October half term is here once again, and that means there’ll be plenty of parents across Greater Manchester on the look-out for activities to occupy the kids.
Half term is the time most kids look forward to but most parents, carers, and guardians tend to dread, as it usually means having to search around for various different ways to keep the youngsters entertained, educated, and engaged, all while making sure they’re still enjoying themselves – which is, undoubtedly, a real task.
But this year, with the rising cost of living crisis continuing to make its impact felt nationwide, and more families struggling with their finances than ever before, finding ways to pass the time over half term is trickier than ever as many are looking to keep things on a budget.
Luckily, the bustling city of Manchester and everything it has to offer has got you covered.
From family-friendly art exhibitions and educational festivals, to exploring a brand-new city centre park, a whole host of Halloween activities, and so much more, there’s lots of things to do in our city over half term for free of charge.
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Here’s a round-up of just 10 things you could be getting up to this week.
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Pokémon: Art Through the Ages
Trafford Centre
A Pokémon art trail and treasure hunt-style event has taken over the Trafford Centre for the next couple of weeks, and it’s absolutely free to get involved with.
‘Pokémon: Art Through the Ages’ gives fans of all ages – but especially little Mancs – the chance to discover hidden art of the 151 Pokémon that were originally discovered in the Kanto region through an interactive trail, which event organisers say showcases “a wide variety of artistic techniques and styles” from across the ages.
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There’s cave paintings, stained glass, and more for families and Pokémon fans to enjoy free of charge.
Manchester Science Festival / Credit: Science Museum Trust
Manchester Science Festival has made a glorious return for 2022, with events for all ages taking place at the Science and Industry Museum and other venues across the city for free.
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This year’s event is celebrating science through immersive performances, interactive activities, and after-hours amusement, with highlights across the festival – including a headline exhibition Turn It Up: The Power of Music, a nocturnal nature tour, and a chance to meet people who already work in STEM careers, including experts from festival sponsors Amazon.
The museum’s 1830 Warehouse will be a hive of futuristic activity throughout the festival, showcasing new technologies, hands-on experiments, and the chance to play Rock, Paper, Scissors against a prosthetic counterpart.
Families can also plant and take home their own saplings as City of Trees show the role that trees play in helping to reduce the effects of the climate crisis, and can chat to the Lancashire Wildlife Trust to learn about how to keep nature in their neighbourhoods.
You can find out about everything happening at this year’s Manchester Science Festival here.
Halloween in the City & MCR Monsters
Manchester City Centre
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MCR Monsters / Credit: CityCo & Manchester BID
Looking for some free Halloween-themed activities this half term? Well you’ll want to keep your eyes peeled, as the iconic MCR Monsters are back once again.
Just as they have been doing for the past couple of years now, a while host of giant inflatable monsters have started looming and creeping over buildings across the city centre this week to transform some of our most well-known landmarks with tentacles and googly eyes and pointy teeth for a FREE monsters trail that kids absolutely love.
And this year, the trail is bigger than ever before, with 14 monsters to spot around town.
The MCR Monsters are part of this year’s Halloween in the City celebrations, where families are encouraged to don their best fancy dress and join in.
Some of the free events to look forward to this weekend include the Monsters Rock! Party Procession, with stilt walkers, monster puppets, and a five-piece band mingling with shoppers weaving through Manchester Arndale and Market Street, and the Creepy Carnival made up of a carousel, helter skelter, street food, and circus performers sprawling across New Cathedral Street.
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You can find out more about Halloween in the City 2022 here.
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People’s History Museum
Manchester
People’s History Museum / Credit: People’s History Museum
The People’s History Museum is one of the best places to take the kids for some education fun for free this half term.
The award-winning museum in the heart of Manchester city centre has got a wide range of exhibitions and activities happening throughout the week at its several galleries and event spaces – including a 2022 Banner Exhibition, which gives you the chance to come face to face with the handiwork of the people who fought for the rights we have today, and play some banner bingo too.
