With so much happening over the two-day festival as part of the annual Halloween in the Citycelebrations – which is organised by CityCo and Manchester Business Improvement Distict (BID) – people making their way to the city centre this weekend are being encouraged to “dress up, join in, and get gruesome” to look the part.
Ghastly ghouls, wicked witches, curious cats, and more will all be welcome in Manchester city centre this Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 October.
The more people in spooky fancy dress, the better.
Dressing up is all part of the fun, but if you’re feeling pretty confident about your costume this year, then there’s actually a huge fancy dress competition happening across the weekend, and this is your time to join either ‘Team Trick’ or ‘Team Treat’.
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All you’ll need to do is head to the one of the wristband exchanges at Market Street, Exchange Street, or Exchange Square to collect your team wristband, and this’ll unlock all your VIP experiences
Once you have your wristband, you’ll then get to take part in dance offs, screaming competitions, spooky challenges, and of course, the Halloween costume catwalk extravaganza to earn points for your team and win even win some special spot prizes too.
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Then you’ll want to make your way to the dance tent in Exchange Square at 4pm to find out which team is crowned the winner and celebrate at the glow in the dark disco.
There’s a huge Halloween fancy dress competition happening in Manchester city centre / Credit: CityCo & Manchester BID Families are being encouraged to “dress up, join in, and get gruesome” / Credit: CityCo & Manchester BID
While the Halloween in the City celebrations will be largely taking place over this weekend, if you’ve got a keen eye, then you may have already noticed that giant inflatable monsters with hanging tentacles, fanged teeth, and bloodshot eyes have already been starting to take over the rooftops of Manchester this week.
Dotted at 14 different locations across the city centre, you’ll be able to go on adventure to discover them at places like Selfridges, Manchester Arndale, Great Northern Warehouse, AO Arena and The Royal Exchange, AO Arena, Spinningfields, and even at the ‘spooktacular’ outdoor ice rink in Cathedral Gardens.
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And then on Halloween weekend itself, there’ll be even more monsters set to pop up on the ground, so keep your eyes peeled around Exchange Square.
The monsters are just the tip of the iceberg of events happening at Halloween in the City this weekend though – think a welcome procession of roaming monsters, a monster carnival, top monster bands, monster DJs, a monstrous photo trail across the city, and so much more.
Here’s just a handful of other activities you can get involved with.
MCR Monsters have also begun popping up across the city centre / Credit: CityCo & Manchester BID
Monsters Rock! Party Procession
Spooky creatures will be on the move and weave through Manchester Arndale and Market Street.
The roaming performance comes from Walk the Plank, the same creative minds behind the Manchester Day Parade, and you can expect stilt walkers, monster puppets, and a five-piece band mingling with shoppers on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 October, with performances at 12pm, 2pm, and 3pm.
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Creepy Carnival & Dr Dee’s Portal to Another World
A Creepy Carnival, made up of a carousel, helter skelter, street food and circus performers, is going to sprawl across New Cathedral Street.
Plus, Studiotech and Treacle Studio have discovered a mystical machine made by Queen Elizabeth I’s court scientist and magician – and Dr Dee’s Portal to Another World provides a gateway for all the friendly monsters who arrive in Manchester for Halloween in the City.
This interactive light display will invite Mancs to see if the portal works in reverse and could lead to the world where the monsters roam.
Scare Skate
A massive spooky ice rink has been built in Cathedral Gardens, where skaters will whizz past a huge monster and the ice will be brought to life with Halloween-inspired music and lighting.
The Scare Skate rink is now open, and will stay in place until Halloween itself.
Rock on with your mini monster at the Monsters Rock! Music Festival, with live bands and spooky DJs all weekend, like Fat Boy Slime, Grave Haslam, and the Blessed Medusa, as well as air guitar contests, zombie aerobics, and a glow-in-the-dark disco, across three stages.
