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10 things to do in Greater Manchester this Bank Holiday weekend

Stuck for plans this Bank Holiday weekend? We’ve rounded up some of the best things to across the region.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 27th August 2021

August Bank Holiday weekend is finally upon us.

Now that it’s been a good few weeks since restrictions were relaxed, the sun is shining, the streets are filled with smiling faces, and this extended summer holiday is always a busy time for our city region – but if you’re stuck for plans this weekend, we’ve rounded up some of the best things to do right here in Greater Manchester.

A few of the events we’re going to mention here are completely free, others will set you back a few pounds, and some may require you to book in advance.

Plenty are still taking COVID-safety measures to give you peace of mind though.

So in no particular order, here’s 10 of our top picks.

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1. Manchester Pride 2021

Manchester City Centre

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Saturday 28 & Sunday 29 August

Manchester Pride

40+ big-name UK and international acts are on the lineup at this year’s Manchester Pride.

The iconic LGBTQ+ festival – which historically takes over the city each August Bank Holiday weekend – may have sadly had its 2020 edition cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and this year’s Pride Parade has also been cancelled following similar safety concerns, but it’s back once again, with Zara Larsson, Sigala, Annie Mac, Gabrielle, Katy B, Example, and Eve all leading a stellar lineup.

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The popular Gay Village Party also has an impressive lineup of acts performing too.

Several other events have been announced to take place instead of the Parade, including five ‘Equality Marches’ on Saturday 28 August, limited to just 400 people per march, with 2,000 participating overall.

The festival is this year to feature six key strands – Activism, Equality, Arts and Culture, Youth and Family, Community and Party.

You can find more information about Manchester Pride 2021 here.

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2. Festa Italiana

Manchester City Centre

Friday 27 – Sunday 29 August

Festa Italiana

The UK’s biggest Italian food festival Festa Italiana is returning to Manchester, with Cathedral Gardens turning green, white and red over the Bank Holiday weekend.

First launched in 2017 and featuring delicious pizzas, fresh pasta, sweet crepes, and deli meats as far as the eye can see, Festa Italiana is known for bringing amazing street food into Manchester city centre and showcasing top Italian chefs from across the region.

Top-class chefs like Aldo Zilli, Giancarlo Caldesi, Gennaro Cantaldo, specialist pasta maker and author Carmela Sereno Hayes, and Festa founder Maurizio Cecco are all confirmed to attend.

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The festival is promising some exciting new additions for its fourth edition too, including a massive outdoor cinema.

You can find more information about what’s on at Festa Italiana 2021 here.

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3. Bolton Food & Drink Festival

Bolton Town Centre

Saturday 28 – Monday 30 August

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Bolton Food & Drink Festival

The hugely-popular Bolton Food & Drink Festival is finally returning this Bank Holiday weekend after a year of postponement.

After COVID-19 restrictions sadly meant that the annual festival had to move online in 2020, the support of local businesses of all shapes and sizes is helping the North West’s biggest food and drink event to return in person for its 16th year this summer.

They’ll serve up some of the best food and drink the region has to offer.

World-renowned chefs will share their secrets during free cookery demonstrations, and a collection of outdoor bars, live music and street entertainment is set to create the usual festival atmosphere that draws visitors from far and wide.

You can find more information here.

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4. Sixes Cricket

Corn Exchange

Sixes

The “world’s first immersive cricket experience with hospitality” is coming to the Corn Exchange this Sunday with the opening of Sixes Manchester.

A social cricket sports bar kitted out with three state-of-the-art cricket nets available to hire for 30, 60 or 90 minutes, as well as a champagne bar, a 70-seater dining space and an open kitchen, Sixes offers the chance to swing for the boundaries whilst enjoying a wide selection of high-quality food and drink.

The opening of this new Manchester venue coincides with an exclusive game at Sixes called ‘The Hundred’ – which is named after the 100-ball cricket tournament taking place for the first time this summer.

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You can find more information about Sixes Manchester here.

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5. Beat the Frog

Frog and Bucket Comedy Club

Monday 30 August

Frog and Bucket Comedy Club

Fancy a good laugh this Bank Holiday Monday? Beat the Frog is the legendary amateur comedy night at Manchester’s iconic Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, and has helped to launch the careers of some of comedy’s biggest names – including Peter Kay, John Bishop, Johnny Vegas, Smug Roberts, and more.

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At the start of the competition, three cards are handed out to lucky members of the audience, and up to 10 acts will then take to the stage and each try to do five minutes of material. If within those five minutes all three cards go up, then the act has lost and must leave the stage – but if the three cards stay down, that act has successfully ‘Beat The Frog’.

