A new independent arts venue will open below the arches at Manchester Central in May.
53Two Bar has been launched to support local artists, creators and producers after what has been a very difficult year for the creative industry.
Opening in a Grade-II listed heritage site beneath the former train station, the 150-capacity bar will be a ‘community hub’ for the arts sector – serving coffee and cakes during the day and drinks and live entertainment at night.
The venue is also supporting local producers by serving beer from local breweries and pasties from Bolton-based HM Pasties – as well as a range of support services for people working in the industry.
53Two Bar will also operate as an ‘artists members club’ after 11pm where creative industry workers can relax for a late-night drink.
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A day of excitement for the team! Opening day announced! This is the bar only but a huge step for us. The 30th May is our first public night but we have 3 VIP invite nights before that so eyes peeled for a special invite. We can’t wait to see you! 💜💙https://t.co/CkfCdRh3yupic.twitter.com/uIEYXLI4Te
Ahead of its official launch, the space will be used as a studio and private cinema room for streaming live performances and plays.
Simon Naylor, Director of 53Two said: “53Two Bar will continue our tradition of creating an inclusive, accessible place for Manchester – full of laughter, creativity and conversation.
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“Everyone’s welcome, especially anyone working in the arts who has struggled during lockdown.”
The 53Two Bar will open on May 30.
Featured image: 53Two
Art & Culture
The best things to do in Greater Manchester this week | 7 – 13 April 2025
Emily Sergeant
The sun has been shining high in the sky, and schools are out for the spring holidays.
Last week was a busy way to end a busy month packed full of all sorts of events and activities, but now that April is here in full bloom, there’s absolutely no shortage of things for the whole family to be getting up to in Greater Manchester – especially as schools across the region are now out for two whole weeks over Easter.
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, both free things, and those that’ll set you back a few pennies too, so here’s some of our recommendations.
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Easter Holiday Pass
Oxygen at MediaCity
Monday 7 April – onwards
Easter Holiday Pass / Credit: Jamie McPhilimey
Now that schools are out, families can get themselves one of Oxygen at MediaCity’s Easter Holiday Pass, which gives pass holders the chance to visit the newly-opened £2.5m indoor activity park on any five days of the two-week break for 60 minutes of ‘Open Play’.
Weekends and bank holidays are also included in the pass, so there’s plenty of time to go.
This isn’t just a circus, this is carnival magic at its finest.
Step right up and join the heart of the carnival spirit as Gandeys Circus proudly presents the 2025 Carnival Spectacular.
This is a show like no other… drom uproarious comedy, to breathtaking acrobatics, every act is a feast for the eyes with vibrant costumes, dazzling choreography, and show-stopping performances, making it a full-scale carnival extravaganza that rivals the excitement of any festive celebration.
British Heart Foundation is currently hosting a brand-new pop-up shop and vintage kilo sale, where you can buy clothing and other goods at a fixed price per kilogram, in Stretford town centre.
The charity has taken over the vacant unit next to JD Sports to provide the Stretford community with a charity shop filled with all sorts of vintage goods and thrifty finds.
Visitors will be able to sift through shelves stacked with major brands at bargain prices, making it the perfect way to sustainably stock up on wardrobe staples and revamp ready for spring.
Vue cinemas across Greater Manchester will be screening family-favourite films, and some new releases as well, all throughout this spring holidays… and the best bit? Prices start from a massively-affordable £2.50 a ticket.
Arriving in time for the school holidays, A Minecraft Movie welcomes fans to their favourite cubic wonderland, or the whole family can instead transport themselves into Disney’s reimagining of the 1937 classic Snow White if they’d prefer.
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Also returning to the big screen are some childhood classics like Wallace & Gromit: Curse of The Were-Rabbit.
The Giant Egg Hunt is back at RHS Garden Bridgewater this spring school holidays.
Running from 10am to 4pm daily, and suitable for children aged three and up, visitors are invited to follow the hunt around the Salford-based garden to find the hidden giant eggs, and once you’ve spotted them all, you’ll be rewarded with a free chocolatey treat to take home with you.