Spooky creatures will be on the move and weave through Manchester this weekend / Credit: CityCo & Manchester BIDHalloween is taking over the city all week / Credit: CityCo & Manchester BID
Halloween in the City 2022 full lineup
MCR Monsters: 25 to 31 October – Across the city centre
Monsters Rock! Music Festival: 29 and 30 October, 10am-8pm Saturday; 10am-5pm Sunday – Exchange Square, New Cathedral Street, St Ann’s Square and Market Street
Fancy Dress Challenge: Team Trick vs Team Treat: – 29 and 30 October, 10am-4pm – Various locations
Monsters Rock! Party Procession: 29 to 30 October, 12pm, 2pm, 3pm – Manchester Arndale amd Market Street
Creepy Carnival: 29 and 30 October, 10am-8pm Saturday; 10am-5pm Sunday – New Cathedral Street
Dr Dee’s Portal to Another World: 28 to 30 October, 4pm-8pm Friday; 10am-8pm Saturday, 10am-5pm Sunday – St Ann’s Square, Manchester
Scare Skate: 21 to 31 October, 11am-8pm – Cathedral Gardens
Featured Image – CityCo & Manchester BID
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Free pints and live craft experiences coming to a Manchester pub for one night only
Daisy Jackson
A pop-up pub takeover is opening its doors in Manchester, where you can get your hands on a free pint as well as some amazing craft experiences.
The Uncommon Inn is being operated by premium Italian lager brand Poretti, who want to help us Brits break out of our daily routines.
Matt & Phreds on Tib Street will welcome The Uncommon Inn on Thursday 22 October, from 4pm to 8pm, giving visitors the chance to discover unusual creative skills and watch artisans at work, with a free pint in hand.
It comes after research commissioned by Poretti found that 61% of UK adults feel they are living on autopilot, while a quarter have not tried a new creative pursuit in five years or more.
Free pints and live craft experiences are coming to a Manchester pub for one night only / Credit: Supplied
The study also found that adults have an average of just 90 minutes of genuine personal time each day, with 58% spending that time watching television and 35% scrolling through social media.
Exhaustion and financial constraints came out as the main barriers preventing people from trying new things.
The Uncommon Inn has been designed to offer an alternative, bringing together a collective of specialist makers to showcase their skills in a familiar pub setting.
Visitors to the Manchester event can watch Giulio Miglietta embroidering personalised beer mats, using a vintage Singer sewing machine dating back to the early 1900s, alongside live hand-engraving and bespoke jewellery-style crafting using recycled silver.
The Uncommon Inn is being operated by premium Italian lager brand Poretti / Credit: Supplied
Other demonstrations include 3D body-casting by sculptor Ami of Angelcasts and personalised, hand-engraved glassware from Leigh Calligraphy. Sabira of Sken Studios will also demonstrate how recycled silver can be turned into bespoke bottle openers.
Guests will be able to enjoy complimentary pints of Poretti while watching the makers at work.
Caitlin Maley, Senior Brand Manager at Poretti, said: “Modern life moves at an overwhelming pace, and it’s all too easy to fall into autopilot mode where routine replaces curiosity.
“We believe in celebrating intentional craft, rare skills, and authentic human connection – values that are at the core of our brewing heritage.
“We created The Uncommon Inn to turn an ordinary pub visit into an inspiring journey. By bringing together our Masters of Crafts, from chainstitch embroiderers to live engravers and musicians, we’re inviting pubgoers to slow down, pick up a new skill, and enjoy a pint crafted with genuine passion.”
The Uncommon Inn is at Matt & Phreds in Manchester on Thursday 22 October, from 4pm until 8pm.
Featured Image – Supplied
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Festive food village announced at magical Manchester light trail
Lydia Mastrolonardo
There’s just one month to go until Manchester’s most spectacular festive light trail returns – and they’ve just announced details of the Christmas Village and six new food traders.
Heaton Park will soon light up forNorthern Lights Manchester, and the list of foodies making up this year’s Christmas Village has just been revealed.
