Manchester will become one of the most picturesque places in the country this month as the city gets dressed up in celebration of the annual Flower Show.
The nine-day festival – dubbed the ‘most Instagrammable event of the year’ – will see Manchester draped from head to toe in magnificent floral tributes; with plants and flowers covering landmark buildings, shop windows, doorways, balconies, statues and fountains.
Huge topiary beasts, light sculptures and tributes to the NHS and key workers are also being arranged for the occasion.
Additionally, an array of alfresco drink and dining options – including The Manchester Flower Show Cocktail Trail – will be in place, with a number of venues getting involved including 20 Stories, ATOMECA, Canto, Cloud 23, Dakota Hotel Manchester, El Gato, Peru Perdu, Qbic Manchester Hotel, Tast Catala, The Graduate Bar at Hyatt Hotels Manchester and The Lowry Hotel.
Manchester Flower ShowManchester Flower Show
Organised by CityCo and Manchester BID, Manchester Flower Show will come into bloom on Saturday 29 May and run until Sunday 6 June.
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Displays will be visible right the way across the city – including Exchange Square, First Street, Manchester Arndale, Selfridges, Corn Exchange, Spinningfields, Science and Industry Museum, The Whitworth, Circle Square, Manchester Craft & Design Centre, Ducie Street Warehouse, Deansgate Square, Spinningfields and Great Northern Warehouse.
Some highlights of the Manchester Flower Show include:
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The Secret Garden, St Ann’s Square and Kimpton Clocktower Hotel – A rusting, disused electricity sub-station becomes a delightful secret garden with a 10-foot blossom tree at St Anne’s Square; with a second garden at Kimpton Clocktower Hotel.
Knitted Trees, Market Street: Stunning ‘yarn bombed trees’ outside Marks and Spencer.
Flower Power at New Cathedral Street – A floral display inspired by the swinging sixties and the psychedelic art movement.
50 years of St Ann’s Hospice on King Street: Celebrating its 50th birthday, St Ann’s Hospice’s installation of 50 Forget-me-nots blowing in the wind conjures up a sense of the care, love, peace and support provided by the hospice to those with life-limiting illnesses and their families.
Seed of Change on King Street: A floral light sculpture created by Studiotech and Sutton Creative showcasing artwork by Venture Arts.
Bee Here and Celebrate at Manchester Cathedral: A beautiful volunteer-created display of pollen-rich perennials which could feed bees and butterflies for years – all in celebration of the 600th anniversary of Manchester Cathedral.
Live the Wild Life at Meadowside at Angel Meadow Park: A life-sized giraffe and baby elephant take over Angel Meadow! A must for families.
Floral Takeover at Stevenson Square: Blossoming doorways and floral displays at NOHO, Dusk till Pawn, Foundation Coffee and Fred Aldous transform Stevenson Square.
Whispering Wisteria at Circle Square, Oxford Road: A romantic tree sculpture draped with 500 pieces of wisteria; featuring tiny speakers enmeshed in the branches emitting sounds of the community in Bruntwood SciTech’s Circle Square.
Manchester Flower Show
Find out more about the bars and restaurants participating in The Manchester Flower Show Cocktail Trail online.
Visit the event page here for a full guide to what’s on at each venue throughout the festival.
Manchester
Popular night-time indie shopping market returns to Manchester tomorrow
Emily Sergeant
A unique indie shopping market is returning to Manchester, and you’ll be able to shop from 50 local small businesses all under one roof.
In case you hadn’t heard, the hugely-popular Night Market UK is back by popular demand, and it will be stopping off in our city centre for one night only tomorrow as part of the current leg of its tour across the country.
Returning to Manchester, but this time at a new location down at Fairfield Social Club in the Green Quarter, the unique night-time shopping experience will be showcasing more than 50 local small businesses – with everything from bespoke fashion items and beautifully-crafted homeware, to candles, artwork, silverware, and more on offer.
Brutal Fashion, Lost in Music, Urban Botany, and Dapper Alice are just a handful of the indie traders you’ll be able to shop from.
With event organisers promising there’ll be “a stall for everyone” to browse on the night, some of the other traders in attendance, include artisan producers, artists and bakers, as well as Fairfield Social Club’s resident street food purveyors Isit Kitchen, and pizza pros Killa Carbs.
DJ Clara B will also be taking over the club’s sound system too, and will be blasting tunes to set the scene all night long.
From bespoke fashion items and silverware courtesy of Brutal Fashion, to dazzling musical art prints from Lost in Music, and sculptural candles from Urban Botany to beautifully crafted homeware by Dapper Alice, there will be a stall for everyone on the night.
A popular night-time indie shopping market is returning to Manchester tomorrow / Credit: The Night Market UK | Kunal Mahesh Tewari (via The Night Market UK on Facebook)
The Night Market UK will open at Fairfield Social Club from 6pm tomorrow (Friday 26 July), and will run right through until 11pm.
Tickets are now on sale from just £4 each, and can be purchased in hourly entry timeslots – which organisers say “keeps the atmosphere just right” and ensures there’s enough space for everyone to be able to stay as little or as long as they’d like.
You can buy on the door or grab your tickets in advance here.
Featured Image – Supplied
Manchester
Beloved Manc butty shop Bada Bing set for a sensational return to the city centre
Danny Jones
Sandwich lovers rejoice because one of the finest butty shops to ever grace Manchester is returning: that’s right, Bada Bing is bada-back!
The Sopranos-inspired deli and sandwich shop that took its name from one of the central locations featured in the iconic US drama (yes, the strip club), was a huge success when it first opened in Manchester a few short years ago, so it was a huge blow when it closed in February 2022.
Starting out by serving sandwiches out of a window at The B Lounge pub on Paton Street near Piccadilly, before moving to a small kitchen on Radium Street and eventually setting up their stall inside Ancoats General Store, they would regularly have lines around the block every lunchtime.
These Italian-American sarnies were so popular you’d often struggle to get your claws on one – and believe us, they really are a two-handed task – as they’d sell out on what felt like most days. But now, whether you were a regular or someone who missed out, there is hope once again:
Announcing their sensational return to a new site over in the Northern Quarter, which will now mark the fourth premises they’ve popped up at, Bada Bing is back with a bang and, as you can, they dropped the news with one of the best reveal videos we’ve ever seen.
If you know, you know…
Set to take over 125 Oldham Street, owners Sam Gormally and Meg Lingenfelter haven’t yet graced us with an opening date but the new unit should hopefully be open sooner rather than later.
The duo, who previously worked at fellow NQ favourite Another Heart to Feed, came up with the concept during lockdown and it didn’t take long for the idea to take off, nor for them to earn their spot amongst the very best sandwich places in Manchester.
Seriously, these things were so big and unwieldy (in the best way possible) that they even used to come with eating instructions: both hands and the trademark Tony Soprano hunch recommended, though the slightly stained wife-beater, boxer shorts and open dressing gown look is optional.
From slices of provolone cheese, all the thinly sliced Italian meats you could think of and the closest thing to actual ‘gabagool‘ as you’ll find in Greater Manchester, the menu was fitting of being served up to the iconic characters that once sat outside Satriale’s and a big approving grin from the man himself.
Simply put, we cannot wait and we will certainly keep you posted when we find out exactly when Bada Bing confirms their official reopening date.