BINGO! It’s back, it’s retro and it comes with a twist at Gala Bingo’s “All The Calls Galary” event this weekend.
Art and entertainment collide in a delightful and unique manner as Gala Bingo presents the “All The Calls Galary”, set to grace Manchester on February 17th and 18th, 2024 at Smolensky Gallery in the Spinningfields area.
This one-of-a-kind pop-up exhibition promises an immersive experience that seamlessly blends the world of art with the excitement of bingo, offering attendees a chance to win big while indulging in a sensory playground of creativity.
This ingenious twist on classic bingo will have attendees tasked with matching 90 bingo calls to corresponding pieces of artwork, ranging from traditional paintings to avant-garde sculptures and performance art. It’s an interactive experience that not only celebrates the game we all know and love, but will get you laughing and smiling in a playground of art, from paintings to sculptures.
Image: supplied
Image – supplied
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It’s free to enter for curious passersby or you can sign up via the Eventbrite page, the Galary invites everyone to participate in the fun. We want to see a “Full House”!
Picture this: you stroll into the Galary, greeted by the sight of eager attendees armed with bingo cards and pencils, ready to embark on an artistic adventure like no other.
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As you peruse the gallery, attempting to match 90 bingo calls to their corresponding artworks, you can’t help but chuckle at the sheer absurdity of it all. Who knew that “Two Fat Ladies” could inspire such imaginative interpretations?
Afterwards, pop your cards into the ballot box for a chance to win a £2,500 gift card in the draw. Everyone can leave as a winner, as smaller prizes will be up for grabs too for those who can’t commit to the full challenge.
Image: supplied
As Manchester continues to evolve as a cultural hub, events like the All The Calls Galary serve as a testament to the city’s creative spirit and its ability to merge tradition with innovation. Beyond the allure of prizes and games, the Galary symbolizes something deeper—a celebration of Manchester’s cultural vibrancy and the spirit of inclusivity.
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So mark your calendars, Manchester residents, because the All The Calls Galary is not to be missed. Whether you’re vying for the chance to win a £2,500 gift card or simply looking to immerse yourself in a world of creativity and fun, this weekend promises to be a memorable one.
Please note, the event is only for people over the age of 18.
The All The Calls Galary will be free to enter for curious passersby for one weekend only, and visitors can also sign up HERE.
Where: Smolensky Gallery, Building 21, 23 Quay St, Manchester M3 4AE
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Benson Boone has announced a headline gig in Manchester – and it’s a big one
Danny Jones
American pop sensation and unrivalled king of unnecessary front flips, Benson Boone, has just announced his first-ever headline Manchester arena gig as part of a new arena tour.
The solo artist and acrobatic chart-topper has seen a meteoric rise in the US and, as is usually the case across the Atlantic, he’s become increasingly popular over here too.
Benson may have performed here in Manchester before as part of the 2024 MTV EMAs and for a small show at The Deaf Institute, but now big fans have the added Boone of getting to watch a standalone show at one of Europe’s leading indoor entertainment venues.
Announced on Friday, 30 May, the 22-year-old will be making his way across the pond from Washington for a limited run of UK concerts, with a date at Co-op Live arena being one of just five dates.
Extending his ‘American Heart Tour’ ahead of the release of his eponymous sophomore record, with this autumn leg, Co-op Live will mark his individual visit to 0161.
The Grammy-nominated artist has earned several nods of recognition already for his first album, Fireworks & Rollerblades, which was released just last spring.
He has been described as among the current trend of male singers who fit into the American Idol and ‘Voice audition pop’ genre (a term recently coined online), along with the likes of Teddy Swims, Shawn Mendes, Alex Warren and others.
Regardless of the slightly tongue-in-cheek term, he’s become a huge hit around the world and landing him is still a big coup for the venue that has already welcomed similarly massive pop contemporaries like Swims, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo and more.
In case you’re wondering just how big a deal he is over in the States, even this early in his career, his domestic headline dates sold out in seconds, quite literally…
The last time he visited Co-op Live was to perform at the most recent MTV EMAs
Benson Boone is coming to Manchester on Monday, 27 October and will be playing just two other British venues: The O2 in London (two nights) and the Utilita Arena in Birmingham.
Safe to say you don’t want to miss this one if you like soaring vocals and lots of flipping.
General admission tickets go live at 10am on Thursday, 5 June, but Co-op Members can gain access via the arena’s official pre-sale window from the same time on Tuesday (3 Jun).
Daisy Jackson -
16th February 2024 
