Looking for something to be getting up to this mid-March week?
We’ve cherry-picked a few of the best things happening and to put together another fresh edition of our ‘what’s on’ guide for the city of Manchester and beyond.
As always, some of the events we’re going to mention here are completely free, which is great for those looking to keep things on the cheaper side, while others will set you back a few pounds, and many will need to be booked in advance.
Here’s our top picks.
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James Bunny: Casino Tropicale at Electric Gamebox
Manchester Arndale
Monday 7 March – onwards
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Credit: Electric Gamebox
Manchester Arndale’s immersive gaming attraction, Electric Gamebox, has launched a new secret agent-inspired game.
Using Electric Gamebox’s state-of-the-art technology to create a top-secret virtual world, the brand new game, James Bunny: Casino Tropicale, launched last week, and it’s a digital experience thar’s inviting players to step into the world of James Bunny, aka Double-Ear Seven, in a mission to take down notorious mafia boss Francisco Salamander.
Projection mapping and motion tracking place participants right into the action, with a surround sound system blasting big band show tunes.
The Sistine Chapel is home to arguably the most awe-inspiring work of art on the planet – and now it’s been recreated here in Greater Manchester.
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Previously, people would have to travel to Vatican City to see the collection of intricate paintings that cover the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, but now the frescoes have been recreated as huge prints covering walls and ceilings at a new immersive exhibition that’s taken over Trafford Palazzo (formerly Barton Square), giving visitors a chance to see them on the same scale as Michelangelo.
Running through to Sunday 27 March, it gives a life-size perspective of this remarkable feat of artistry.
An immersive chocolate factory experience has opened at the Trafford Centre this month, and it’s ready to make all your “sweetest dreams come true”.
After enjoying success in Madrid, Barcelona, and London, The Chocolate Factory has now made its way over to us in Manchester, and it’s described as being a “theatrical candy-themed experience” where you’ll get to explore a variety of colourful rooms, take some magical selfies, and most-importantly, satisfy your sugar cravings and eat some delicious sweets.
Set on the ground floor of the iconic shopping centre, The Chocolate Factory lets you take a trip through different worlds, with every room “filled with new discoveries”.
You can join the Science and Industry Museum for a unique after-hours event that’s inspired by the world-first special exhibition Cancer Revolution: Science, innovation and hope this Wednesday at 7pm.
With a packed programme of performances, interactive activities, talks and more, this special event combines art and science to explore the different ways in which cancer can affect our lives, and celebrates the people working to transform cancer care, from scientists and researchers to patients and their families and friends.
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Cancer Revolution: Science, innovation, and hope is the first “major object-rich exhibition” to reveal the past, present and future of how cancer is prevented, detected and treated.
Through never-before seen objects and stories, cutting edge treatment and research, reflection, new artist commissions and installations, film, photography, interactive exhibits and a breadth of personal stories, the museum says the exhibition presents the stories of people affected by cancer and those who study and treat it.
You can find more information about the special free event here.
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GRUB 4 Ukraine Fundraiser Night
Cheetham Hill
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Wednesday 9 March
Credit: Instagram (@grubmcr)
As the news of the Ukraine conflict continues to rock the globe, Manchester street food venue GRUB has announced it will be hosting a fundraiser this week as a way of raising money to help those affected.
In solidarity with the people of Ukraine, the venue will be teaming up with its street food partners and a host of local breweries to put on a charity event to raise money for the British Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal.
Breweries such as Squawk, Beatnikz, Left Handed Giant, Manchester Union Lager, Runaway, Neon Rapter, and Vocation Brewery have already pledged to donate kegs of beer and other prizes, and 100% of the turnover from sales will also be donated to the appeal.
There will also be donation buckets around the event for those who want to donate cash to the appeal.
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You can find more information here.
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International Women’s Day at 20 Stories
Spinningfields
Thursday 10 March
Credit: 20 Stories
To celebrate women from across the globe, 20 Stories will be hosting a special International Women’s Day breakfast event on 10 March between 8-10am with an esteemed panel of influential businesswomen.
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Joining the panel will be leading Coronation Street actress, Brooke Vincent, CEO of Ruuby Beauty, Venetia Archer, Co-Chair of Oak View Group (OVG) and developers of new Manchester based arena, Co-op Live Jessica Koravos, and Paralympian and Great Britain gold medal winner, Hannah Russell MBE.
The event will be chaired by CEO of Roland Dransfield Lisa Morton and will focus on the importance of kindness, purpose and the value of community as we create a better future post-pandemic.
Tickets will be priced at £25 with £5 donated to homeless charity Embassy – who are currently raising funds to provide homeless provision for females across Manchester.
