Bongo’s Bingo, a craft beer festival, and a big Jubilee-themed street party are just some of the things to expect when Cheshire Fest returns next month.
Taking place at a brand-new Knutsford location, Cheshire Fest will return after a two-year hiatus this Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend from Thursday 2 – Sunday 5 June, with everything from live music, a Big Top circus, a street food fair, a wide range of family-friendly entertainment, and a headline performance from Liverpool band The Zutons on the lineup.
This year, the festival will take place at The Lambing Shed at Moseley Hall Farm in the heart of the Cheshire countryside, with four days of celebrations planned in honour of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year.
Festival organisers say the 2022 lineup is “definitely the best we have ever had”.
Cheshire Fest prides itself on having “a real community feel”, thanks to partnering with a number of local businesses, and organisers say it’s the perfect festival for families and groups of friends to get together post-pandemic to enjoy some amazing music, great food and drink, and enjoy socialising again.
Here’s everything you can expect over the four-day festival.
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Cheshire Fest will return this Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend / Credit: Cheshire Fest
Thursday
Kicking-off on Thursday 2 June in the picturesque Cheshire countryside, the ever-popular Bongo’s Bingo will be taking place inside a Big Top Tent, and the iconic Jonny Bongo himself will host the show – with the usual crazy prizes, spontaneous dance-offs, rave intervals, and “magic moments of nostalgic escapism”.
It’s already being hailed as the “definitive bingo experience”.
Friday
The Cheshire Craft Beer Fest will take over the festival on Friday 3 June from 4pm-11pm, with a celebration of the best beers and street food all on the agenda, as well as an eclectic lineup of local live music artists and DJ sets.
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Once again, the event will be held in the Big Top Beer Hall with tables, seating, and solid flooring to dance the night away.
Tiny Rebel, Beavertown, Vocation, Batch 95, Neighbourhood, Swinkles, and Donkey Stone are some of the breweries set to offer up fresh brews across the extended weekend.
Then, as the evening draws in, the live music will be provided by Judge Jules with his 10-piece live band, and there’ll also be a DJ set from Take That’s Howard Donald, as well as Radio 1’s James Cusak spinning classic dance tracks on the decks.
Cheshire Fest prides itself on having “a real community feel” / Credit: Cheshire Fest
Festival organisers say the 2022 lineup is “definitely the best we have ever had” / Credit: Cheshire Fest
Saturday
Then, on Saturday 4 June, the festival welcomes Liverpool indie band The Zutons, and a duo of DJ sets from two local legends – Hooky (Peter Hook) of New Order, Joy Division, The Light and Hacienda Club, and Clint Boon of 90’s Manchester band Inspiral Carpets.
As the party continues, 90s house music queens, Angie Brown and Rozalla, will be performing live on stage, before trio K-Klass headline with a closing set of hits.
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LDF DJs & Friends will also be taking over the Tipi Disco.
And if all of that wasn’t brilliant enough as it is, on top of all the music, there will also be a big selection of bars, serving everything from craft beers to gin and prosecco, as well as a street food village, an artisan market, plenty of kids entertainment, and a fun fair too.
Sunday
Sunday 5 June is Jubilee Family Day.
To celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s 70 years on the throne, Cheshire Festival will become one giant street party on Sunday, with a whole programme of family entertainment including – the Greatest Showman Show by A Million Dreams, amazing circus skills from Nula Hula, Mark The Storyteller, and a magical giant bubble show from eBublio, with all the colours of the rainbow floating through the fields.
To cap off the day, cover bands will be playing greatest hits from across the decades – with The Cavern Beatles, Planet Abba, Manytones, and U2UK.
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The festival will take place at The Lambing Shed at Moseley Hall Farm in the heart of the Cheshire countryside / Credit: Cheshire Fest
The first phase of tickets for Cheshire Fest 2022 have already sold out, but the second release is now on sale, and you can get your hands on tickets for either individual days or the whole weekend.
Starting at just £8.50 for children and £16.20 for adults, you can get tickets here.
Featured Image – Cheshire Fest
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Thanks to Terminal 2’s major upgrade, now holidays really do start at Manchester Airport
Danny Jones
It’s a phrase that’s almost as old as air travel itself, but luckily, Manchester Airport are well and truly getting your holidays started early, courtesy of the new and improved Terminal 2.
