Many of us will think of Manchester Pride Festival as the live music, parties, and general mischief taking place across the Gay Village – but there are so many family-friendly events for people of all ages to get stuck into.
This year’s event has just announced its line-up for Family Pride MCR 2023, with music, cabaret, workshops and discos for Pride-goers of all ages.
The completely free event will be held at the Great Northern Warehouse on Saturday 26 August, between midday and 6pm.
The programme includes music, crafting, party games and sing-a-longs, as well as a rainbow disco, showcasing performances and artists that champion love, self-expression and individuality.
It’s aimed to provide an exciting, inspiring and celebratory day for LGBTQ+ families, parents/carers, and children alike.
Highlights include the return of the Fatt Project’s Palaver Party — a blend of cabaret and a mini Pride parade — with the star-studded line-up including performer Ginny Lemon, a known face of the Manchester Pride Festival, as well as Lady Bushra, shortlisted for the 2021 BBC New Comedy Awards.
Guinness World Records holder Symoné and Cyro from The Enby Show are also set to grace the stage which will be hosted by Fatt Butcher and Blu Romantic.
There’ll also be a beach-inspired experience complete with the kids’ club, thanks to the festival’s headline sponsor, TUI.
Fatt Butcher at Family PrideThe family catwalk extravaganza.Family Pride is a big part of the Manchester Pride Festival 2023Credit: Supplied/Verity Mulligan
Family Pride MCR’s 2023 offering has been announced by Manchester Pride, supported by TUI and in partnership with Proud 2 b Parents.
This year’s Family Pride MCR event has been co-designed with Fatt Projects, a queer performance company renowned for its vibrant and joyful celebrations of diversity.
Director of Fatt Projects Adam Carver said: “We are so excited to be back working with Manchester Pride this year to present a second fabulous Family Pride MCR.
“Fatt Project’s work for families is all about celebrating yourself, having a great time, and bringing the whole family together for an unforgettable party. It feels more important now than ever to ensure that children and families are a key part of pride celebrations, so we can let young people know that all kinds of families are loved, celebrated, and part of our community.
“We can’t wait to see everyone there; so get your dancing shoes out, stick on a sequin or ten, and come join us for a fantastic day”.
TUI’s beach experience will also feature the beloved Captain T from TUI’s kids’ clubs, and serene spaces for families to unwind.
“We can’t wait to celebrate our colleagues and show Manchester how much TUI values all their LGBTQ+ staff and crew.” — Toby Horry
Toby Horry, Head of Brand Marketing at TUI, said: “We’re so excited to be getting involved in the Manchester Pride Festival and sponsoring Family Pride MCR this year, since it’s such a hugely important date for our community up in the north.”
In partnership with Proud 2 b Parents, an organisation supporting LGBTQ+ parents and their families, Manchester Pride is set to deliver an enriching Family Pride MCR experience.
Proud 2 b Parents will host an information stall, an LGBTQ+ children’s book stall, and guide families to various activities on site. They also offer a parade viewing area for LGBTQ+ families to enjoy the parade from a welcoming vantage point overlooking Deansgate.
Other activities available for children include baby sensory, baby noise making workshop, story time in Book Nook Library. The Great Northern Warehouse will host an indoor extended play space in the Atrium with lawn games, table tennis and a colouring. There will also be a quiet zone, feeding area, pram park and changing facilities.
Mark Fletcher, CEO of Manchester Pride, added: “Pride celebrations are for everyone and should not be bound by age or family structure. Our celebrations at Family Pride MCR provide a fun, enriching and empowering space where families of all kinds can express themselves freely.
“Family Pride MCR offers vital representation and visibility to families that don’t always see themselves reflected in heteronormative society, and we’re proud to offer children and families a friendly space to meet, connect and celebrate pride in a way that’s designed just for them.”
Manchester Pride Festival, crowned the ‘Best Large Festival’ at the UK Festival Awards 2022, is set to take place this August Bank Holiday weekend (25-28 August). In partnership with Booking.com, the festival features an exciting line-up of local and international artists, advocating for LGBTQ+ equality.
For more information on Manchester Pride Festival and to purchase tickets for the Gay Village Party, visit www.manchesterpride.com. We’re always made up by how Greater Manchester comes together at this time of year and this year’s Stockport Pride was a great way to get warmed up.
