One ofGreater Manchester‘s top rugby league teams is gearing up to end a successful season by giving fans the chance to grab tickets to one of their final home games for just £10.
And even better yet, kids can catch the team in action for free.
With summer officially here and schools across the region now out for the six-week holidays, parents, carers, and guardians often find themselves on the look-out for some different ways to occupy the kids that don’t break the bank too much, and while there’s no denying that a trip to the cinema, theme park, or the nearest beach are all solid choices, there’s plenty of other entertainment options that are worth making the most of.
How does catching a family-friendly rugby league game with thousands of other passionate fans sound?
Salford Red Devils is giving locals the chance to take the kids to see one of their final home games in the 2022 rugby league Betfred Super League on Saturday 13 August at the AJ Bell Stadium for free when they grab an adult ticket for just £10 each.
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Salford Red Devils are one of the oldest teams in the Rugby Football League / Credit: John Clifton/SWpix.com (via Salford Red Devils)
Founded all the way back in 1873, Salford Red Devils are one of the oldest teams in the Rugby Football League.
They have been representing Greater Manchester for nearly 150 years now.
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The team has won several trophies and major titles over the years, including six Championships and one Challenge Cup, and has also got themselves a loyal fanbase too, who have been with them every step of the way.
Star players like Ken Sio, Joe Burgess, Tim Lafai, Brodie Croft, Marc Sneyd, and captain Elijah Taylor are just some of the famous names that draw fans in their thousands to watch the team each week.
They have been representing Greater Manchester for nearly 150 years now / Credit: Paul Currie / SWpix.com (via Salford Red Devils)
Unfamiliar with what it’s all about, and why the sport is so well loved?
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Split into two 40-minute halves with 13 players on each team, rugby league is a fast-paced and exciting game where the ball can only be passed backwards, so players must use their pace, strength, and power to move forward.
Teams need to make their way with the ball to the end of the pitch to score a try, which is worth four points, and then they get a chance to kick the ball through the posts for an extra two points.
Teams have six tackles to gain as many metres as they can – and ultimately, clinch the win.
The team has won several trophies and major titles over the years, including six Championships and one Challenge Cup / Credit: John Clifton/SWpix.com (via Salford Red Devils)
With a season that runs from February to September each year, rugby league teams battle it out for the chance to make it to the top six, enter the play-offs, and earn their spot at the Grand Final – which is played at Old Trafford at the end of the season.
Salford Red Devils reached their first ever Grand Final in 2019 and the Challenge Cup Final a year later – which was their first since 1969 – and with the team currently in fine form, they are aiming to reach another major final this season, with the help of their enthusiastic fans spurring them on.
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Fancy being part of the action then?
If you’re looking to join an ever-growing community of rugby league fans, then it’s definitely worth making the most of this limited-time-only offer and grabbing a ticket to watch the Salford Red Devils’ at home against the Huddersfield Giants on Saturday 13 August for just £10 for adults, with all under-16s going free.
You can grab tickets to watch Salford Red Devils for £10 this summer / Credit: Salford Red Devils
There’s tickets for both standing and seating available, as well as hospitality tickets – which give you access to the hospitality lounge with table dining, bar and padded seats.
The stadium is also full-accessible, with seating on all sides of the pitch available.
And, if you like what you see, Salford Red Devils 2023 season tickets are currently on sale at an early bird discounted price too.
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Find out more about the offer, and buy tickets here.
Featured Image – Allan McKenzie / SWpix.com (via Salford Red Devils)
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Rochdale’s incredible fire festival will bring blazing sculptures and fiery displays to town this month
Daisy Jackson
Rochdale will be filled with dazzling pyrotechnic displays later this month when the Ignite Fire Festival returns to town.
The spectacular free event will see the gardens opposite the Rochdale Town Hall – which reopened to the public earlier this year – transformed with fiery displays, blazing sculptures and illuminated installations.
The smash hit event debuted last year, attracting more than 10,500 people, and this year’s will be even bigger with three nights of magical family entertainment.
And the festival will culminate on the Sunday with the Rochdale Christmas lights switch-on.
Ignite Fire Festival comes from Walk the Plank, the outdoor arts specialists behind some of the UK’s biggest and best outdoor arts events, who have called upon artists and pyro technicians to create the many installations on show.
Between 5pm and 8pm each night, visitors will be able to walk past fire-based sculptures like goblets of fire, a daisy chain of flaming flowers, a fire bird with blazing eyes, and smaller birds circling a flaming nest – to name just a few.
