A huge winter ice rink, festive funfair, and screenings of magical movies are just a handful of the activities coming to the Trafford Centre this Christmas.
With not long to go until the festive season is here, and Greater Manchester already starting to get into the spirit, the Trafford Centre has revealed that its much-loved annual Tinseltown celebrations are back by popular demand for 2022.
The Stretford-based shopping centre is set to be transformed into “a magical haven full of festive fun”.
Gearing up to be the perfect place to spend time “creating memories and celebrating the Christmas season”, Tinseltown is kicking-off on Friday 18 November.
This year’s Tinseltown celebrations will include a festive funfair full of exciting rides for all the family, and a huge covered winter ice rink for visitors to glide away on under a sky full of twinkling lights while festive music plays, all before sitting down to watch SNOWSTORM 2 – the “sensational” ice skating show with an international cast of skaters and performers on the 200 sq ft of shimmering real ice.
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Tinseltown will take over from Friday 18 November 2022 until 2 January 2023 / Credit: Trafford Centre
You can also expect a festive food and drink hub, the chance to enjoy the glittering lights and sights from up above on a staggering 55-metre high big wheel, and plenty of opportunities to Christmas shop til your heart’s content.
There’ll also be lots live music entertainment playing all throughout the day to set the festive scene.
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Of course, the Trafford Centre’s beloved Christmas Grotto will also be making a return for 2022 – but this year, it’s set to be even more exciting because Paddington Bear will be joining Santa as this year’s special festive guest.
A huge covered winter ice rink for visitors to glide away on under a sky full of twinkling lights / Credit: Trafford Centre
That’s not all either, as what’s Christmas without watching a couple of festive flicks? The Trafford Centre has also announced it’ll be screening a selection of some of the most-popular Christmas films every Saturday afternoon in the run-up to the big day itself.
You can catch The Nightmare Before Christmas on 19 November, Frozen on 26 November, How the Grinch Stole Christmas on 3 December, and Arthur Christmas on 10 December, all before the classic that is Home Alone rounds it all out on 17 December.
You can find out more about Tinseltown 2022, and book your tickets to each of the events on the Trafford Centre website here.
Featured Image – Trafford Centre
What's On
The best things to do in Greater Manchester this week | 22 – 28 September 2025
Emily Sergeant
September is nearly wrapping up and autumn has officially arrived.
The season’s have changed, the weather taken a turn, and the leaves beginning to drop and change colour – but although summer may have come to an end, there’s still plenty of exciting activities to be getting up to in Greater Manchester in the coming weeks, as autumn in our region is always a thing of beauty.
Finding it a bit tricky to pick what to do though? No worries. 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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Oktoberfest 2025
Albert’s Schloss
Monday 22 September – Sunday 12 October
Oktoberfest 2025 / Credit: Supplied
Manchester’s ‘Bavarian extravaganza’ is back, and this year, there’s THREE whole weeks of it.
As always, Albert’s Schloss has a jam-packed programme of Oktoberfest-themed events for this year, and there’s plenty of bier-fuelled fun, foodie classics, and round-the-clock revelry that awaits.
Throughout the 21-day-long event, which culminates with one final Bavarian blowout on Sunday 12 October, revellers are invited to head on down to Schloss and enjoy an array of activities – with everything from ‘Keg Tapping’, and specially-selected beers, to must-see ‘eclectic’ entertainment, a live Oompah brass band, and best dressed competitions on the lineup.
Not to mention there’s a full menu of Bavarian-inspired feasting to look forward to too, and it’s more than just pretzels.
=Moulin Rouge The Musical / Credit: Johan Persson | Matt Crockett (Supplied)
If you’re wandering down Oxford Road over these next couple of weeks and take a wrong turn, then you may find yourself in early 20th century Paris.
Moulin Rouge The Musical is a sultry, sexy extravaganza of lust, sin, and debauchery that you just can’t get enough of, so it’s time to lose yourself in the magic and showmanship of the Parisian clubs of yesteryear, as whether you’re a big fan of the hit 2001 movie, or new to the world of Moulin Rouge, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that you will be blown away.
This is possibly the best show I’ve ever seen on stage, and it’s at the Palace Theatre right up until early October.
Read our review of the show, and get your last-minute tickets here.
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Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies and You
Science and Industry Museum
Monday 22 September – 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 down 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”.
Museum of Illusions is celebrating the first birthday of its debut UK attraction in Manchester this September by giving away free tickets to anyone who shares its birthday month.
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Loved by locals and tourists alike, the museum blends fun and education for visitors of all ages, and is fully-accessible too, ensuring everyone can enjoy the fun.
To mark the milestone and celebrate its first anniversary, visitors born in September can enjoy free entry to the museum from Monday 22 September through to Friday 3rd October (excluding weekends).
Looking for a bite to eat in Manchester this month? We’ve got a few suggestions to share…
August Food Round-Up 2025 / Credit: The Manc Group
Ooh we were eating good in August.
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Even with the last of the warmer weather throughout August, that doesn’t mean we haven’t been having some right feasts – with plenty of cheese pulls, saucy drizzles, and for some reason, ANOTHER Labubu-themed dessert.
With the festive season soon approaching, we’re expecting the next month to get extra cosy and indulgent.
If you need some inspiration for where to eat in our region this month, we rounded up some of our best suggestions for you to pick from:
Did you know you can rent your own private cinema in Manchester city centre?
