A festival of authentic beers, German food markets, and tributes to some of Manchester‘s most iconic bands will be taking over the city later this year.
It’s everything we know and love about Oktoberfest – but with a Mancunian twist.
If you’re unfamiliar with the phenomenon that is Oktoberfest, it’s a traditional Bavarian folk festival full of beer and a travelling funfair that was first held all the way back in 1810, and has been held annually in Munich from mid / late September to around the first Sunday in October ever since.
Over six million visitors flock to the southern German region for the festival each year, but given its huge popularity, other cites across the world also hold their own Oktoberfests inspired by the Munich event – and Manchester is one of them.
Manctoberfest 2022 is taking over the BEC Arena in Trafford Park from Friday 30 September – Sunday 2 October, and tickets are set to go on sale this Friday.
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During the three-day Manchester take on the traditional festival, organisers are promising a huge weekend that’s jam-packed with music, food, and “more steins than you can shake a stick at”, with some of the best tribute bands set to perform and celebrate the city’s rich music heritage.
Manctoberfest is returning to the BEC Arena later this year / Credit: ManctoberfestThere’ll be authentic beers, German food markets, and tributes to some of Manchester’s most iconic bands / Credit: Manctoberfest
The Stretford-based arena will be kitted out with Oktoberfest decoration and traditional Bavarian seating for that authentic festival feel.
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The festival has teamed up with Manchester Adored’s resident DJ, Dave Sweetmore, who will be hosting across the weekend.
Just a few of the famous names on the stacked lineup of talented tribute bands at this year’s festival include The Ultimate Stone Roses, Appy Mondays, The Oasis Experience, Courtbetweeners, These Smiths, and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Carpets, who have all been busy performing across the UK.
Festivalgoers will also be able to grab some tasty grub at the German food market, and then, of course, wash it all down with the finest German beers and steins.
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The Manctoberfest 2022 lineup / Credit: JBM Music
And to top it all off, The JagerMaestros – a Manchester-based traditional German Oompah band made up of eight of the country’s top brass players, and a lead singer who’s also a stand-up comic – will also be performing live across the extended festival weekend, so you can expect to be properly entertained.
Tickets to Manctoberfest 2022 are set to go on sale on Friday 15 July at 9am, and you can sign-up for priority access here.
Featured Image – Manctoberfest
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Selfridges Manchester to host an out-of-hours dinner in the middle of the shop floor, plus the city’s chicest book club
Daisy Jackson
Selfridges will be hosting a series of exclusive events in the coming weeks, including a supper club in the middle of a shop floor, and an evening with the city’s chicest book club.
Up first, on Thursday 23 April, Selfridges Exchange will welcome acclaimed local supper club A-Kin for an exclusive dining experience on the menswear shop floor.
Guests will enjoy a five-course menu inside the luxury department store, long after the doors have closed.
You’ll be tucking into dishes like short rib doughnut with horseradish cream, breadcrumbs and chives; bone-in ribeye with cafe de Paris butter and shoestring fries; and a tarta de Santiago.
A-Kin will be bringing together like-minded guests for an evening of exceptional food, music, and style, fittingly in the surrounds of Selfridges Exchange’s menswear department.
Club Culture is Selfridges’ take on what’s bringing people together, now, building on the new movement of hobby-led and community-centric social gatherings and clubs.
But Selfridges has always had its roots as a social space – when the London store first opened in 1909, founder Harry Gordon Selfridge opened a Journalist’s Club with a room equipped with typewriters, telephones and a bar, later hosting an All-Girl Gun Club on the roof in the 1920s and 1930s; and even later, hosting screenings with Club Cine.
Run clubs, a comedy club, boxing club and nightclub have all featured as part of Selfridges creative programming in recent years – and now, a book club and supper club.
Selfridges customers can collect keys for attending Club Culture events and experiences, as part of its membership programme, Selfridges Unlocked. Customers join and collect keys by shopping and spending time at Selfridges to unlock perks at every level.
The Akin Supper Club has now sold out, but you can still book tickets for The Read Room HERE.
Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum announces FREE programme of space-themed activities
Emily Sergeant
National Space Day is coming up, and you can celebrate with a bunch of free space-inspired activities in Manchester this bank holiday.
Ever wondered what astronauts eat in orbit? How they use the loo in zero gravity? Or why crumbs are bad news on the International Space Station? Well, to celebrate National Space Day – which is taking place this year on Friday 1 May – you’ll now get to discover the answers to those questions and so much more down at the Science and Industry Museum early next month.
The popular Manchester city centre-based museum has unveiled a programme of free ‘out-of-this-world’ events and activities this upcoming May bank holiday weekend.
The programme of free events are set to accompany the museum’s latest special exhibition, Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos – which you do have to pay for – and will give visitors more ways to explore the ‘wonders and weirdness’ of space.
The Science and Industry Museum has announced a free programme of space-themed activities / Credit: Drew Forsyth / Science Museum Group
Launching on National Space Day (Friday 1 May) and running through to Monday 4 May, the special bank holiday weekend programme is especially timely following the recent return of Artemis II astronauts from their history-making mission around the moon.
Families can get a taste of space during new live shows by sampling real foods used to feed astronauts, and discover more about how humans live and work beyond Earth, while budding space explorers put their skills to the test in interactive activities designed to ‘spark curiosity’ and ‘stretch imaginations’ to the moon and back.
Stargazers can enjoy the night sky as its projected across super-sized screens, or get creative by crafting their very own constellations and designing a mission patch for an astronaut’s spacesuit.
The events accompany the museum’s latest special exhibition, Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos / Credit: Drew Forsyth / Science Museum Group
“2026 has already been a stellar year for space,” commented Tash Camberwell, who is the Interpretation and Content Developer at the Science and Industry Museum, as the programme of free events was announced this week.
“We’ve been so inspired by the amazing Artemis II astronauts, so I’m especially excited to bring space back down to Earth with an action-packed programme for the May bank holiday.
“Just like the exhibition, our holiday activities have been created for young people and their grown-ups to enjoy together by blending humour, hands-on science and spectacular experiences to spark curiosity in space and inspire the next generation of space explorers.”
More information on the bank holiday weekend activities can be found on the Science and Industry Museum’s website here, and free general admission tickets, as well as £10 tickets to Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos, can also be booked online too – with under threes going free.
Following what was a popular spring school holidays, museum staff say early booking is ‘advised’.
Featured Image – Drew Forsyth / Science Museum Group
Emily Sergeant -
12th July 2022 
