A huge food and drink festival is heading to Heaton Park this summer, with street food, live music, markets and chef demos.
The event is set to take over the beautiful park, which is also the home of Parklife festival each summer.
Heaton Park Food Festival will take place across the weekend of 20 and 21 August, encouraging people to ‘pull up a deckchair’.
It comes from the creators of the North Leeds Food Festival and will be a celebration of local talent.
There’ll be cookery demonstrations and street food at Heaton Park Food Festival. Credit: Facebook, The North Leeds Food Festival
Street food traders from all over the UK will park up in the green fields of Heaton Park, serving a range of food from across the globe.
ADVERTISEMENT
There’ll be beers, champagne and cocktails served up from eight different independent bars, with a lemonade and juice bar for those staying off the booze.
The festival will also feature a Live Cookery Theatre, which will host some of the region’s best chefs – the full line-up has yet to be announced.
ADVERTISEMENT
Festival-goers will be able to wander through an artisan market too, browsing everything from gooey brownies to gourmet fudge to cured meats to cheese.
The whole thing will be soundtracked by a line-up of more than 26 performers from across the worlds of jazz, pop, swing, indie and soul music.
An Entertainment Arena will be packed with magicians, comedians and entertainers suitable for all ages, with shows taking place every hour.
You may have heard of the funny Star Wars stripper show or even seen clips of it online, but rumour has it that nothing can quite prepare you for the cheekiness of seeing this romp in the flesh.
In case you’ve been completely immersed in the dark side until now, here’s what you can expect:
Now well over a decade into its success and more than 200 Las Vegas shows, ‘The Empire Strips Back’ made its long-awaited transatlantic debut earlier this year.
Getting away at London’s Riverside Studios from May and enjoying a run until this past August, the comedy-driven twist on the classic Star Wars stories and beloved sci-fi characters was an instant hit with us Brits.
It started in Australia way back in 2011 and has gone not only to tour across Europe, but land a coveted residency at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Nevada.
Fast, funny, feisty and by all accounts, fantastic.
Now set to seek out new padawans and storm-strippers all over the cosmos, and by that we mean the UK, ‘The Empire Strips Back: Burlesque Parody’ is coming to Manchester.
Set to land at Depot Mayfield in the New Year – next spring, specifically, we cannot wait to see how this goes down with Northern crowds.
The Manc leg is scheduled to kick off on 6 March and last until 8 May, 2026, with various dates and times of day available.
It’s also worth noting that this two-hour show, including intermission, is a strictly 18+ only event; if you’re interested, you can find out more info and grab your tickets right HERE.
Manchester Open exhibition to return in 2026 with ‘biggest celebration’ of local creative talent
Emily Sergeant
The biggest celebration of Greater Manchester’s creative talent is making a much-anticipated return next summer.
Taking place every two years and now in its fourth iteration, Manchester Open exhibition sees the HOME Gallery walls filled with hundreds of artworks selected by a panel consisting of art experts and community representatives.
The exhibition is open to all and welcomes entries from people of any level of experience, including established professionals, students, graduates, new and emerging talent, enthusiastic amateurs, and even first-time artists.
Artists are invited to submit work into eight different categories, with the aim of creating an exhibition ‘rich in variety’ for visitors to explore.
Manchester Open exhibition is set to return in 2026 / Credit: Jason Lock Photography
This means you’ll get to explore works of ceramics, digital/moving images, drawings, prints, paintings, photography, sculptures/installations, and textiles.
Several awards will also be up for grabs throughout the exhibition – which is set to run from Saturday 20 June and Sunday 6 September 2026 – including a prestigious new award in honour of philanthropist and business leader, Kate Voke.
Three artists will also be awarded with artist development packages, managed by HOME and Castlefield Gallery.
“Following our 10 year anniversary in 2025, we are looking forward to 2026 and welcoming applications to HOME’s biggest celebration of Greater Manchester’s artistic talent,” explained Karen O’Neill, who is the CEO of HOME.
“With a record number of applications to the last Manchester Open, we’re hoping for even more in 2026 and to demonstrate how the city continues to grow as a place where artists and creativity can thrive.”
Manchester Open exhibition is taking place in 2026 from Saturday 20 June and Sunday 6 September, and the application and submission process is now live – with all submissions being reviewed by the selection panel who make the final selection of work to be included in the exhibition.
Artists will only be able to submit one artwork, and the selection panel members will be announced in spring 2026.
Featured Image – Jason Lock Photography (Supplied)
Daisy Jackson -
25th April 2022 