28 Days Later, A Quiet Place, and The Hills Have Eyes are just some of the chilling films showing at the North West’s newest immersive drive-in cinema this week.
Northern kids of the 80s, 90s, and 00s will get the chance to revisit their youth and return to the legendary medieval-themed Camelot Theme Park in Chorley, which sadly closed for good back in 2012 and has been largely abandoned and derelict ever since.
This is an experience like no other though.
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Hosted by Park N Party – the team also behind sell-out seasonal drive-in events SecretCity, ScareCity, and ChristmasCity – visitors in up to 300 cars get to park up and watch a series of horror films across 12 weeks at ‘Camelot Rises’, but only after they have survived a terrifying one-mile journey through what has been described as a “zombie-infested wasteland”.
You can find out more about Camelot Rises and grab tickets here.
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Manchester Cheese Crawl
Manchester City Centre
Friday 4 March – onwards
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Credit: Flickr
In what is undeniably the stuff of dreams for cheese lovers, you can now take part in a cheese and wine crawl around Manchester city centre.
Manchester is city that’s packed with culture.
But if you don’t fancy seeing the sights through one of the more typical tours, The Manchester Cheese Crawl will take you around some of the cheesiest spots the city has to offer for two hours of non-stop cheese-related fun – including everything from blue cheese tasting, to cheese quizzes, competitions, and more.
Tickets cost just £25 each, and include cheese samples, optional bread and crackers, and some red wine to complement.
Heaton Park has revealed a new trio of scenic lakeside dining domes, and it’s perfect for those looking for a unique afternoon tea experience in Manchester.
Situated in Manchester’s largest park with stunning views of the lake and gardens, not to mention the Grade-I listed Heaton Hall close at hand, the domes are private and heated to ensure maximum comfort, and they offer an extra special afternoon tea experience surrounded by nature.
There’s a seasonal menu that features a number of different afternoon tea options, including vegan options too, all for £23.95 per person.
One of the North West’s most-popular outdoor events has reopened near Manchester, and it’s an ideal day out for families this month.
For the past two years, Totally Roarsome has taken the region by storm and has seen visitors flock from far and wide after it opened in untouched woodland following the initial lifting of lockdown restrictions in mid-2020, before returning after popular demand for the Easter half term in 2021.
And now, it’s found a new home for 2022’s event at Arley Hall in Cheshire.
There’ll be more than 200 individual dinosaur models making up the woodland trail this year, with tickets priced at £8.95 and already selling fast.
Coronation Street: The Tour is returning after a two-year hiatus this month to give you the chance to see the hidden world of the nation’s most-famous cobbles that lies behind the camera at the external sets at MediaCityUK in Salford.
Following in the footsteps of all your favourite characters, during each 90-minute tour, fans of the show will get to walk around all the famous sets of the Rovers Return, Roys Rolls, Underworld, and The Kabin, and so much more, and tour guides will share all the secrets of the show while they take you around locations of iconic moments from the soap.
There’ll also be plenty of chances to get that all-important Corrie selfie too.
Manchester Film Festival 2022 will take place over a full week at the Odeon inside Great Northern Warehouse, with a linup of films from around the world.
Over 130 films will screen all playing in Manchester for the very first time.
With 80 of the selected films are from the UK, there’ll be 27 world premieres and 74 UK premieres across the festival, and many of the filmmakers will be in attendance to take part in Q&A sessions after the screenings.
The festival will also host the Manchester premieres of award winners from Cannes and BFI London.
You can find more information about Manchester Film Festival 2022 here.
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Featured Image – Coronation Street | The Chocolate Factory
What's On
The best things to do in Greater Manchester this week | 31 March – 6 April 2025
Emily Sergeant
April has arrived, the blossoms are blooming, and spring is officially here.
March was a busy month, packed full of all sorts of events and activities, but now that April is here, there’s absolutely no shortage of things for the whole family to be getting up to in Greater Manchester this week – both free things, and those that’ll set you back a few pennies too.
Finding it a bit tricky to pick what to do though?
We’ve chosen a few of the best bits for another edition of our ‘what’s on‘ guide, so here’s some of our recommendations.
Michael Ball & Alfie Boe
AO Arena
4 April
The boys are back in town, and by the boys we mean multi-million selling vocalists Michael Ball and Alfie Boe, who are heading to Manchester this month.
The duo’s latest release ‘Together At Home’, which doubles as the name for the tour, sees the pair back to their good old tricks covering hits like ‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother’ and ‘Ferry Cross The Mersey’.
These two powerhouses know how to sing in style and that’s why they’ve chosen the impressive AO Arena to host their brand new show.
On Monday 31 March, a brand-new experience will be unveiled at Manchester Printworks, as world-renowned light artist Rupert Newman opens a spectacular new exhibition.
