A free-to-attend Chinese festival will bring traditional street food, lion dancing and karate sessions to Manchester this month as the local community celebrates the annual Festival of the Moon.
Inspired by the legend of Chang’e, the Chinese Moon goddess of immortality, the festival will take place from 9-11 September in Manchester’s Chinatown.
Here, those heading down will find traditional food and drink stalls from local businesses including Wong Wong Bakery, PinWei and Chatime Manchester in the area’s central car park.
Elsewhere, there will be the opportunity to enjoy traditional Chinese lion dancing and take part in on-street kung fu and archery lessons.
It’s also rumoured a mysterious Chinese celebrity will be making an appearance at this year’s event, although details are yet to be confirmed.
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The Hong Kong style Egg Tart (蛋撻) is one of Wong Wong’s most popular items. / Image: Wong Wong Bakery
Wong Wong’s Pandan Coconut Flower Bun (香葉椰綠花包). / Image: Wong Wong Bakery
Derived from the custom of Chinese emperors worshipping the moon during the Zhou Dynasty, the Chinese Moon festival typically brings families and friends together to thank the Gods as part of the harvest season.
With a history stretching back 2,000 years, it is considered China’s second-most-important festival after the Lunar New Year celebrations.
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With roots in both Chinese and Vietnamese cultures, the origins of this age-old festival are steeped in legend.
So the story goes, the world once had ten suns and their heat ravaged the world with a terrible drought. That is, until the great archer Hou Yi shot down nine of the suns, saving life on Earth, at the request of the Emperor of Heaven.
By way of reward, he was given the elixir of immortality, which he hid in his house and planned to share with his beautiful wife, Chang’e.
However, before he returned home, his apprentice snuck in and attempted to steal the elixir. In a bid to keep it from the apprentice, his wife drank the potion alone and ascended to the heavens by herself, where it is said she then took the moon as her eternal home.
To this day, it is said that those who look hard enough can still see her likeness in the moon and the legend still lives on today in China’s Lunar Exploration Programme, which takes its name from the goddess.
A bottomless brunch with unlimited booze AND pizza is happening in Manchester this weekend
Emily Sergeant
You can feast on all the pizza slices and booze your heart desires at a bottomless brunch happening in Manchester this weekend.
Manchester street food market and social hub, GRUB – which is tucked away in the Green Quarter, just outside of the city centre – is home to a wide range of rotating independent food and drink vendors that regularly hook Mancs up with some of the best eats from across the globe.
It’s also known for hosting a jam-packed lineup of events all throughout the year, and this bottomless pizza brunch is one fine example.
Teaming up with new independent trader, Pizza Mutt, foodie fans are invited to head on over to GRUB this Saturday for 90-minutes of tasty Tavern-style pizza slices and a stunning selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
When it comes to pizza, you can choose from a wide range of toppings.
There’s everyone’s favourite pepperoni, as well as double cheese and veggie picante for vegetarians, and marinara for vegans – with vegan cheese also available.
A bottomless brunch with unlimited booze and pizza is happening in Manchester this weekend / Credit: Detroit Slims | Flickr
Then, on the drinks lineup, there’s a selection of house beers – including GRUB’s very-own lager and pale ale – and Hogan’s Cider, as well as Aperol Spritzes, mimosas, and fizz, as well as some low and non-alcoholic options and plenty of soft drinks too.
Taking place this Saturday 22 February from 12-6pm, there are three sittings to choose from when booking – the 1pm, 2pm, and 4pm.
Each sitting includes 90-minutes of bottomless drinks and pizza.
Tickets will set you back £25 each, and you can grab them from the GRUB website here.
Featured Image – Heather Barnes (via Unsplash)
What's On
LF System, DJ Paulette and Turno announced as headliners for ‘The Drop’ music series
Thomas Melia
A returning music series is taking place in Manchester again and it’s bringing together even more great DJs for some fantastic live sets.
Titled ‘The Drop’, this music celebration is the mastermind of Skiddle and Headstock, who have collaborated to raise funds to support the music industry and mental health awareness.
Both the leading organisations put music at the forefront of what they do with Skiddle as a UK-based online ticket platform and Headstock, a hugely important music and mental health social enterprise.
‘The Drop’ is a monthly event series created to raise funds for several charities that exist to support the mental health of people working in the music industry.
Credit: Publicity Picture (Supplied)
This all-new event has support from The Warehouse Project, one of the leading nightlife and music entertainment spots not just in Manchester but the UK, bringing in acts from all over the world.
There are lots of music-tailored companies getting involved too including our very own music counterpart, Audio North.
Currently, there are three big headliners that have just been announced and these acts are certainly music champions in the dance music scene, featuring LF System, DJ Paulette and Turno.
LF System has reached incredible heights thanks to their unforgettable tune ‘Afraid To Feel’, which has now racked up nearly 500 million Spotify streams globally since its release in 2022.
Manchester music legend and Haçienda queen, DJ Paulette has also seen huge success with her mind-blowing mixes and soundtracking various music events.
The final headliner to be announced so far is Turno, who has played out to crowds of 10,000 at WHP and is respected for his eclectic drum and bass beats.
DJ Paulette is always lifting our energy no matter where she goes.Turno is about to bring some drum and bass bangers.LF System are ready to show off some well-crafted mixes.Credit: Publicity Pictures (Supplied)
‘The Drop’ kickstarts on 27 March for the Spring season with international DJ and producer Turno from 6:30-11pm, with sets happening every month following, tickets are already available.
Read more:
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Following on from this is the sensational LF System are taking over with a coffee table set joined by some special yet-to-be-announced guests on 24 April – tickets HERE.
Finally, DJ Paulette will be bringing those massive rave bangers and combining it with her usual charismatic energy on 15 May – grab your tickets now.
Georgina Pellant -
1st September 2022 
