A huge free summer festival will take over the Kampus neighbourhood in Manchester this weekend.
Kampus Fest will bring together immaculate summer vibes in the form of ice cream stalls, a spritz bar, and Glastonbury live streams.
It’s been created by one of the leafy neighbourhood’s original operators, Nell’s Pizza (who also just announced a new restaurant in Altrincham, like they’re not busy enough already).
Nell’s will be teaming up with Kampus itself and Love From, an alcohol-free bar, to put on a big summer weekender between 28 and 30 June – all served with a slice of Nell’s New York-style pizzas, obviously.
Untold Orchestra will be delivering a ‘Best Of Glastonbury’ live performance on Saturday from 6.30pm, while Born to be Wild Child will host family-friendly activities on Sunday.
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Kampus Fest will be the headline event for the neighbourhood’s summer event series, but there’s plenty more to come.
Still to come during the warmer months we’ll have Euros screenings, Makers Markets on the third Sunday of every month, a queer disco, live music, DJ sets and more.
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Jonny Heyes, co-founder of Nell’s, said: “We were blown away by the reaction to Kampus Fest last year. We saw lots of new faces come down to the garden to enjoy not only the music and food, but the atmosphere too. We just had to bring it back for a second year.”
Kampus fest is back with free entertainment in Manchester this weekend. Credit: Supplied, Kampus
Karl, of Love From, says: “I am so excited that Love From gets to be part of summer at Kampus. Since starting our residency in January we have loved working with Nell’s and the broader Kampus community so to get to host lots of cool events together over the summer whilst bringing gorgey nonalc summer drinks is a dream!”
Adam Higgins, of Capital+Centric, the co-developer of Kampus says: “When we set out with KAMPUS we knew we wanted it to be a space for people to come together and enjoy the neighbourhood.
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“We’re lucky to have one of the best and greenest spaces in the city centre, with businesses that are able to bring that space to life with a fun and dynamic events calendar”
Sponsored by We Road Travel, there will be opportunities across the summer to win huge prizes, luxury adventures and more.
Manchester Open exhibition to return in 2026 with ‘biggest celebration’ of local creative talent
Emily Sergeant
The biggest celebration of Greater Manchester’s creative talent is making a much-anticipated return next summer.
Taking place every two years and now in its fourth iteration, Manchester Open exhibition sees the HOME Gallery walls filled with hundreds of artworks selected by a panel consisting of art experts and community representatives.
The exhibition is open to all and welcomes entries from people of any level of experience, including established professionals, students, graduates, new and emerging talent, enthusiastic amateurs, and even first-time artists.
Artists are invited to submit work into eight different categories, with the aim of creating an exhibition ‘rich in variety’ for visitors to explore.
Manchester Open exhibition is set to return in 2026 / Credit: Jason Lock Photography
This means you’ll get to explore works of ceramics, digital/moving images, drawings, prints, paintings, photography, sculptures/installations, and textiles.
Several awards will also be up for grabs throughout the exhibition – which is set to run from Saturday 20 June and Sunday 6 September 2026 – including a prestigious new award in honour of philanthropist and business leader, Kate Voke.
Three artists will also be awarded with artist development packages, managed by HOME and Castlefield Gallery.
“Following our 10 year anniversary in 2025, we are looking forward to 2026 and welcoming applications to HOME’s biggest celebration of Greater Manchester’s artistic talent,” explained Karen O’Neill, who is the CEO of HOME.
“With a record number of applications to the last Manchester Open, we’re hoping for even more in 2026 and to demonstrate how the city continues to grow as a place where artists and creativity can thrive.”
Manchester Open exhibition is taking place in 2026 from Saturday 20 June and Sunday 6 September, and the application and submission process is now live – with all submissions being reviewed by the selection panel who make the final selection of work to be included in the exhibition.
Artists will only be able to submit one artwork, and the selection panel members will be announced in spring 2026.
Featured Image – Jason Lock Photography (Supplied)
Things To Do
Sankeys shares sneak peek at new venue as legendary Manchester nightclub gears up for return
Daisy Jackson
Sankeys has given Mancs a glimpse inside its new venue as the legendary nightclub gears up for its return.
The club was one of Manchester’s top nightlife spots for years, before shutting down seemingly for good almost a decade ago.
Set within Beehive Mill in Ancoats, Sankeys was a true icon of Manchester’s global nightlife scene.
And while the old Sankeys Soap nightlife space is now full of co-working spaces, the spirit of Sankeys is about to be reborn.
The exact location of the new club is still being kept under wraps ahead of its reopening at the end of January, but new renderings have been released to give us a glimpse of how it will look.
Sankeys is promising ‘A reimagined space. New energy. Same legendary nights’.
The new Sankeys Manchester will be a 500-capacity venue, designed to ‘capture the raw underground energy that made Sankeys one of the most iconic club brands in the world’.
It will feature an LED matrix grid installation that will immerse clubbers in ‘light, sound and atmosphere’.
Sankeys Manchester officially opens on 30 January – you can see a glimpse of how it will look below and grab tickets HERE.
Daisy Jackson -
25th June 2024 