There’ll also be sculptures that twist, flap and erupt with balls of fire, and ‘In The Balance’ will be a festival highlight, where rotating globes of flame seemingly defy the laws of physics.
Ignite Fire Festival is back in Rochdale this month. Credit: Supplied
Each evening, a fire drawing designed and made by local residents will be ignited alongside flaming hot performances from some of the UK’s top talent including Flame Oz – a thrilling fire dancing and juggling show.
There’ll also be performances from Liverpool’s Bring the Fire Project, local favourites Skylight Circus Arts, and street theatre and interactive arts group Travelling Light Circus.
Visitors should look out for Drum Machine, a 20-strong drumming collective, The Fire Man Dave performing a live fire show with fire eating and juggling, and Astro Aliens, a trio of cosmic beings that will entertain all ages.
The incredible event, sponsored by car supermarket The Trade Centre UK, is set to take place between Friday 22 and Sunday 24 November.
Ignite Fire Festival takes place in the gardens opposite the Rochdale Town HallThere’ll be performers as well as pyrotechnic sculptures. Credit; SuppliedIgnite Fire Festival is back for a second year. Credit: Supplied
After exploring the gardens, you’ll be able to pick up hot food, mulled wine and other seasonal drinks served each night.
On Sunday, Father Christmas will be in town to switch on the Christmas lights at 5.30pm in front of the town hall.
Councillor Sue Smith, cabinet member for communities and co-operation at Rochdale Borough Council said: “Last year’s Ignite Fire Festival and Christmas Light’s Switch On was a fantastic event and an instant hit with audiences from across Greater Manchester.
“It’s an exciting and unique event and the perfect addition to our big switch-on, providing family entertainment across the weekend.”
Mark Bailey, founder and owner of sponsor Trade Centre UK added: “Our partnership with Ignite Fire Festival and the Rochdale Christmas Lights Switch On is a fantastic opportunity to give back to a community that has welcomed us so warmly.
“At Trade Centre UK, we believe in more than just selling cars; we believe in being part of the fabric of the local area. Supporting events like this, which bring people together to celebrate in the heart of Rochdale, aligns perfectly with our core values of community and connection.”
The event is free, and no tickets are required. Ignite is organised by Rochdale Borough Council in partnership with Walk the Plank and Culture Co-op, a ‘Creative People and Places’ programme, funded by Arts Council England.
Find out more and plan your visit to Ignite Fire Festival HERE.
Science and Industry Museum to transform into immersive ‘Light Lab’ as part of 2024 festive events programme
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s most popular museums will be transformed into an immersive ‘Light Lab’ for the festive season.
As the temperatures begin to drop and Christmas creeps closer, this is your chance to escape the cold and brighten up the winter holidays with an adventure though light and colour, as the Science and Industry Museum has now unveiled its upcoming festive events programme.
You can also explore a gaming extravaganza, and be engrossed by festive-themed science shows at the city centre-based museum this December.
Back by popular demand, after enchanting visitors of all ages in previous years, the museum’s free Light Lab will be making a return for 2024 – with everyone invited to discover the secrets of light through illuminating activities, special shows, and immersive experiences.
The Science and Industry Museum will transform into immersive ‘Light Lab’ this winter / Credit: Jason Lock (via Science Museum Group)
As Greater Manchester is known for its grey winter days, a series of illuminating experiments will bring colour to your lives in the interactive Light Lab, where you can explore a hall of mirrors, discover how to bend light, and even take a dance break in the rave room, before taking a journey from the Sun back to the Earth during special science shows led by the museum’s team of expert Explainers.
You’ll be able to discover how light travels through our atmosphere, explore the science of solar flares, and even marvel at a mesmerising display of the Northern Lights – with real NASA footage of the Aurora Borealis.
If all that exploring has got you tired out, then you can slow things down in the Recharge Retreat and get comfortable with a picture book, or explore the relationship between colour and mood and why nature is so important to our health.
You can escape from the cold, and learn a thing or two while you’re at it / Credit: Science Museum Group
But if you’re looking for a change of pace, you can also enjoy the museum‘s ultimate gaming experience, Power Up, to immerse yourself in a whole host of different digital worlds by working your way through five decades of video games, or learn about how what we eat can have a huge effect on our brains and bodies at the Operation Ouch! exhibition.
Then, for something a little different all together this festive season, you can grab a ticket for the first of the 2024 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures being screened live at the museum on Tuesday 10 December, ahead of the broadcast on the BBC.
The Winter Holiday Programme at the Science and Industry Museum runs from 14 December 2024 through to 5 January 2025.
Emily Sergeant -
3rd August 2022 
