateful night, and yes, the quality is as bad as you’d expect, but it gives you an idea of what the atmosphere was like then, let alone now their fan base has grown so much over the years.
Here’s us, almost 20 years ago, playing ‘OK Time For Plan B’ at our first ever Manchester show in @satanshollow on April 10th 2006.
Funny to think that in November, Manchester will host our biggest ever UK headline show at the @TheCoopLive. Both shows with the same promoter. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/uHKVOwZbM2
Speaking on this milestone moment, the band wrote in a statement: “Manchester’s a city that means a lot to us. The Satan’s Hollow show back in April ’06 was the first sense we got that ‘something’ was ‘happening’. A queue around the block and total chaos inside.
We’ve had a lot of memorable shows in Manchester since then (and in November we’ll play our biggest ever UK headline show there!), but for some reason that night at Satan’s Hollow kept coming up in conversation, so the anniversary show was just too tempting.”
Tickets for this unmissable show will be available on a first-come, first-served basis for those who register HERE up until 9:30am tomorrow, Wednesday, 25 March.
The gig itself is happening on 9 April, with support from Liverpool’s very own East Exchange as support. Best of luck to all those trying to cop tickets, and hopefully we’ll see you at Satan’s.
Emily Sergeant -
14th July 2020 