They are then invited back to the stage for a clap off at the end of the night – which will determine the overall winner.

It’s been named the “most unpredictable comedy night in the north”.

You can find more information, and grab your tickets via the Frog and Bucket website here.

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6. Deansgate Mews Street Festival

Great Northern

Deansgate Mews Street Festival

A festival full of food and live music is coming to Deansgate Mews at Great Northern Warehouse this weekend.

Completely free-to-attend and spanning three-days, The Deansgate Mews Street Festival was originally due to be held earlier this month, but postponed due to bad weather and rearranged for the Bank Holiday weekend.

It will celebrate the eclectic independent food and drink businesses on the street, alongside welcoming 30 different music acts.

You can find more information here.

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7. I’m A Celebrity… Jungle Challenge

MediaCityUK

Saturday 28 – Monday 30 August

ITV

Did you see that the highly-anticipated Salford Quays adventure attraction based on ITV’s popular survival reality show I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! has officially opened to visitors?

The I’m a Celebrity… Jungle Challenge – which was first announced back in April – will welcome fans into the wilderness from this Bank Holiday weekend, inviting them to “navigate a series of fun-filled physical challenges inspired by the blockbuster ITV show”.

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Located at MediaCityUK, the attraction features a variety of familiar vantage points and landmarks – including the Main Camp, the Throne and, of course, the Winner’s Bridge.

You can find more information, and book tickets here.

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8. Moovin Festival

Stockport

Saturday 28 & Sunday 29 August

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Moovin Festival

Rap royalty Naughty By Nature will headline Moovin Festival at Etherow Country Park this August Bank Holiday weekend, with the hip-hop trio confirmed for a rare UK appearance.

Dance titans Basement Jaxx, rap pioneer Eek A Mouse, UK favourites Asian Dub Foundation, and disco don Todd Terje are also confirmed, alongside other big names such as Sugar Hill Gang, Mr Scruff, Krafty Kuts, Graeme Park, DJ Woody, Craig Charles, Stanton Warriors, K Klass and The Mouse Outfit.

An eclectic mix of support acts have also been confirmed, including Afrobeat collectives, beatboxing violinists, and the Elvis fronted Nirvana tribute band Elvana.

You can find more information, and grab tickets here.

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9. Manchester Pride Music Events

Manchester City Centre

Saturday 28 – Monday 30 August

The Refuge

If you haven’t managed to grab tickets for Manchester Pride 2021 taking place this Bank Holiday weekend but are still keen to properly celebrate, then there’s still plenty of venues right across Manchester city centre that are going all out for the iconic LGBTQ+ festival that you can head on down to.

Escape to Freight Island, Ducie Street Warehouse, and Feel Good Club are just some of the places hosting alternative celebratory Pride events over the weekend.

You can find more information, and grab tickets here.

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10. Summer Social

Trafford Centre

Saturday 28 – Monday 30 August

Trafford Centre

An 8,000 sq ft beach, retro fairground rides, entertainment, and independent food and drink brands have all arrived at the Trafford Centre for the summer.

The region’s biggest shopping mall has announced the opening of its new ‘Summer Social’ event space – a vast new outdoor area that brings together all the fun of the fair, alongside a beach, live music, exciting pop-ups, and selfie-ready backdrops.

As well as several covered events spaces where people can safely relax, a number of independent food and drink brands will also be popping up over the summer, kicking off with Boujee Bar – the renowned, all-pink Instagrammer’s dream founded by Real Housewives of Cheshire star Lystra Adams.

Live musicians, street artists, and buskers will also be welcomed across the month at Summer Social.

You can find more information and grab your tickets here.

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Featured Image – The Refuge | Sixes Manchester

What's On

Manchester’s new real-life Pac-Man experience is coming soon and you can grab early bird tickets

Danny Jones Danny Jones Real-life Pac-Man experience Manchester

Manchester already boasts a whole host of interactive games bars and activity destinations to boast, but we feel pretty confident in saying that there are very places on the planet where you can find a place to play a real-life version of Pac-Man.

First announced back in October and now scheduled to debut in March 2025, the Pac-Man Live Experience is the newest addition to Manchester’s growing entertainment scene and it’s promising to be a popular one too.

This brand-new life-sized immersive experience plunges players into the nostalgic world of the iconic video game we all know and love, only instead of using joysticks on an old-school arcade machine, they’ll physically sprint, dodge, and chomp their way through a maze.

Although the launch itself is still a few months away, the team behind this ingenious idea are getting ready for the frenzy and putting early bird tickets on sale ahead of opening day.

Credit: Concept Image (supplied)

So how does it work?