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You can also see The Manchester Agronaught, check out the dedicated exhibitions for Black History Month 2022, and so much more.
You can find out more about what’s happening at the People’s History Museum this half term here.
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Mayfield Park
Castlefield
Have you had the chance to visit Manchester‘s first new park in the heart of the city centre for more than 100 years yet? This half term couldn’t be a more ideal time to see it for yourself.
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It’s been a long journey to get here, but Mayfield Park has become a reality, and it’s now open for the public to enjoy.
Over the last 18 months, the vast and mostly-derelict former industrial site next to Piccadilly Station has been transformed into what project developers are calling a “stunning, accessible, and varied” green space for everyone who visits the city centre to make the most of.
Mayfield Park / Credit: Studio Egret West
As well as being a green oasis full of fresh blooms and beautifully-landscaped river walkways, there’s also a big play area for kids with a huge slide as the centrepiece.
Windows of Youth Creativity – We Made It / Credit: Wild In Art
Windows of Youth Creativity – We Made It is the latest exhibition by Wild In Art.
It will see 10 large windows and spaces transformed at prominent Manchester venues as part of a project commissioned by Manchester City Council to showcase creative disciplines such as photography, illustration, dance, sculpture, street art, mosaic, poetry and model making.
Taking place across the city, the trail will include giant robots at the Science and Industry Museum, photographs taken by young people living in East Manchester at the National Football Museum, a special installation at the Royal Exchange, and coral beds and mosaic sea creatures created by young people with special educational needs at the Town Hall Annex.
The project will celebrate youth creativity, and the diverse communities that live across the city.
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You can find out more about the exhibition and art trail here.
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Welcome Wednesday
Victoria Baths
Welcome Wednesday / Credit: Victoria Baths
Victoria Baths’ popular Welcome Wednesday event is being given a family friendly transformation for the half term this week, and a wide range of free activities will be on offer to entertain families throughout the day.
You can take part in a Stained Glass Window Workshop inspired by all the brightly-coloured patterned windows that are one of the amazing features of Victoria Baths, and have a go at making your own stained glass-style window decoration to take home, or visit the colouring station to do some creative drawing and the toy station so the little ones can spend some time playing.
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There’s also the chance to take free guided tours around the historic building and learn more about some of its quirky features.
Entry to Victoria Baths is free on Welcome Wednesdays, but donations are welcome – which all help to maintain the building for the community.
Halloween Spooktacular / Credit: New Century | The Manc Group
If you’re still in the mood for some more frightening free fun, then Manchester’s beautifully-restored new social destination, New Century, is hosting its very-own Halloween Spooktacular event this Sunday 30 October, and there’s a full day of themed events and activities for little Mancs planned to take over the whole space.
Free family fun events will be hosted both in the hall upstairs and downstairs kitchens – including frightful face painting, a bogey man bouncy castle, a photobooth, spooky workshops from the NOMA team, and plenty of food and drink available.
The upstairs space will also be transformed into a ‘Hellish Halloween Hall’ for the occasion, complete with a spooky light show courtesy of the iconic disco ceiling.
You can find out more about Halloween Spooktacular at New Century here.
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Power UP
Science and Industry Museum
Power UP / Credit: Science Museum Group
A huge gaming event has returned to Manchester, and it’s free for everyone to get stuck into.
With more than 160 consoles and hundreds of games to play, Power UP is back at the Science and Industry Museum for the first time in three years, and in case you haven’t heard, it’s been taking people on a journey through five decades of gaming – with everything from retro arcade games, to state-of-the-art virtual reality, and so much more.
Power UP is taking place every day throughout October half term, and each weekend all the way through to December 2023 – with each free ticket including unlimited play all day.
Looking for even more things to do in Greater Manchester this week? You can read our full ‘what’s on’ events round up here.
Featured Image – HalloweenMCR | Science Museum Group | People’s History Museum
What's On
Alex Warren at Co-op Live, Manchester – tickets, times, setlist and more for UK tour
Thomas Melia
Singer-songwriter and social media star Alex Warren is visiting Co-op Live, Manchester, for two nights of out of the ‘Ordinary’ live music.