The city will be illuminated by his first-ever Manchester exhibition, which will be hosted on the digital ceiling.
Running all month, this large-scale artwork will be free to visit, and will feature displays of waves, tropical fish, and coral-inspired patterns.
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Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies and You
Science and Industry Museum
Monday 30 March – onwards
Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies and You / Credit: Science Museum Group
You can plunge headfirst into the incredible world of our senses at a new immersive museum exhibition that’s now arrived at the Science and Industry Museum.
Back by popular demand after a successful run over these past two years, but with a fresh new adventure lined up for 2025, Operation Ouch! is giving you the chance to journey through an ear canal covered in gooey wax, squeeze past sticky snot, and delve deeper into how our brains interpret the world.
Tickets to Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies and You are now on sale, and visitors are being told to prepare themselves for an “epic exploration of the senses”.
Looking for more activities to do with your little Mancs at the Science and Industry Museum during the spring season?
Science shows, sensory activities, and a chance to discover what life is like for animals, are just some of the things you can do at one of the region’s best loved museums, as well as dive into five decades of retro gaming.
The Pac-Man Live Experience / Credit: The Manc Group
Prepare to wakka wakka and chomp your way around a maze, because a brand-new interactive experience has now landed in Manchester, and it’s brought the world of the iconic retro game Pac-Man to life.
This augmented reality game will have you sprinting your way around an ever-changing digital maze, dodging ghosts and collecting fruit as you go.
Costing £26 per person, you’ll be challenged to race your mates around the course in a bid to grab special items and tackle everything in your path, and if you rack up the the most points, then you’ll be declared champ.
An Edible Family in a Mobile Home / Credit: The Manc Group
An exciting new exhibition where all the sculptures inside are made of cakes, biscuits, and icing has now opened in Manchester – and yes, you are encouraged to tuck in.
You’ll be whizzed back in time to the 1970s at An Edible Family in a Mobile Home, down to the retro comedy playing on the telly, and over the coming weeks, members of the public will gradually eat the sculptures until there’s nothing left.
Even the walls at this new genius collaborative creation of artist Bobby Baker and Manchester’s-own Long Boi Bakes are decorated in icing, and it’s open down at Whitworth Art Gallery until 20 April.
Ready to get baked? Well, what are you waiting for.
It’s been a long time coming, but one of the most highly-anticipated new arrivals of 2025 has finally thrown its doors open in the heart of the Northern Quarter, so if you’ve got a chocolate craving or you sweet tooth needs satisfying, get yourself down to Get Baked.
Known and loved over in Leeds, this new independent bakery has opened on Stevenson Square, and stepping inside is like entering sweet treat heaven.
Think cookies, brownies, big slices of pie, and of course, the viral sensation that is the 24-layer ‘Bertha’ chocolate cake, and loads more.
Find out everything you need to know about Get Baked here.
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Did you see that one of Greater Manchester’s popular museums has been named the best free museum in the UK?
With the Easter holidays not far off, plenty of parents, carers, and guardians across Greater Manchester will likely be looking for a ways to keep the kids entertained and educated while schools are out, and without having to break the bank too.
Luckily enough, Bolton Museum has taken the top spot in a list of the best free museums and galleries to visit in the whole of the UK.
Bolton Museum has been crowned the best free museum to visit in the UK / Credit: Bolton Council
The museum – which is on the Grade II-listed Le Mans Crescent in the town centre, and dates back to 1852 – has been a part of the leisure and education of Boltonians for over 120 years, and is home to one of the largest regional Egyptology collections in the UK, made up of over 10,000 archaeological objects.
There’s also an extensive local history section, with 38,000 objects from the 17th to 20th century relating to Bolton.
How about that Chester Zoo is giving away more than 30,000 free tickets to kids this year?
The UK’s largest charity zoo is on a mission to help nature to “survive and thrive”.
And so, in a bid to do just that, has announced that it will once again be handing out tens of thousands of tickets to schoolchildren for completely free of charge, so that they can explore the zoo up close and learn all about the inspiring work the conservation charity does.
With the hopes of empowering as many youngsters as possible, and sparking their passion for saving species once again, the zoo has now opened the scheme back up for the 2025/26 season – with a whopping 33,000 tickets available for schools, nurseries, and colleges to claim.
Those who secure tickets will have the opportunity to visit the zoo between this November and February 2026.
Or that a brand-new indoor activity park has now opened down at MediaCity?
Salford was chosen by Oxygen Activeplay as the location for its next venture, and the brand-new park has descended on Quayside MediaCity, just above bustling food hall Kargo MKT, following a £2.5 million investment – with state-of-the-art equipment and activities to help local families stay active whilst having fun at the same time.
