There’s loads going on in Manchester on December 31, with tickets still available for a lot of the city’s biggest parties.
We’ve rounded up some of the best – including a slightly more relaxed option for those of you who would prefer to mark the occasion with a knife and fork in your hand.
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‘Come As You Are’ at The Refuge
Credit: The Refuge
Without a doubt, this is one of the biggest New Year’s Eve parties to take place in Manchester. The Refuge, co-owned by local DJ and party legend Luke Unabomber, throws a huge bash every year hosting sets from a fistful of selector heroes in its public bar.
This year, the NYE lineup features a full takeover from original Hacienda resident DJ Paulette and four-piece collective Supernature Disco, both part of the venue’s ‘very special DJ family’.
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Expect everything from uplifting party hip hop, raw funk and rare grooves, to soulful vocals and diamante strewn disco, jacking/deep house and tearing techno.
One of Manchester’s newest and biggest venues will be throwing a show-stopping New Year’s Eve party this week.
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The entirely free entertainment will be hosted by Cheddar Gorgeous, and will include a peep show at the Mini Cini with a burlesque performance from Lady Wildflower.
There’ll also be a fortune teller, contortionists, fire palm dancers, disco divas, a lit-up dancefloor, and music from The Untold Orchestra and DJ Neil Diablo in a thoroughly avant-garde knees-up.
It’s the first NYE party Manchester bass night Hit & Run has put together in some time (maybe nearing a decade?) – and it looks set to be a big one.
Sets come from the likes of Biome, Daseplate, Dogger B2B Mindstate, Ghoulish, Johnny Opo, Mako MCR, Kaz and more, with guest MCs still to be confirmed.
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Early bird tickets have sold out but there are still three staggered releases left – priced at £20, £25 and £30 respectively.
Following last year’s sell-out event, Ibiza institution Cafe Mambo is heading back to Manchester.
The Albert Hall will be turned into New Year’s Eve extravaganza, featuring performances from Todd Terry, Lovely Laura & Ben Santiago, Erik Hagleton & House Gospel Choir.
There’s a VIP experience available too, which gets you access to your own VIP loos, bar, and a separate area, as well as queue jump and champagne.
For the 25th year running, Funkademia will host its belting New Year’s Eve party in Manchester at Mint Lounge in the NQ.
Head down for bashment, disco and funky floor fillers spun by residents David Dunne and Les Croasdaile from 10.30pm until 4am. Last entry is 1am.
This night sells out every year, and by the way that ticket sales are going since Monday night’s announcement promoters are pretty confident it will again.
New Year’s Eve at Escape to Freight Island. Credit: Supplied
It’s going to be a busy evening over at Escape to Freight Island, which is also celebrating its first NYE in Manchester.
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Their plans span right across the day and night of December 31, and will include all the usual fare (the festive Winter Market is still going too) soundtracked by DJs.
Then as night draws in, the indoor Ticket Hall will be transformed into Freight Island’s very own Revue – a homage to and celebration of soul, funk, disco, house and everything in-between.
Girls On Film will take over The Plantroom outside with 80s and 90s classics – including confetti, glitter stations and silent discos.
A truly legendary place to party in Manchester, The White Hotel never disappoints – and this New Year’s Eve is set to be no different. The guaranteed last entry for advance tickets is 4am, just to give you a flavour of the vibe here.
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Split into three parts, NYE celebrations start at 23.59pm on 31 December with Club Martyr (feat. Bitzer Maloney, Lupini, Rosa Menthol, Sonice, Hesska, Conor Thomas) running until 6am New Year’s Day.
From 6-10am it’s $hotta Rave with Tom Boogzim holding it down, then W.O.M takes over from 6pm to 2am with a headline set from High Hoops (world disco, psychedelic house, acid and electro), plus more from Handle (live), Proteus, Vendel, Nova and Rose A.
Promising a mix of afrobeat, dancehall, R&B, trap, funky and UK garage, Habitat makes its return to Lever street venue Off The Square with a solid lineup featuring the likes of AK Gramm, Yung OMZ and Tone Rarri.
The dress code here is ‘no effort, no entry’ – but that doesn’t exactly mean shiny shoes and a tie. Check out their Instagram for some inspiration.
Port Street Beer House is collaborating with The Crafty Cheeseman for a night of free cheese and beer tastings kicking off from 10pm; The Beagle is chucking out pizza slices and hits from the 80s, 90s and 00s; and newcomer BOX on Deansgate will have a ‘game-changing’ party.
Featured image: Escape to Freight Island
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You can pick your own fresh fruit from the fields of a family-run farm near Manchester this summer
Emily Sergeant
Just over the border into Warrington, you’ll find the perfect place to pick your own fresh fruit this summer.
We’re talking miles and miles (and miles) of strawberries.
