After a successful launch in 2023, the UK’s best-loved pregnancy, baby and parenting event, The Baby Show with Lidl GB, is heading back to Manchester Central this week, 7-9 June.
The enormous event will be a one-stop-shop for everything tiny human-related, from feeding equipment to car seats to baby-grows to buggies.
There’ll be live talks, a chance to meet brands from across the industry, and even a buggy testing track where you can put your new wheels through their paces on a range of terrains.
Exhibitors will be offering fantastic prices on products too, with those appearing at The Baby Show including MAM, Obaby, Venicci, iCandy, Cybex, Egg, BabyBjörn, Mamas & Papas, Maxi-Cosi and more.
Plus, a New Kids on the Block area will give start-ups, emerging businesses and boutique brands the opportunity to showcase their goods, such as MarBra, Baby Sensor, Ruffle + Romper and Bubble Tots.
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Over on the Live Talks Stage you can expect to hear insights from names like health and fitness expert and Baby2Body CEO Melinda Nicci; Jenni Dunman from Daisy First Aid; Lucy Shrimpton, founder of The Sleep Nanny; and Rober Titzer, infant researcher at The Infant Learning Company.
All talks across the three-day event will provide expert advice on subjects all new and expectant parents face, such as birth, sleep, feeding, child development, weaning, health and fitness, and what to buy, and will all be completely free of charge.
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There’ll be a buggy testing track at The Baby Show by Lidl GBParents and expectant parents can browse essential itemsThere’ll be loads of different brands taking part in The Baby Show with Lidl GBThe buggy testing track in actionCredit: Supplied
The Lupilu Changing Area, proudly sponsored by Lidl GB, will allow visitors to try out award-winning nappies and wipes for free – and the brand was recently crowned the Best Family Brand in the 2024 Loved By Parents awards.
There’ll be complimentary baby food, provided by Lupilu, in The Baby Feeding Café as well as bottle-warmers and microwaves, and a private area for those who wish to breastfeed in private.
Mallory Reynolds-Trout, show manager at The Baby Show with Lidl GB says:
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“Last year we launched the show in Manchester to huge crowds of new and expectant parents who travelled far and wide to shop for their impending arrivals – showing a huge appetite for more.
“The Baby Show is the biggest parenting event in the country, and we’re thrilled that it was such a big success in 2023 and this year it’ll be even bigger.
“We’ll have a buggy testing track, a stage where visitors can listen to expert advice, a baby feeding café and over 250 exhibitors showcasing their latest products, along with some great offers.”
We have 100 pairs of complimentary tickets* to give away to the show. Use code “MANCSCOMP” to claim yours now.
Visitors can also add-on a Baby Show goody bag for only £6, containing goodies worth over £75. For more information, visit www.thebabyshow.co.uk/manchester.
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*T&Cs apply. A £2 transaction fee is applied to every order.
Featured image: Supplied
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Hit theatre production set at a house party to visit Manchester on UK tour
Daisy Jackson
Alright then, 24 hour party people, we’ve found a theatre production you might like the sound of – it’s called The House Party, and it’s set in (you guessed it) a house party.
This smash hit production by pioneering theatre company Headlong is set to land at HOME in March as part of the arts venue’s 2025 theatre season.
It tells the tale of a wild 18th birthday party, where Christine is trying to pick up the pieces of her best friend, a newly-dumped Julie (who happens to be the birthday girl).
Themes of class, power and privilege are all explored with a raw intensity as the cast on stage plough through shots and dive head-first into a night that will change everything they know.
The House Party, which has received glowing reviews from previous showings, is filled with ‘privilege, desire and destruction’.
When it stops off in Manchester, its cast will include Bridgerton’s Sesley Hope as Christine, Synnøve Karlsen (Miss Austen, Last Night in Soho) as Julie, and Tom Lewis (Gentleman Jack, Patience) as Jon.
The ensemble of Frantic Assembly performers includes Ines Aresti, Oliver Baines, Cal Connor, Micah Corbin-Powell, Rachael Leonce, Jaheem Pinder and Jamie Randall.
The House Party is written by Laura Lomas and is a reimagining of August Strindberg’s Miss Julie for today’s generation.
It’s directed by Headlong’s artistic director Holly Race Roughan, who directed the Royal Shakespeare Company’s world premiere of David Edgar’s major new political play The New Real.
The House Party. Credit: Ikin YumThe production will be at HOME. Credit: Supplied
Movement direction will come from Frantic Assembly’s Scott Graham.
Prior to the UK tour of The House Party, Headlong celebrated its 50 year anniversary, including the hit production of A Raisin in the Sun which played nationwide.
The House Party will be at HOME in Manchester between 25 and 29 March, 2025 – you can get your tickets HERE.
Greater Manchester’s annual Repair Week is back to make you fall back in love with your stuff
Daisy Jackson
If you’re not a handy person, when something breaks, the temptation is often to abandon or bin it straight away.
But that’s just not how we’re gonna do it here in Greater Manchester any more, with the return of the annual Repair Week to help you learn valuable repair skills and save money at the same time.
Whether it’s tinkering with your bicycle, fixing up your small tech items, or having your furniture re-varnished and upcycled, there are so many places and people who are on a mission to help you fall back in love with your belongings.
There are even workshops to help you put flat-pack furniture together.
Taking place between 3 and 9 March, Repair Week will be the chance to learn skills, fix your stuff, gain repair confidence and find local fixers.
Events throughout the week (and beyond) will be hosted by community groups, businesses and plenty more.
You can sharpen knives, fix zips, and un-wobble chairs with a little hand from local repair heroes.
JillyGDesign Jewellery in Heaton Moor will fix up your sentimental and special jewellery items, while Rag Revival will help you turn unusable textiles into new creations with basic sewing skills.
There are repair cafes popping up all over Greater Manchester where you can take your belongings.
Greater Manchester’s annual Repair Week is back to make you fall back in love with your stuff. Credit: Supplied
Repair Week will highlight schemes like the Manchester Library of Things, where you can borrow the tools and equipment you need for those repair jobs at home.
During the week you’ll also be able to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the incredible Renew Hub, the UK’s biggest reuse hub, where donated items are brought back to life.
Similarly, you’ll be able to get inside the textile recycling centre run by homelessness charity Emmaus Bolton, where you can choose your own fabric from the scrap store and turn it into a very handy draught excluder to keep costs down and your heat in.
Recycle for Greater Manchester’s Repair Week will take place between 3 and 9 March, with workshops, events and resources to help you revive your belongings.
Daisy Jackson -
4th June 2024 
