A brand new market is set to launch in Manchester this weekend, promising to inject life into the city centre’s Chinatown district.
The Market’s Dragon Market will be taking over the Faulkner Street car park with a range of street food traders, plus loads of local artists and makers.
The market has been created in partnership with Manchester City Council to ‘bring a new lease of life to Chinatown‘.
The mastermind behind Dragon Market is April Kennedy, founder of Vanoffee (and creator of those viral coffee-filled doughnuts), who says it will remind people that ‘Chinatown isn’t to be forgotten about’.
It’s hoped that the project will rejuvenate the area and increase footfall, with an attractive line-up of food and drink stalls as well as other local businesses.
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Already lined up for the launch event this weekend will be Birchwood Pizza, Vanoffee, Sunrise Patisserie (with mountains of pastel de natas), The Vakery vegan bakes, and a street food stall specialising in Thai food.
There’ll also be local brands like Wreaths by Florals by Ayla, Erica Pham Art, Double T’s Rum, MellowApricotStudio, and loads more.
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There’ll even be a mobile barbershop on site thanks to JiGGi.
A new market is launching in Chinatown in Manchester this weekA new market is launching in Chinatown in Manchester this week. Credit: Supplied
And the Dragon Market will be fully licensed, with boozy hot chocolates and mulled wines aplenty.
Announcing the news, they wrote: “We’re bringing a new lease of life to Chinatown with the Dragon Market! Get ready for exclusive traders serving up delicious food ranging from wood-fired pizzas to Thai, with plenty more to get your taste buds going.
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“The Dragon Market also features local artists, candlemakers, brewers, distillers, barbers and baristas!
“Set up by April Kennedy, founder of Vanoffee and Manchester City Council, this market is here to remind you Chinatown isn’t to be forgotten about.”
A new Picasso exhibition is coming to Manchester featuring unseen archived works
Emily Sergeant
A new exhibition by Pablo Picasso opens in Manchester next week including works never-before seen on public display.
The new exhibition, titled Picasso: A Legacy, is comprised of more than 35 original works on paper and ceramics, all of which were created by the artist from the mid 1930s up until his death in 1973, and visitors will get to be guided through the last four decades of his life.
You’ll also get to encounter the artist‘s lovers and muses, mythological alter egos, and playful zoomorphic ceramics, as well as feats of frantic artistic output that made up Picasso’s final decade.
Featured in the exhibition are individual editions, as well as complete portfolios and books such as Nature morte aux poires et au pichet (c. 1960)and La Guerre et la paix (1954), to name just a few.
Some of the ceramics visitors can expect to see on display when the exhibition opens at Castle Fine Art gallery in Manchester early next week include Joueur de flûte (1951)and Yan soleil (1963) – which are described as being ‘whimsical experiments in three dimensions’ made while Picasso was living in the south of France.
The exhibition will examine how minotaurs, fauns, bulls, matadors, and owls populated Picasso’s work, each serving as alter egos to express himself.
Exhibition curators say Picasso’s ‘prolific’ output in his later years is often read as an act of creative defiance against his own mortality, an attempt to delay time, and cement his place within the canon of art history, and the result is a body of work that is deemed both playful and profound.
A new Picasso exhibition is coming to Manchester featuring unseen archived works / Credit: Supplied
This new collection coming to Manchester next week proves just that.
“We believe everyone should be able to experience the joy of fine art and it is a privilege to share this exhibition from one the most influential artists of the 20th century,” commented Ian Weatherby-Blythe, who is the Managing Director of Castle Fine Art, ahead of the exhibition opening.
“[The exhibition] is open to all to enjoy at our King Street gallery and features over 35 original artworks from the extraordinary last four decades of Picasso’s life.”
Picasso: A Legacy will be on view from 10am on Monday 9 March until 4 May 2026 at Castle Fine Art, and the exhibition is free to enter and open daily.
Featured Image – Supplied
What's On
Harry Styles One Night Only at Co-op Live in Manchester – phones-free policy, stage times, and everything else you need to know
Daisy Jackson
Harry Styles will play an exclusive, intimate (for him) one night only concert in Manchester this week.
The show at the Co-op Live coincides with the release of the star’s fourth album, ‘Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally’, both of which will land on Friday 6 March.
Fans have waited years for HS4 and for more live shows from the former One Direction musician, only for him to announce a residency all the way down in London and no northern shows.
But Harry Styles threw us here in Manchester – the closest big city to where he grew up – with the news of a ‘One Night Only’ album release show.
If you’re one of the lucky few thousand who snagged tickets, here’s everything you need to know.
Stage times for Harry Styles One Night Only
Premium doors for Harry Styles will open at 6pm, with general admission entries from 6.30pm.
Harry and the venue haven’t yet publicly announced what time he’ll take the stage, or whether there’ll be any sort of support act.
But we’ll keep this updated as soon as we hear more.
How do tickets work?
Tickets for the Harry Styles Manchester gig were dished out in an unusual ‘ticket request’ format, where fans who registered their interest were randomly allocated tickets – no usual ‘Ticketmaster War’ competing in a first-come, first-served sale.
Those who have been successful will have been charged the £20 per ticket fee, and should be able to see their event details now in the Ticketmaster or Co-op Live apps.
Don’t panic if you can’t see your barcode just yet – they should drop in in the next day.
And remember to save your tickets to your phone’s wallet so you don’t struggle with signal at the doors.
Harry Styles’ show in Manchester on Friday night will have a strict no-phones policy, it’s been confirmed.
Instead, the lucky few thousand of fans heading to his One Night Only gig will be handed proper disposable cameras to capture moments from the night.
Any use of cameras, smart glasses, smart watches, or other recording devices won’t be permitted in the venue on Friday night.
Fans will instead have to secure their phones inside recyclable bags, which will allow them to be used in normal ways for communications, but without the camera. At the end of the night, your phone will be removed from the bag and the bag will be recycled.
Anyone caught using a digital recording device during the Harry Styles One Night Only phones-free show may be asked to leave the venue.
Instead of a sea of phones, Harry Styles will be asking fans to capture their memories from the night on disposable cameras, which will be included with every pair of tickets sold.
When can I watch Harry Styles One Night In Manchester on Netflix?
Harry Styles’ One Night Only gig in Manchester will be the subject of a Netflix documentary
Netflix will be joining Harry Styles at the Co-op Live to film for an upcoming special, Harry Styles One Night in Manchester.
A teaser trailer shows behind-the-scenes footage of the former One Direction star rehearsing in the studio.
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 1:00am on Fridays and Saturdays.
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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. You also get free Bee Network travel with any valid event.
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.
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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.
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For more information on all travel options, you can check out the enhanced journey planner
Daisy Jackson -
5th December 2023 
