Printworks is helping parents keep kids this busy for the rest of the Easter holiday by hosting a totally free and family-friendly gaming event this Thursday, 4 April.
Fresh from the £21 million refurbishment of the iconic Manchester entertainment venue and leisure destination, which now includes the largest digital ceiling anywhere in Europe, Printworks will be putting their new and improved tech offerings to use through a giant interactive gaming screen.
Having already been unveiled as part of their relaunch party last month, the open area now known as the Pumpyard will see their very own gaming referee, Chris Dresden, hosting a huge interactive game that will see anywhere between 30 and 100 players take part at a time.
Able to play simply by joining through your smartphone, participants will compete in two easy-to-play, interactive multiplayer games created by Manchester-based, crowd-gaming specialists, Piing. We’ve already had a go and trust us, it’s a good laugh.
With the whole thing being shown on Printworks’ new gaming screen as visitors use their smartphones as the controllers, you just have to scan a QR code to get involved. It’ll be taking place between 12pm-4pm on Thursday and it’s sure to attract a big crowd.
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There’s no app to download or sign up necessary, you just join the screen and play – though we’d definitely recommend getting the Printworks app for more benefits throughout the year.
As for what people will be playing, gamers can try out Rebound – a ping pong game where players aim to keep the ball on the court – as well as Buggy Race: a classic racing gamer where you can steer around the islands and chicanes on a fast-paced F1-style circuit.
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A new gaming challenge will take place every 15–30 minutes as part of the family-friendly event, with the winner of each round able to select a fantastic prize from Printworks’ lucky dip, including vouchers for in-house restaurants and leisure destinations, chocolate fountains, footballs and plenty more.
Better still, families can also take advantage of a variety of half-term offers with Printworks’ popular venues over the next two weeks, including Easter menus with Chiquito and Frankie & Benny’s, free face painting and balloon modelling events on weekdays with Treetop Golf and lots more.
Kristian Brennan, Marketing Manager at Printworks, said: “We’re so excited to host our first gaming event here at Printworks on our new gaming screen.
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“As part of the recent relaunch following our extensive refurbishment, this gaming event will not only bring free fun for families during the Easter break but will also offer an experience like no other, where they will be surrounded by mesmerising content on our giant digital ceiling.”
The screen isn’t just there as something to look at and to light up the internal street, Printworks is also planning a variety of free content scheduled to run throughout the next year, with families able to marvel at stunning ‘Out of Space’ scenes this school holidays. We can’t lie, it’s pretty bloody impressive.
A ‘one of a kind’ classic car boot sale is coming to Manchester for the first time this summer
Emily Sergeant
A classic car boot sale is coming to Manchester for the first time this summer, and there’ll be loads of vintage gems.
Venturing to the North for the first time in its history, the Classic Car Boot Sale will be coming to at MediaCity this summer, and it’s all sounding set to be a vintage, pre-loved, and classic car enthusiast’s “paradise”.
The “one of a kind” event – which has been held bi-annually in London since 2011 – assembles more than 150 of the finest vintage and sustainable fashion, accessories, and homewares traders from across the UK, and gathers them all in one location so thousands of shoppers, collectors, and petrol heads can fill their boots.
It’s described as being “a festival in its own right”.
The Classic Car Boot Sale is also a “celebration” of automotive history, as well as youth culture and fashion, and this means visitors can expect stunning cars, daily ride ups from scooter and motorcycle clubs, and classic bicycles too.
There’ll also be a ‘suitcase sale’ section where people with smaller collections who don’t have enough to fill a car boot can sell out of vintage suitcase across the weekend, and the UK’s first charity department store, Charity Super.Mkt, will also be making a return with a pop-up raising money for a number of different charities.
A ‘one of a kind’ classic car boot sale is coming to Manchester for the first time this summer / Credit: The Classic Car Boot Sale (via Facebook)
Aside from the independent traders and classic cars, there’ll also be bars inside retro buses, and loads of food traders on site serving up a wide range of yummy street food from classic vans for you to tuck into.
DJs will also be blasting out tunes, with everything from the rockabilly, reggae, ska, Glam Rock, Punk, Northern Soul and so much more on the lineup.
The Classic Car Boot Sale will take over MediaCity on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 July, and applications for vintage, second-hand, and food traders, and vehicle and bike owners are now open.
Popular children’s TV star to make special visit to Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum this weekend
Emily Sergeant
You can take your little Mancs down to meet the star of one of their favourite TV shows at the Science and Industry Museum this weekend.
In case you hadn’t heard, May is currently ‘Brilliant Bodies’ month down at Manchester‘s iconic Science and Industry Museum, and there’s a whole host of themed interactive and educational activities lined up ready for schools across Greater Manchester to be out for half term – with something for everyone of all ages to get stuck into.
Anatomy-themed special events, star-studded appearances, and half term transformations are just some of the things on the “gloriously gross” schedule.
But, of course, one of the highlights of ‘Brilliant Bodies’ month has to be the world-first exhibition Operation Ouch! Food, Poo and You at the heart of it all – which is based off the popular children’s BBC show of the same name.
Popular children’s TV star to make special visit to Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum / Credit: Science Museum Group
The family-friendly exhibition – which is coming to a close after a massively-successful run in our city on Sunday 9 June – gives visitors the chance understand more about the inner workings of their own bodies, and the important role science plays in supporting our digestive health.
If you haven’t had the chance to check out the exhibition yet, and are keen to do so before it bids its final farewell, then this bank holiday weekend couldn’t be a more ideal time, as one of the stars of the Operation Ouch!TV show, Dr Ronx, is making a special visit to the museum on Saturday.
And this is your chance to meet them.
Anyone who books tickets to visit Operation Ouch! Food, Poo and You between 11:30am-1pm, and 3pm-4pm, on Saturday 25 May, will not only have the chance to explore the role of each organ in the digestive system during a “rib-tickling adventure”, but will also get the opportunity to grab a selfie with Dr Ronx from inside the exhibition.
Visitors will be guided through the exhibition by videos and illustrations of Operation Ouch! hosts, Dr Chris, Dr Xand, and Dr Ronx, all before getting to meet Dr Ronx themself.
Dr Ronx will also be hosting three Q&A sessions throughout the day too, and you can see them take to the stage at 10:30am, 2:10pm, and 4:30pm.
Tickets to visit the museum and exhibition on Saturday 25 May are now available to book.
Free standard museum entry tickets will give you access to the Q&As with Dr Ronx, but an exhibition ticket must be purchased for specific times for the photo opportunity, and these are limited, so booking as soon as possible is encouraged to avoid disappointment.