With everything from chargrilled souvlaki to handmade pies and hot fruit crumble on the menu, there’s bound to be something for everyone.
Brand new for 2026 is Chicken Hut, serving up the crispiest chicken tenders you’ve ever had, plus Greek Traditional Souvlaki bringing all of those delicious mediterranean flavours, The Lids & Co supplying mouthwatering customisable pies, and The Otley Burger Company, which was recently crowned the UK’s best food truck.
The above savoury offerings will be joined by the returning well-known and loved, The Sausage Factory, serving festive bratwurst, currywurst, and proper local Bury Black Pudding sausage.
If you’re after a sweet treat, they have enlisted Crumble & Custard to supply a range of warming fruit crumbles with creamy custard, while Crepes & Coffee will be providing all of the desserts you could desire, along with gorgeous hot chocolates providing the final nail in the food coma coffin.
If after all that you need a sit down, a pint or a mulled wine, the Bees Knees Tavern is the place to go.
Emma St. Croix, Senior Marketing Manager at From The Fields, said: “There’s something very festive about finishing a trip through Christmases past with a hot crumble and custard.
The linup for Northern Lights’ festive food village has been announcedThe Bees Knees pub will returnYou can warm up here after your walk around the Heaton Park light trail
“Food is a big part of the night out at Northern Lights, and we’re excited to welcome six new traders plus The Sausage Factory and the Bees Knees Tavern from last year.With the Ferris wheel in the Christmas Village and a whole new trail across Heaton Park, there’s plenty to explore this year. We’re just over a month from opening and can’t wait to see everyone back.”
As for the trail itself – Heaton Park is to be transformed into a toy box of memories, with 15 brand-new installations, inspired by the toys and traditions that would have topped Christmas wish lists in the past.
Whether you fancy a trip down memory lane or you just fancy a wintery trip out, one thing is for certain, this is one Christmas experience you don’t want to miss out on.
First, visitors will have the opportunity to wander along the colourful path, as part of the Walkway of Wonder, where bright stained-glass panels glow like windows in an old fairytale. Then back to the sixties you go, down Lava Lamp Lane, where glowing blobs of colour mesmerisingly float across the ground and into the trees – which may even be enough to inspire you to dig out that old lava lamp you once had collecting dust on your shelf.
If you once considered yourself a pro at Scalextric, the Retro Racers installation may bring back some memories, where visitors will be able to send lights shooting around a giant racetrack.
Northern Lights Manchester will return next monthNorthern Lights Manchester is taking over Heaton Park
By this point you may need a bit of warming up – head on past the giant nutcrackers and get cosy by the fire pits beneath the festoon lights, for some marshmallow toasting.
Don’t be alarmed if you see giant candy canes marching along Candy Cane Crossing, like Manchester’s biggest peppermint dream, before you reach O Christmas Tree which would make the perfect spot for a photo.
I’m sure we all remember THE Christmas catalogue – the one many of us spent hours flicking thorough and circling our desired gifts? Well, this year pupils from a local primary school have filled its pages with their own fantastic drawings of classic toys.
Finally, you will find that the Lakehouse winds itself into cuckoo-clock as the trail comes to a close.
It is important to note the route is fully accessible, with dedicated neuro-inclusive evenings when visitor numbers are reduced by 75% and audio levels are lowered throughout.
Event information
Dates: 19 November – 31 December 2026
Location: Heaton Park, Manchester
Opening times:
4:30pm – 8:15pm (19–26 November)
4:15pm – 8:15pm (27 November – 31 December)
Northern Lights Manchester tickets
Unsurprisingly, tickets are selling quickly, with over 100,000 of you expected to attend this year – don’t hang about.
Under 2s go free
Child tickets (3-16 years) from £13.50
Adult tickets from £19.50
Family tickets from £60
Click HERE to book your tickets. Use the code LIGHTS20 for 20% off until 31 October 2026
Emily Sergeant -
25th October 2022 