Little Mancs can meet the star of one of their favourite TV shows at the Science and Industry Museum this summer.
In case you hadn’t heard, Operation Ouch! is back in Manchester again with a fresh new experience for 2025, and this time around, visitors can journey through an ear canal covered in gooey wax, squeeze past sticky snot, and delve deeper into how our brains interpret the world.
Thousands of families from across Greater Manchester and beyond have already visited the city centre museum make the most of the new exhibition, and get stuck into the wide range of immersive and interactive activities it has on offer.
But for those who haven’t been able to pay a visit yet, this summer couldn’t be a more ideal opportunity to do so.
That’s because Dr Xand Van Tulleken – who is one of the presenters of the BBC showOperation Ouch! – will be at the museum in a couple of weeks time to meet visitors as part of his myth-busting mission to answer some of the public’s deepest questions about our senses.
The Science and Industry Museum has unveiled its ‘summer of senses’ programme / Credit: Science Museum Group
Dr Xand Van Tulleken will be at the Science and Industry Museum for one day only, and will not only join mini medics on their voyage through the senses, but will also be on-hand to answer brain teasers from the audience during a series of live Q&As.
Whether it’s banging on a super-sized eardrum, venturing into a massive eyeball, or even taking a whiff of a ‘smell library’, this world-premiere exhibition dives into the science behind hearing, sight, touch, taste, and smell – and Dr Xand will be there every step of the way.
Dr Xand’s visit comes amid a senses-themed summer programme at the city centre museum, where visitors can enjoy everything from silent discos and science shows, to a ‘bogie lab’, brain-boggling challenges, and loads more during six weeks of activities inspired by its latest exhibition.
Book your tickets to visit Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies and You on Tuesday 12 August, for any of the time slots between 11:30am – 1pm, and 2:45 – 4:15pm for the opportunity to grab a selfie with Dr Xand from inside the exhibition.
Tickets will cost visitors £10 each, with those under three going free, and a range of family discounts available.
Reports are suggesting that the UK Government is considering introducing two-hour screen time limits for children.
With an announcement on the matter expected later this autumn, Sky News is reporting that social media limits for children are being planned by the Government in a bid to tackle what is being referred to as ‘compulsive’ screen time usage – with Technology Secretary Peter Kyle admitting he is concerned about ‘the overall amount of time kids spend on apps’ these days, as well as the content they see.
Following meetings with current and former employees of some of the country’s major tech companies, a two-hour cap per social media platform is being ‘seriously considered’.
It is understood that, according to reports, instead of simply just being reminded of how long they have been scrolling for, children would actually be blocked from accessing apps, such as TikTok or Snapchat, once they have hit the limit.
The Government is considering introducing a two-hour screen time limit for children / Credit: RawPixel / Flickr
“I’ll be making an announcement on these things in the near future,” Mr Kyle told Sky News in an interview this week, “but I am looking very carefully about the overall time kids spend on these apps.”
He continued: “I think some parents feel a bit disempowered about how to actually make their kids healthier online.
“I think some kids feel that sometimes there is so much compulsive behaviour with interaction with the apps, they need some help just to take control of their online lives, and those are things I’m looking at really carefully.
“We talk a lot about a healthy childhood offline. We need to do the same online. I think sleep is very important, to be able to focus on studying is very important.”
The proposed limit is to help prevent ‘compulsive’ scrolling / Credit: William Hook (via Unsplash)
Mr Kyle admitted that, while children spending hours viewing content on social media isn’t ‘criminal’, but the overuse of some of these apps in particular is ‘unhealthy’.
“I think we can incentivise the companies,” he continued.
“We can set a slightly different threshold that will just tip the balance in favour of parents, [so that they’re] not always being the ones having to rip phones out of the kids’ hands and having a really awkward and difficult conversation around it.”
The upcoming proposed screen time limit comes after 1,000 pupils – mostly aged 14 and 15 – at schools in the North East town of Darlington spent a year participating in regular focus groups about smartphones and social media.
The survey found that 40% of them spent at least six hours a day online, and one in five even spent as long as eight hours scrolling.