Good question: participants can gear up in a PAC vest and step into the role of the instantly recognisable yellow chomper, collecting power pellets, dodging the classic ghost characters – BLINKY, PINKY, INKY, and CLYDE – and racking up points on their way to victory.

Guided through an epic 12-level adventure, players will be led by the ‘PAC-MASTER’: a lively gameshow host who serves as commentator and referee; players will also be accompanied by immersive in-game effects like sound bites, lighting, and haptic (vibration) feedback to elevate the experience. Cool, right?

The striking Arcade Arena will feature two massive PAC-MAN courts projected onto the floor, while dynamic visuals transform the walls, fully immersing participants in the retro arcade universe. There’s no need for headsets either, so players can embark on a multi-sensory adventure, seamlessly blending the real world with augmented reality.

Created by Tom Lionetti-Maguire, the CEO and Founder of Little Lion Entertainment – the same team behind The Crystal Maze Live Experience, Tomb Raider, and Chaos Karts to the likes of London and more recently Manchester –

The whole thing has been brought to life in partnership with Bandai Namco Entertainment, lending the proper licensing to make the experience feel both fun and authentic. It’s the real deal.

Credit: Supplied

Early bird tickets for Pac-Man Live Manchester

If you’re not sold on playing a human-sized, real-life game of Pac-Man in a huge augmented-reality arena right here in Manchester then we don’t know what to tell you, to be honest – all we know is that we’ll be first in line when it arrives.

The Pac-Man Live Experience comes to the Arcade Arena on 22 March next year in line with the game’s 40th anniversary, and they’re inviting players of all ages and providing engaging gameplay for younger participants while delivering a nostalgic throwback that parents and grandparents will cherish.

Better yet, if you book during the early bird window, you can access discount ticket prices from just £25 per person too.

Early bird tickets go on sale at 12 noon today (Thursday, 21 November) – you can grab yours HERE.

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Featured Images — Supplied

What's On

Blood Brothers at Palace Theatre, Manchester – a timeless classic

Greg James Greg James Sean Jones and Joe Slight in Blood Brothers in Manchester. Credit: Jack Merriman

Bill Kenwright’s production of Blood Brothers surpassed 10,000 performances in London’s West End making it one of only three musicals ever to achieve that monumental milestone – and now it’s visiting us here in Manchester.

“Oh Bright New Day”, Blood Brothers has just landed back at the Palace Theatre. This musical written by Willy Russell is a British piece of theatre that is a staple in the musical theatre tapestry of our country. 

For anyone who is unfamiliar with this iconic story, it is an emotional tale of two twins who are separated at birth and grow up on opposite sides of the tracks, only to meet again with the most fateful of consequences.

The story’s central character, Mrs Johnston is the linchpin in this whole story and carries us through the show.

This role has been played by many superb women over the years including Mel C, Kiki Dee, Barbara Dickson and nearly all of the Nolan Sisters. This time, Mrs Johnston is performed by Vivienne Carlyle who provides a lovely maternal performance. 

The other two lead roles are Mickey and Eddie, played by Sean Jones and Joe Sleight respectively.

These are really complex roles to play as the actors have to portray the characters from early school years to grown adults.

The cast of Blood Brothers in Manchester. Credit: Jack Merriman
The cast of Blood Brothers in Manchester. Credit: Jack Merriman
Sean Jones, Gemma Brodrick and Joe Slight in Blood Brothers in Manchester. Credit: Jack Merriman
Sean Jones, Gemma Brodrick and Joe Slight in Blood Brothers in Manchester. Credit: Jack Merriman

Sean Jones has been playing the role of Mickey now for nearly 25 years and so he is no stranger to this character. And I must say, he still fantastically plays the part, even when playing young Mickey, and the show really takes off when he enters the stage.

Joe Sleight is someone who I had not seen in the role of Eddie before and he gave just as strong a performance as Jones. He offered a real contrast to his counterpart with a really beautiful, touching performance. 

The whole ensemble did a gorgeous job of helping to carry these characters throughout the musical, showing a real flair for multi-roling and beautiful musicality in the group numbers too. 

Something which elevates this already gripping story though is the music. There are many recurring musical motifs throughout the show that on the surface may come off as repetitive but they offer perspective on how things can evolve and change over time.

Of course the song though that everybody is perhaps familiar with is the power ballad, ‘Tell Me It’s Not True’. This is the climax of the show and what a climax it is. There’s not a dry eye in the house when we reach this point of the story, I can assure you! 

So, whether you are returning to watch this show again, perhaps know the story from studying it in English GCSE or seeing it for the first time, it will always be an absolutely timeless classic.

Blood Brothers is on at the Palace Theatre in Manchester until Saturday 30 November. Tickets are available HERE.

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Featured image: Jack Merriman

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