A three-day canalside beer festival is coming to Manchester this weekend
Kicking off this Friday, find a range of bars dedicated to hoppy, session, fruit and sour beers, plus wine, cocktails and.food from Beeswing, Madre, Pollen and Great North Pie Co.
A three-day canalside beer festival is coming to Manchester this weekend, bringing together some of the UK’s (and the world’s) best breweries.
Taking place at the waterside neighbourhood Kampus, Summer Beer Thing – the summer counterpart to Manchester’s Indy Man Beer Con festival – will kick off this Friday from 4pm, with a DJ in the garden from 5pm.
2022’s event will bring together a brand new line-up of breweries and food traders including soon-to-be Kampus residents Madre and Great North Pie Co.
Elsewhere, there’ll be more food from the likes of newcomer Pollen, as well as Nells’ pizza and Levanter.
Beer lovers can expect to find a range of different beer styles on offer from various brewers, as well as a range of different street foods – from sandwiches and pastries to tacos, pies and giant pizza slices.
ADVERTISEMENT
This year’s event also features a wine bar from Beeswing, cocktails in collaboration with Campari, and a range of interesting and creative non-alcoholic options.
Image: Summer Beer Thing
Organised by the teams behind prolific beer bars Port Street Beer House, Common and The Beagle, the festival will bring brewers from across the country down to the waterside location to showcase their latest creations.
ADVERTISEMENT
Summer Beer Thing first began in 2017 at Sadler’s Yard, with over 3,000 people visiting across the weekend each year.
A showcase of different beer styles, the festival has bars dedicated to hoppy, session, fruit and sour beers and the feel of a party with beer as the focal point with plenty for both experts and beginners in the world of craft ale.
Tickets are priced between £6 and £10 and are on sale now via the Summer Beer Thing website.
Ticket holders will also be given a branded glass to take home after the festival, and can purchase tokens to spend at a range of festival bars featuring craft beers, fruits and sours, hoppy, hoppier and session beers as well as a range of non-beer drinks.
Feature image – Summer Beer Thing
Manchester
Manchester Art Fair returns this autumn with more than 180 exhibitors under one roof
Emily Sergeant
One of the UK’s largest art fairs is back in Manchester this autumn, bringing more than 180 exhibitors together all under one roof.
Not only is it one of the UK’s largest and one of the most significant art fairs, but it’s by far one of the most celebrated cultural events in Greater Manchester‘s social calendar too.
Designed for the collector, the curator, and those who are just simply curious, the event draws in tens of thousands of visitors, and will feature lots of new and returning galleries and artists this year – all of whom will be showing new works.
2026’s edition will be its biggest yet too, as the event is returning to Manchester Central for four days this year instead of the usual three.
Returning from Thursday 19 to Sunday 22 November, the fair will have more than 600 artists there for an exceptional showcase of modern and contemporary art, with thousands of works available to discover and buy from both world-renowned names and some of the most exciting emerging creative talent.
In a significant move, the fair’s highly anticipated Preview Night will move to Thursday evening, opening an expanded programme of art, talks, workshops, and new experiences across the four days that follow.
Leading the lineup of new features are Manchester Art Fair’s Art Masterclasses, which have been created for developing artists looking to advance their creative practice.
These new experiences will sit alongside a rich programme of artist talks, panel discussions, Q&As, live demonstrations, and other hands-on creative workshops.
More than 180 exhibitors will all gather together under one roof / Credit: Supplied
Manchester Art Fair 2026 will first open at Manchester Central with an exclusive preview night on Thursday 19 November, before it then continues on Friday 20, Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November – with tockets now on sale.
Tickets are priced at £15 for a day ticket or £25 for a preview night ticket, including access throughout the weekend, all with booking fees applying.
You can get your hands on tickets from the Manchester Art Fair website HERE, and find out more information on this year’s event HERE.
Featured Image – Supplied
Manchester
Scheme approved and date set for work to begin on Piccadilly Gardens transformation
Emily Sergeant
The long-awaited Piccadilly Gardens transformation is a go.
It’s official – planners have given the green light for the scheme to transform Piccadilly Gardens, with Manchester City Council having received no objections to the proposals which meant that officials were able to approve the full planning application without it needing to be considered at next month’s Planning Committee.
The decision means that preparation works can continue at pace, ready for the main works due to get underway this autumn.
In case you aren’t up to date with the Piccadilly Gardens transformation plans, the idea is, in a nutshell, to put the ‘Gardens’ back in Piccadilly Gardens.
But what exactly does this mean?
Well, the approved plans show a vision for more green space – including lawns, trees, planting, seating, and colourful horticultural displays – with the temperamental fountains being removed for good and replaced with a new space called The Pavilion that will host family-friendly events.
Date set for work to begin on Piccadilly Gardens transformation / Credit: Supplied
The low concrete walls and raised planters at the edge of the gardens will be ripped out, improving the setting of the Queen Victoria statue.
An there’ll be a new, larger playground for younger children, created in the same high-quality style as the new parks at Mayfield Park and Ancoats Green.
The plan is to also make the space ‘safer’ overall, through improved sightlines, better lighting, and enhanced CCTV.
The Council and its partners say they are ‘clear’ that delivering a ‘better’ Piccadilly Gardens cannot just be about physical improvements, but it also requires improvements to how the area is managed and maintained.
We're putting the Gardens back into Piccadilly Gardens
The major regeneration plan to transform the square has now been approved by planners.
This means we can start work this autumn to make the Gardens more colourful, vibrant and safer for residents and visitors. pic.twitter.com/5Ayv2k9SRw
This process is said to have already started, primarily with a strengthened police presence, but a new management model is also being developed to ensure that improvements are sustained.
“Securing planning permission means that before this year is out, we can get started properly on work to transform the space and have it finished and ready for the public to use next year,” explained Councillor Garry Bridges, who is the Leader of Manchester City Council.
“Piccadilly Gardens has huge potential to be a real asset to the city and its people. We know it hasn’t been good enough – but that’s about to change.”
Georgina Pellant -
20th June 2022 