One of the founding members of the TikTok group, the ‘Hype House’, which also included fellow pop performer Addison Rae, Warren has gone on to receive global recognition for his contributions to music.
Born in California, it’s no surprise his music has managed to catapult into the mainstream as he’s been mastering content creation since he was 10 on YouTube.
His music journey began back in 2021, when he released music as an independent artist in 2021 before signing a record deal one year later, dropping the chart-topping ‘Ordinary’ in 2025.
Now, Alex Warren prepares for his biggest UK tour to date, and he’s playing two shows right here in Manchester at the 23,500 seater Co-op Live in April and May.
Gig guide | Alex Warren at Co-op Live, Manchester – all you need to know
Alex Warren is visiting Manchester at Co-op Live on 27 April and 4 May / Credit: Press Shots (supplied)
Alex Warren UK tour dates
Fri 24 April – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena
Sun 26 April – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
Mon 27 April – Manchester, UK – Co-op Live
Wed 29 April – Leeds, UK – First Direct Arena
Thu 30 April – Nottingham, UK – Motorpoint Arena
Sat 2 May – Belfast, UK – SSE Arena
Mon 4 May – Manchester, UK – Co-op Live
Wed 6 May – Dublin, IE – 3Arena
Thu 7 May – Dublin, IE – 3Arena
Are there tickets left for Alex Warren at Co-op Live?
If you’re looking for somebody to ‘Save You a Seat’, look no further as you can get tickets to Alex Warren’s 27 April at Co-op Live HERE.
And don’t find yourself in ‘Troubled Waters’, make sure you grab tickets for Alex Warren at Co-op Live on 4 May HERE.
Stage times for Alex Warren at Co-op Live, Manchester
Warren has built a cult following thanks to chart-topping hits like ‘Ordinary’ (Credit: Press shots)
Co-op Live has a strict curfew of 11pm, meaning you can still get home without ‘Chasing Shadows’.
Supporting Alex Warren on the night will be Claire Rosinkranz, a singer-songwriter from California with tracks like ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘Backyard Boy’.
How to get to Co-op Live
Tram
For those of you heading to Co-op Live, you’ll be glad to know it’s right next door to a rather famous big blue stadium and its integrated Metrolink stop.
Head along the light blue or orange lines directly to the Etihad Campus or Ashton-under-Lyne, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.
Trams run frequently on the Ashton-Eccles line to the Etihad stop, with services leaving every six minutes from the city centre and until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.
Bus
You can find the full list of bus routes HERE, with the one in closest proximity to the venue being the 53 bus, which runs from Cheetham Hill through to Higher Crumpsall, Old Trafford and Pendleton, leaving just a two-minute walk to Co-op Live.
If you’re driving, there is limited parking available at the venue, but this must be pre-booked ahead of time, and there are designated drop-off areas.
The postcode is M11 3DU, and you can follow the signs towards the wider Etihad Campus as you get closer; directions to the adjacent drop-off points will also be signposted.
Keep in mind that congestion on the roads close to the stadium is expected to gather around two hours prior to any event, so if you are travelling on the road, these are the suggested times they provide on event day, though estimates will obviously vary:
Alan Turing Way (both directions): plan an additional 20 minutes into any journey by road.
Hyde Road (eastbound): expect an additional 15 minutes to be added to your journey.
Mancunian Way (westbound): plan for an extra 10 minutes of travel time.
There are also three park-and-ride facilities near Co-op Live, but be advised that the Velopark and Holt Town stops will be closed post-event to help safely manage crowds:
Ashton West (Ashton line) – 184 spaces and 11 disabled spaces
Ladywell (Ashton-Eccles line) – 332 spaces and 22 disabled spaces
Walk/cycle
Lastly, Co-op Live is only a half-hour stroll from Manchester Piccadilly, and you could even walk along the canal all the way to the front door if you fancy taking the scenic route.
Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes on the Beryl app, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app. There are hire points just near the south-west corner of the Etihad Stadium on Ashton New Road.
For more information on all travel options, you can check out the enhanced journey planner.
Yungblud channels a bit of magic that’d make Ozzy proud on huge headline night in Manchester
Lonnie Bowes
A darkened arena erupts into life as Yungblud storms the AO Arena main stage for his biggest Manchester show to date.
He flickers across the giant screens, projected against a curtain that stretches the full width of the AO Arena. Then that unmistakable Doncaster drawl cuts through the noise, urging the audience to make some noise (even more of it), and they oblige – gladly.
When the lights come up, a barrage of lights flickers, pyrotechnics explode, and chaos ensues. Manchester crowds are no strangers to Yungblud; he’s a livewire performer with seemingly endless energy, a proclivity for raw emotion, and a fiercely loyal fanbase: the self-proclaimed ‘Black Hearts Club’.
Dressed in a grungy pair of Chrome Hearts leather trousers, a leopard-print waistcoat and sunglasses so thick he could look directly at the sun with no issues, he tears straight into the opening track (Hello Heaven, Hello) with barely a second to breathe.
He then pauses – hands extended to the crowd, a cheeky grin – and bang: confetti fills the room.
If previous Manchester shows hinted at his stamina, this one confirms it. The scale may be bigger, but the intensity hasn’t dipped. The floor quickly becomes a sea of movement, with mosh pits swelling and collapsing in waves, sending bodies ricocheting across the arena.
It’s the kind of gig where you’re never quite safe from getting drenched either – water cups are less for drinking and more for launching, with sprays arcing out over the front rows like some kind of punk rock baptism of fire. So many flames.
The audience was on the ball; at one point, Yungblud’s comb was hurled into the crowd. Showgoers in the area tussled over the item for a minute before returning to the mayhem unfolding around them.
Part conductor, part chaos agent, part mic-wielding cowboy, he commands the room with ease. The mic stand, placed in front of him between each song by the production team, is repeatedly cast to the back of the stage, and he flails the mic above his head on more than one occasion – always catching it again before it can strike anyone else. It’s reckless, but never careless.
Because beneath the sweat and noise, there’s something more deliberate at play. His speeches on identity, equality, belonging and mental health feel less like interludes and more like the backbone of the entire night.
This isn’t just performance: it’s a space he’s actively shaping, one where thousands feel seen. Towards the back end of the set, he invites the whole crowd to look left and right and tell each other how much they f***ing love one another.
Tracks like ‘Loner’, ‘Lowlife’ and ‘Zombie’ land with particular weight, their messages amplified by a crowd that knows every word. At one point, the lights swing out over the audience, and for a moment the focus shifts – not just to the performer, but to the community he’s built.
With a touching tribute to the late, great Ozzy Osbourne, Yungblud is visibly emotional, with tears in his eyes for his dearly departed friend. And if the ringing in my ears is anything to go by, I’m pretty sure Ozzy heard it and was looking down with pride.
If you haven’t guessed by now, Yungblud knows how to command a room, but things definitely took a turn when he invited a member of the crowd on stage.
Holding a poster that read something along the lines of “I can play guitar”, she was brought up and proceeded to absolutely bring the house down, performing alongside him for a song. Daisy, hats off – you absolutely SMASHED it.
Congratulations are in order as well to the happy couple who got engaged at the gig. We really hope your first dance is to a Yungblud track.
Even in a venue of this size, he moves like he’s trying to outpace it; sprinting, leaping, barely standing still long enough to catch a breath. It’s hard not to feel like this is still just a stepping stone. Because if he can command a room like this with such force, it’s not a stretch to imagine Yungblud scaling even bigger stages before long.
Loud, relentless and emotionally charged, this wasn’t just a gig, it was a statement – a place to escape the struggles of day-to-day life and bolster an ever-growing community built on all the right things: acceptance, harmony, and just a little bit of chaos. In short, he’s welcome back anytime.
Emily Sergeant -
22nd October 2022 