This is Kenyon Hall Farm – a farm in Croft that has been worked by the same family since around 1500, and although it was originally considered a ‘mixed farm’, it has gone from strength to strength over the years, transforming from a traditional agricultural property into one of the UK’s top award-winning farm shops and tourism destinations.
Current owners Tod and Barbara took over the farm in 1978, and the couple, alongside their two sons James and Simon, as well as their partners and dozens of other full-time and seasonal staff, have turned it into a place that families travel from far and wide to visit.
Popular for its ever-expanding pumpkin patch experience in the autumn, its Easter egg hunts in the spring, and its on-site cafe and farm shop, Kenyon Hall Farm is no longer the ‘sleepy’ arable farm that Tod and Barbara once inherited, it’s now a cultural gem in the Croft community that exceeds 500-acres.
It’s pick-your-own strawberry season at Kenyon Hall Farm / Credit: The Manc Group
But there’s one stunning ‘season’ at Kenyon Hall Farm that we just have to shout about… and that’s strawberry season.
Or, should we say, pick-your-own fresh fruit season instead, as not only are there miles and miles of strawberry fields to roam free in – which open from the start of summer in June – but as the season goes on, there’s also raspberries, blackcurrants, potatoes, onions, and loads more to choose from too.
Strawberries have been growing at Kenyon Hall Farm for nearly 50 years now, and used to be its main attraction, often being inundated with locals when it opened for just six-weeks a year – but then, back 2019, they decided to introduce special strawberry growing tunnels, meaning they could extend opening times until the end of August, all while making the experience less weather-dependent.
When 2020 rolled around and the COVID-19 pandemic hit, ticketing was introduced in order to keep everyone safe and help staff manage visitor demand once the fruit fields reopened.
But as this proved to work so well, it’s a system that has remained in place ever since.
This means that, especially for strawberry picking, you need to head online and book your ticket in advance, as staff really don’t want anyone to leave disappointed if they have to turn people away.
There’s so much seasonal produce in the on-site cafe and farm shop too / Credit: The Manc Group
And once you’re done frolicking in the fruit fields, you can then head into the cafe afterwards to try some seasonal specials like cream teas with homemade strawberry jam, or french toast with strawberry compote and Biscoff crumb, all washed down with strawberry matchas made with homemade syrup.
Make sure to pop into the farm shop before you leave too and stock up on all the seasonal produce and gifts you could ever need – including homemade strawberry jams, gins, and more.
Strawberry season has now started at Kenyon Hall Farm, and you can book your tickets online for £5.95 – £6.95 per person, with spaces released up to 24–48 hours ahead of time.
Included in your ticket price is a punnet to fill, and anything else you pick is paid for by weight on the way out.
You can win two VIP tickets to a Co-op Live show as part of a heartwarming Manc charity raffle
Danny Jones
Fancy bagging yourself the posh treatment at the biggest indoor gig and live entertainment venue in the city? Well, you can do just that by entering the latest Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity raffle, which is offering a pair of VIP tickets to a Co-op Live show.
All you have to do is simply do your bit for a crucial local cause.
It’s one that we’ve worked closely with in the past on many occasions: the ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, which helps house rough sleepers across the region.
Teaming up with The 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness – which was created specifically to generate funds for this ongoing crisis – as well as an upcoming community social, all you have to do to be in with a chance is put your name down for a cheap raffle ticket.
Writing in the caption of the post, the Mayor’s Charity has revealed that “Cross Club Social and The Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness are teaming up to raffle off 2x VIP Co-op Live tickets to a show of your choosing.”
That’s right, not just any random show – you get to pick which one you fancy going along to in style.
With the 2026 edition of the annual fundraising relay event, on behalf of Greater Manchester’s homeless community, taking place this November (find out more on the GMMC website and keep up to date with us here at The Manc for the latest) they’re hoping to get the donations going nice and early.
For anyone unaware, the Cross Club Social, or ‘XCS’, has been going for a few years now; it brings together runners from all over the 10 boroughs for a big post-race party, all whilst raising money for charitable organisations.
DJs, karaoke, quizzing, three full rooms, an entire beer garden to themselves, and MUCH more. 👀
The next edition will be taking place this Friday, 19 June, over at the award-winning Fairfield Social Club, where an all-day party will run, pardon the pun, well into the night.
Better still, entrants into the raffle don’t have to wait long to find out if they’re a winner, as the lucky recipient is set to be announced the following Saturday (20 Jun) after the big shindig over on the XCS Instagram page.
The Mayor’s Charity team signed off by adding, “Good luck and together, we will end homelessness” – a mission that many Manc groups, especially, have been working so hard to make possible in recent times.
For instance, last year alone, the aforementioned 24 Hour Run, whose team will be in attendance and taking donations for at XCS 2026, generated a whopping £70k, and the total tally has now reached truly life-changing sums.
As for the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity raffle, you can grab a ticket HERE for just a fiver to secure your chance to go along to a VIP night at Co-op Live. Fingers crossed!
Georgina Pellant -
29th December 2021 