You may be in deep (far too deep) to the latest teen drama like we were this week, biting your nails through a sporting event, or just wish you could see your favourite film on the big screen again – and that’s where King Street Townhouse comes in.
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There’s a luxury cinema tucked away in this popular hotel and you can book it out for all sorts of private screenings.
There’s loads of packages too, so you can stick whatever you want on the cinema screen, relax in plush armchairs, and tuck into cocktails, popcorn, and snacks.
Golf fanatics, get a load of this new spot in the city centre.
This is Pitch Manchester, and after success in London has branched out to the North, bringing state-of-the-art golf simulators, shuffleboard, DJs, and more, making it the perfect spot for beginners and experts alike, as there re experienced golf professionals on hand to help you travel the world through their variety of courses.
There’s a fully-stocked bar serving cocktails and food, plus lounge areas, private rooms, and memberships now available too.
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Does your name happen to be ‘Kat’ or ‘Sue’? Do you like katsu?
Well do we have a treat for you…
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In what is a small stroke of genius, popular restaurant chain Banana Tree has decided to give out free katsu curries to people with two specific – and very clever names, we have to say – and those names are ‘Kat’ and ‘Sue’, and every delicious variation of those names in between.
Anyone named Kat, Katie, Katherine, Sue, Suzy, Susan, Suzanne, or close enough to qualify, can now head to their local Banana Tree restaurant, show proof of name, and enjoy a free katsu dish of their choice, worth up to £16.75.
The offer is running for just four days only, from Monday 22 to Thursday 25 September, and you can find out how and where to claim your tasty freebie here.
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MCR Student Social 2025
Manchester Arndale
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Thursday 25 September
MCR Student Social 2025 / Credit: Jason Lock (via Manchester Arndale)
MCR Student Social is back at Manchester Arndale this Thursday from 12pm.
It’s set to be the one-stop-shop for all students’ essential needs, whether they’re grabbing a new outfit for a night out, a scented candle for their halls, or even their weekly food shop, as there’ll be up to 50% off at over 130 shops, restaurants, and leisure venues inside the shopping centre.
If all of that wasn’t exciting enough as it is, there’s also set to be free food samples, loads of games, spin-to-win competitions and giveaways on the day too, as well as DJs blasting out tunes.
After five unforgettable years at Red Bank, ahead of its exciting future move, GRUB is set to say goodbye with a three-day ‘blowout’ of food, booze, music, and memories
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Taking place this Thursday 25 to Saturday 27th September, it all culminates in one massive send-off, with a Big BOGOF Blowout weekend packed with two-for-one cocktails, shooters, and tacos, a non-stop 72-hour Happy Hour, and GRUB’s resident DJs going back-to-back as partygoers drink the cellar dry.
Find out everything happening this upcoming weekend here.
There’s a brand-new games bar and social space opening in Stockport town centre this week and it looks class – with curling, deck shuffleboard, archery, pétanque, and so much more, turning SK1 into the place to be.
Opening up above Market Place and ran by local lads, this space that’s been empty for more than 30 years has been transformed into a beautiful bar with stunning views of the market hall.
Everything you need to know about this new opening is here.
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Featured Image – Jason Lock (via Manchester Arndale) | The Manc Group | Museum of Illusions
What's On
Influential indie veterans The Wedding Present to embark on 40th anniversary tour
Danny Jones
Influential indie band The Wedding Present are about to begin a big live tour across the UK for their 40th anniversary, and one stop is right here in Manchester.
As boundary-pushing veterans of the genre for the best part of four decades, The Wedding Present have always been one of the most pioneering auteurs of the Northern music scene, and nothing has changed even after all this time.
The Leeds-formed icons are a favourite not only of ours but even more so among our friends over at The Hoot, and with an artistic legacy as strong as Yorkshire’s, that’s saying something.
David Lewis Gedge’s long-standing project rather quietly announced its major retrospective series of live shows back in June – so quiet, in fact, that we missed it until now – but as they gear up for a handful of very special dates, we’d urge Manc gig-goers to give themselves a Wedding Present.
Gedge and co. will be coming to the O2 Ritz in Manchester for just the second show of merely half a dozen confirmed for The Wedding Present 40th Anniversary Tour, having played the venue many times.
In fact, even after visits featuring live configurations over the years, the current lineup played the Ritz as recently as May 2023; the show was met with strong reviews pretty much across the board, and it seemed to signal somewhat of a falling back in love with the crowds of the North.
For anyone unaware of the self-styled ‘semi-legendary band’ (their PR’s words, not ours), The Wedding Present are probably in similar territory to fellow underdogs and Manc natives, James, when it comes to the amount of music they’ve put out over the years, inspiring generations of those who came after.
You might assume we’d name one of their most famous tracks, ‘George Best’, as our favourite, for rather obvious reasons – but you’d be wrong: it doesn’t get much better than ‘Dreamworld’, if you ask us.
Their rich back catalogue encompasses not only so many different eras but also sounds, styles and various other eccentricities; so much so that their multi-genre-spanning music has even produced its own musical.
But before we dive any deeper down into the rabbit hole, let’s get back on track.
Set to play Manchester on Friday, 10 October, The Wedding Present will be kicking off the tour in Bristol at the start of next month.
There are other dates in the likes of Sheffield, Liverpool, Chester, Holmfirth, Buxton, Newcastle and more, but only a few are officially part of the anniversary tour.
Tickets are live as we speak, so if you fancy going along to see them, you can grab yours HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
2nd November 2022 