T2‘s massive upgrade technically finished in 2025, but with other bits debuting already this year and even more to come in 2026, Manchester’s biggest terminal is a more fully-fledged travel hub than ever.
Complete everything from the essentials and a healthy supply of food and drink, to lots of luxuries and plenty of ways to unwind and kill time between both before and after flights, you can feel extra smug about getting to the airport early.
As part of their latest ‘Terminal Explorer’ campaign, we recently paid a visit to see just how much fun we could get up to in and around T2. Spoilers: quite a lot.
With a little help from their wayfinding screens dotted around the various areas, from the World Duty Free section and ever-growing internal shopping district, to all the bars and restaurants that have opened since the big refurb, we took ourselves on a very fun day out.
And that was without even having an actual holiday booked to look forward to, so just imagine how good it must feel to top all this off with a real trip away.
In fact, you don’t even need to think that hard about it; roughly 80% of all passengers heading in and out of Manchester Airport now come through T2, and with the experience improving all the time, they’re seeing a serious uptick in visitors and their time spent enjoying some leisure before their getaway.
From additions like the LEGO store to keep the kids entertained, as well as numerous places to grab a brew, a bite, or even your first adult beverage of the holiday, it’s up to you how you choose to explore – they’ve just given you plenty of options.
There’s no bigger testament to the latest hospitality offerings in Terminal 2 than the recently opened Great Northern Market, which brings a rather big taste of the Mackie Mayor vibe to Manchester Airport.
A VERY comfortable place to wind down any wait times before you fly.
You’ll be blown away by the amount of choice on offer in here – we certainly were – and, of course, the multi-vendor culinary destination epicentre is just one of many fantastic food and drink offerings now boasted by the T2 ‘2.0.’
For instance, we could happily spend most of the time before our next hypothetical flight just chilling in the super stylish Fever-Tree Bar, which includes a wonderful range of breakfast and light bites, charcuterie boards, small plates, sandwiches and so on – plus a cocktail menu perfect for any occasion.
Put simply, you’ve now been given all the tools and means to turn downtime of almost any duration into an excuse to explore Manchester Airport at its best; in fact, scratch that: it’s an opportunity to go for a wander and make the most of it – and it’s one you don’t want to waste.
Whether it’s stocking up pre-flight or kicking back with your first drink of many, don’t just be another person sitting watching the departures board, be a terminal explorer.
Sensory-friendly Northern Lights to illuminate Printworks’ digital ceiling to mark Neurodiversity Celebration Week
Emily Sergeant
This week marks the start of Neurodiversity Celebration Week.
Approximately 15-20% of the population has a neurological difference, according to the most recent statistics, and Neurodiversity Celebration Week (16-20 March 2026) highlighting the importance of championing, raising awareness of, and accommodating neurodiverse people.
And Printworks is marking the occasion in its own special way, with a series of new initiatives designed to create a more ‘inclusive’ and ‘sensory-friendly’ environment.
You may already know that the popular indoor entertainment complex in the heart of Manchester city centre is home to more than a dozen bars, restaurants, and leisure activities – including one of the largest IMAX screens on the continent – and Europe’s largest digital ceiling too, of course, but this week’s experience is unlike anything the venue has welcomed before.
Throughout the week, Printworks will be transforming its digital ceiling with calming Northern Lights and constellations which have been specifically designed to create a relaxed, sensory-friendly atmosphere for visitors with additional sensory needs.
Northern Lights to illuminate Printworks’ digital ceiling to mark Neurodiversity Celebration Week / Credit: Supplied
As part of a long-term commitment to accessibility and inclusivity, Printworks is also introducing a weekly sensory-friendly hour every Sunday too, where lighting throughout the venue will be dimmed, and music and SFX volumes reduced for a reduced-stimulus environment.
200 free sensory packs – which can be collected at Vue cinema – with a pair of ear defenders and sensory-friendly toys, designed to support visitors who may benefit from sensory tools while enjoying the venue, are also on offer throughout the course of the week.
On top of this, there’s also a range of autism-friendly cinema screenings taking place on the last Sunday of every month at 10:30am.
An additional autism-friendly screening will be taking place with a showing of Hoppers this Sunday 22 March at 10:30am, with tickets now available from Vue’s website.
“Neurodiversity Celebration Week is an important time for brands and venues to recognise and support the diverse ways visitors and audiences experience the world,” commented Dan Davis, who is the General Manager at Printworks.
Emily Sergeant -
28th April 2022 