This year the trail is more exciting than ever too, because children have a special quest and ‘egg-nigma code’ to crack.
Did you see that one of Greater Manchester’s popular museums has been named the best free museum in the UK?
Now that schools are out for spring, 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.
Even better yet, did you see that Chester Zoo has also recently opened a magnificent new African savannah habitat?
One of the largest habitats of its kind in the UK – spanning an area the size of 17 football pitches (22.5 acres) – Heart of Africa is home to dozens of African species, including giraffes, rhino, zebra, vultures, and meerkats.
There’s also new indoor habitats where you can see smaller species like never before, and even some habitats you can clamber inside too.
Read more about the Heart of Africa here.
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Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies and You
Science and Industry Museum
Monday 7 April – 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.
Looking to get creative this spring, but without the kids this time though?
Not everyone has little Mancs in their lives, and even if they do, it doesn’t mean you can’t take some time for yourself, so here are two spring activity suggestions to flex those creative muscles across Greater Manchester.
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Bento Cake Workshop
Vanilla Ice Cakes
Bento Cake Workshop / Credit: The Manc Group
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.
Sken Studios might just be the most wholesome way to spend an afternoon in Greater Manchester.
Ran by the legend that is Sabira, she’ll guide you through the workshop, teaching you the proper techniques necessary to carve your ring out of wax.
The rings are completely customisable and can feature whatever kind of shape and design you feel most inspired by, then once the workshop is over, your ring is sent off to be cast in either silver or gold and a few weeks later is delivered straight to your doorstep.
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Fancy a pretty spring walk? Who doesn’t.
Some of the green spaces that wrap around Greater Manchester are in their prime right now, and that’s saying something considering they’re pretty spectacular all year round, so it couldn’t be a more perfect time for a spring walk.
We’re talking fields full of daffodils and bluebells and trees dripping with blossom.
Credit: Tess Boland (via Pexels)
Check out some of Greater Manchester’s best spring walks here, and see our round-up of five of the best places to see blossom blooming in our region this year here.
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Featured Image – Jamie McPhilimey | RHS | Chester Zoo
Art & Culture
Manchester City’s Nathan Aké donates piano to grassroots music venue
Thomas Melia
Footballer and Manchester City star Nathan Aké has donated a piano to an iconic city centre grassroots venue in Manchester.
To celebrate ‘International Piano Day’, the Dutch defender has teamed up with legendary instrument-makers Casio by donating a state-of-the-art piano in one very lucky music venue.
Aké and Casio are donating pianos across the UK through their joint project titled ‘Playing For Change’.
The iconic grassroots venue that’s receiving this prestigious instrument is none other than Band on the Wall, which has been pumping out live music under this name since 1975.
Processed with VSCO with kp5 presetProcessed with VSCO with kp5 presetCredit: Supplied
This new addition will help the venue as a whole, but more importantly, it will come in very handy for their Saturday Music Club.
Running every weekend, this session helps young people discover music and develop their skills, now via the fantastic PX-S7000 Casio piano.
Band on the Wall is a much-loved and adored Manchester city centremusic institution, and they aren’t the only place benefitting from the Manchester city star and Casio.
So far, 12 disadvantaged schools in the UK have benefitted from this joint effort from Aké and Casio, all of which were surprised with their very own digital piano.
This newest partnership won’t come as a surprise to fans of the Man City centre-back, as he’s been known to play the piano since teaching himself in 2020, and now he’s spreading his love of music to communities nationwide.
Neil Evans, Head of Casio EMI, commented:“It’s exciting for us to support Band on the Wall with a gift of a brand new Privia piano.”
“We’re hoping it’s used often and inspires people into learning the piano and increasing their access to the joys of music, which is at the core of Playing For Change.”
As for Aké, while he might be sidelined for the foreseeable following surgery on a fractured foot, the Netherlands international will hopefully be able to get lots of practice playing those keys.
Anna Willis -
23rd April 2021 
