A huge bowling alley is coming to Trafford next month, promising the ‘crown jewels of bowling’ with Ten Pin and Duck Pin bowling, plus shuffleboard, quality street food, arcade games and more.
Called King Pins, the giant new venue will open at Trafford Palazzo on 17 July with two independent street food stands, a dessert kiosk and a full-service bar pouring cocktails, homemade slushies and 20 different beers.
Food traders have just been confirmed for the new opening, with city centre favourites PLY and Little Bao Boy both coming on board to serve up Neapolitan wood-fired pizzas and pan-Asian bao buns respectively.
PLY fans can expect to get their hands on all their Northern Quarter favourites, as well as digging into a brand new King Pins pizza topped with hot dogs, crunchy onion and a secret Goldeen barbecue sauce created exclusively for the new opening.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Image: The Manc Eats
There’ll also be a selection of saucy PLY wings coated in buffalo, BBQ and chip shop curry sauce, classic fries, vegan options and a special kids menu, perfect for the whole family.
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As for the menu at Little Bao Boy, originally founded in Leeds and voted the city’s favourite takeaway during Covid, expect to find the likes of beef beef brisket and salt and pepper aubergine-stuffed bao on a list that celebrates Asian food with a western, contemporary twist.
Meanwhile, King Pins’ dessert kiosk Royal Treats will serve a huge selection of sweet snacks ranging from donuts and soft serve ice cream to endless bags of Pick ‘N’ Mix.
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As for the games on offer, players can try their hands at both Ten Pin and Duck Pin bowling – a variation on the classic using smaller pins and balls – as well as play arcade games, shuffleboard, ice-free curling and air hockey.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
With a whopping fifteen lanes of Ten Pin bowling and six lanes of Duck Pin bowling (a shorter-laned, faster game of bowling that is completely new to the UK), up to 200 people will be able to play at once at the huge new venue when it launches next month.
James Travis, Brand Manager at King Pins, said: “We’re looking forward to finally opening King Pins this summer at Trafford Palazzo.
“The offering at King Pins is like no other, we are all about quality as opposed to outdated family fun. We can’t wait to showcase everything on offer, including a truly state-of-the-art bowling experience and some top-tier local food vendors.
“King Pins will be a place for the whole family to have fun, but equally the space will transform by night into an entertainment venue with music, drinks and bowling which is also perfect for adults looking for something different.”
Carl Fraenkl-Rietti, co-owner at PLY, said: “We are very excited about partnering with King Pins and are looking forward to the launch this summer.
“PLY will be bringing its fun, fresh food to the venue, which is the perfect fit for us. We are all about bringing great vibes, and who doesn’t love playing games, drinking beer and cocktails with a slice of pizza in hand.“
James Ooi, owner at Little Bao Boy, said: “We are very excited to be opening our restaurant in Manchester alongside King Pins, especially after seeing such a huge success at our home site in Leeds and Manchester city centre.
“We can’t wait to start slinging out our Bao Buns from this amazing new venue and we are looking forward to being part of this exciting new launch at Trafford Palazzo.”Designed with all ages in mind, bookings are officially open now for the new kingsized bowling experience. Located close to Legoland® Discovery Centre, SEA LIFE and the forthcoming Nerf Experience, to find out more and book visit the King Pins website here.
Featured image – The Manc Eats
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From drone shows to free ice lollies – what went down at Parklife 2025
Daisy Jackson
It’s been a few days since Parklife 2025 wrapped up, and now that we’ve all caught up on sleep we’re looking back on some of the highlights you might’ve missed.
With such a stacked line-up of live music, it would be impossible to have seen everything – from that sizzling final set from Charli XCX to Morgan Seatree’s emotional hometown show, plus viral sensation Interplanetary Criminal filling Matinee and D.O.D. getting the whole Big Top dancing.
One moment that you couldn’t possibly have missed if you were on the ground at Parklife festival was a surprise drone show which dazzled overhead on Saturday night.
As rap legend 50 Cent wrapped up his huge headline set on The Valley stage, and The Hangar came alive to the sound of Pawsa, fans got an extra special treat way up in the skies.
Hundreds of drones came together in an impressive, illuminated aerial display, starting with a 10-second countdown that stopped festival-goers in their tracks.
The drones then flew in formation to create iconic shapes like a yellow JD Sports duffle bag, an adidas shoebox, and the shape of a slowly-rotating Climacool trainer – and what a trainer it is.
The adidas drone show on Saturday nightadidas handed out Climacool-branded lollies and slushies50 Cent on The Valley stageadidas handed out Climacool-branded lollies and slushies
That wasn’t the only bit of attention the Climacool footwear got at Parklife either – thankful fans were treated to free Climacool branded ice lollies and slushies on their way into the festival on Saturday.
As the sun beat down on Heaton Park (bar the odd brief downpour, classic Manchester), adidas and JD Sports arrived in an ice cream truck with the coolest drop at the festival.
There was a helping hand from social media sensation Yombo to hype up the crowd before the festival had even got started.
The Climacool has a textile lining and upper work, with a perforated midsole to allow airflow and keep your feet fresh – perfect for any city adventure (and pretty perfect for a day at Parklife, we discovered).
If the Climacool trainers have caught your eye – either in the sky, at the Climacool ice cream truck, or on social media – then the good news is you can now shop them for yourselves.
Manchester bar announces huge giveaway of margaritas to celebrate first birthday
Daisy Jackson
A cocktail and shuffleboard bar in Manchester city centre is throwing a weekend-long party to celebrate its first birthday, and there are free cocktails up for grabs.
Electric Shuffle is kindly offering to give all of us presents for its birthday, with an epic free margarita giveaway.
That’s alongside an almighty party that includes resident DJs, live music performances, giveaways, exclusive offers, a cracking happy hour and a free photobooth.
The Deansgate activity bar, which has 15 interactive high-tech shuffleboards to play, each one loaded with different game modes, is celebrating one year in the city centre between Friday 20 and Sunday 22 June.
They’re throwing a three-day-long celebration, kicking off at 5pm on Friday with a giveaway of margaritas for the first 250 guests through the doors.
Then there’ll be an Electric Shuffle birthday prize game, where each slide of the puck could unlock prizes like bar tabs, brunch tickets, branded merch, cocktails, pizzas and more.
Singer-songwriter Luke McColl will be playing live during the evening, and you’ll be able to dive into a free photobooth all evening.
Electric Shuffle ManchesterFood and drink at the premium gaming barElectric Shuffle Manchester turns one
Moving on to Saturday’s celebrations – expect happy hour deals all day long, like £4 pins and £7 Sarti Spritzes, complimentary shuffleboard hire (you need to pre-book HERE), a special late brunch session between 5pm and 7pm, and more prize giveaways.
This part of the birthday party will be soundtracked by resident DJs and a live set from Elle Graham.
And if you thought that was the end of the party, you’re mistaken.
On Sunday, Electric Shuffle will host free shuffleboard all day long.
All summer, there’ll be a Margs and Margs deal, where you can get two margarita cocktails and a margarita pizza for just £25.
Electric Shuffle’s first birthday celebrations take place between 20 and 22 June.
Georgina Pellant -
8th June 2023 