The new park features more than 30 trampolines, a mega-air bag, a high ropes course, a ‘Rollglider’ aerial ride which flies over the facility, and Oxygen’s signature illuminated sensory experience ‘Excite Tunnel’, along with even more “epic” activities.
How cute is this? We’ve discovered a little workshop over in Chorlton where you can ice, pipe, garnish, and decorate a miniature bento cake just the way you want it, with the help of the experts at Vanilla Ice Cakes.
You can whip up your dream colour buttercream, personalise your fillings, and learn brand-new skills before heading home with this adorable little celebration cake of your own.
At Vanilla Ice Cakes in Chorlton, you’ll sit under the expert eye of owner Fiza, a master baker who’s been in the game for more than a decade, and she’ll guide you (and sometimes step in to help you) as you fumble your way through decorating your own cake.
Greater Manchester’s iconic heritage railway is currently hosting one of the most unique fine dining experiences in the region.
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.
Michael Ball and Alfie Boe at AO Arena, Manchester – tickets, times, setlist, and more for tour
Thomas Melia
Michael Ball and Alfie Boe are bringing their Together At Home tour to Manchester, here’s everything you need to know for their AO Arena gig.
The boys are back in town, and by the boys we mean multi-million selling vocalists Michael Ball and Alfie Boe, who are heading to Manchester this month.
This duo are no stranger to each other’s company making six collaborative albums since 2016 covering songs from The Greatest Showman, The Lion King and New York, New York.
Their latest release ‘Together At Home’ which doubles as the name for the tour sees the pair back to their good old tricks covering hits like ‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother’ and ‘Ferry Cross The Mersey’.
These two powerhouses know how to sing in style and that’s why they’ve chosen the impressive AO Arena to host their brand new show.
Michael Ball and Alfie Boe UK tour dates
Sat 29 March – Cardiff, UK – Utilita Arena
Sun 30 March – Bournemouth, UK – International Centre
Tue 1 April – Nottingham, UK – Motorpoint Arena
Wed 2 April – Newcastle, UK – Utilita Arena
Fri 4 April – Manchester, UK – AO Arena
Sat 5 April – Liverpool, UK – M&S Bank Arena
Mon 7 April – Aberdeen, UK – P&J Live
Tue 8 April – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
Thu 10 April – Leeds, UK – First Direct Arena
Fri 11 April – Birmingham, UK – BP Pulse Live
Sun 13 April – London, UK – The O2
Mon 14 April – Brighton, UK – Brighton Centre
Michael Ball and Alfie Boe tickets for AO Arena gig
Anyone looking at tickets for Michael Ball and Alfie Boe’s upcoming tour have plenty of opportunity to see these two singing their hearts out.
Fans of the duo better act fast as these tickets are very limited, starting from a reasonable £47.75 and reaching £98.75.
If you want to go all out on this occasion tickets are also available for The Mezz, which is the arena’s fine dining experience covering you before and throughout the show at a fixed price of £206.25.
What are the stage times for Michael Ball and Alfie Boe in Manchester?
AO Arena has a curfew of 11pm meaning you’ll still be able to make it home and pop the kettle on before you get your forty winks.
Their support act comes in the form of another duo, however these two mighty performers are magicians rather than singers.
The Conjurors are a worldwide renowned act famed by audiences and A Listers for their talents which they will be showing off in Manchester on the night.
How to get to AO Arena
Tram
For those of you heading to AO Arena, luckily it’s in Manchester Victoria Station and its integrated Metrolink stop.
Head along the pink, light blue or yellow lines directly to the Victoria stop and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.
Train
Considering this live entertainment venue is situated right in the middle of one of Manchester’s most frequented stations, concertgoers should find no problem getting to the arena wherever they are.
Bus
A variety of buses cover AO Arena andVictoria Station on their route such as the 2 bus which stops a one minute walk away from the venue.
A full list of buses and their routes can be found HERE.
Getting there by car and parking
The Arena have their own official parking partners CitiParkwith 958 spaces including 40 Blue Badge parking bays, which can be booked in advance.
Alternatively, anyone attending a gig can park at their nearest train station and jump on a train service or the various Metrolink park and ride facilities.
Walk/cycle
Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes through the Beryl, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app.
About the AO Arena
The AO Arena has a few strict policies to keep gig-goers safe, so make sure to check entry requirements carefully before you travel.
For example, only one small bag per person is allowed, and bags like backpacks, travel cases and laptop bags are not permitted inside the arena.
All bags are scanned on entry to check for prohibited items like laser pens, flares, projectiles, weapons, drugs and alcohol, and even selfie sticks.
Emily Sergeant -
4th March 2022 
