What's On

Funfair, beach, and huge screens to watch sports and films coming to Trafford Centre this summer

Summer Daze will span an impressive 2.5 acres of land, and will be located outside the Great Hall.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 24th June 2022

An all-new water park, funfair, beach, and giant 15sq m outdoor screen showing classic films and some of the summers biggest sporting events are all arriving at the Trafford Centre next month.

After what was a successful run back in 2021, and with the summer season now officially here, the UK’s third largest shopping centre has announced that its “most significant outdoor event to date” will start to arrive later this month, and offer a full lineup of family-friendly activities for everyone to enjoy throughout the day and into the night.

Summer Daze will span an impressive 2.5 acres of land, and will be located outside the Great Hall up until 4 September. 

One of the new events arriving for 2022 is the Trafford Centre’s summer of sport – which is set to go live from 27 June – and it will give sports-lovers the chance to gain free to access to a fan zone to watch some of the summer’s biggest sporting events such as Wimbledon, Tour De France, UEFA Women’s EURO 2022, and the Athletics World Championships, all on a 15sq m giant outdoor screen.

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Then, from 22 July, a further two big screens will arrive to show more live sports and a full lineup of classic films throughout the summer. 

The popular funfair will also return in all its glory from 22 July, with an exciting upgrade of rides – including one called ‘Sea Storm’, where you can ride the wave in individual cruisers – and complete with a 600sq m beach and brand-new 200sq m splash park, with multiple water jets for guaranteed family-friendly fun.

Summer Daze will span an impressive 2.5 acres of land, and will be located outside the Great Hall when it opens / Credit: Trafford Centre

Some former favourites from last year are also set to make a return too, including the log flume, bungee trampolines, wave swinger, water balls, pirate ship, and bumper boats. 

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The centre also promises that a new outdoor food and beverage zone will be a part of the summer celebrations this year, and has confirmed that a lineup of outdoor live music acts will be announced in the coming weeks, so keep your eyes peeled.

Outdoor Screen Schedule

  • Wimbledon: 27 June – 10 July 
  • Tour De France: 1 – 24 July 
  • UEFA Women’s EURO 2022: 6 – 31 July 
  • Athletics World Championships: 15 – 24 July 
  • Commonwealth Games: 28 July – 8 August
  • European Championships Athletics: 11 – 21 August 
  • Vuelta a España Cycling: 12 – 31 August 
  • The Hundred: 1 – 3 September 
  • Tour of Britain: 4 – 11 September 
  • Rugby Sevens: 9 – 11 September 

Details of the lineup of classic films are soon to follow.

“This is an incredibly exciting time for Trafford Centre, as our outdoor event sees a major refresh for summer 2022,” said Zoe Inman, Centre Director at Trafford Centre.

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“The giant experience offers a variety of activities and amusements for all ages to enjoy, the perfect opportunity for a family day out in the North West and we look forward to welcoming our existing loyal and new customers throughout the summer season for a new leisure experience”.

The Trafford Centre’s summer celebrations are returning after a successful run back in 2021 / Credit: Trafford Centre

Entry to Summer Daze is on a first come first served basis, and it will be open from 12pm daily.

Anyone with a fairground wristband will also have viewing access to one of the three big screens from the beach area, and the only element of the outdoor event which is available to pre-book is the fairground.

Find out more on the Trafford Centre website here.

Featured Image – Trafford Centre

What's On

A huge Spanish food festival is coming to Manchester

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

A huge festival dedicated to the wonders of Spanish cuisine is coming to Manchester next month.

Organised as part of country-wide celebration by Spanish brewery Estrella Galicia, the festival will bring some of the city’s finest Spanish and South American chefs together for a vibrant mix of tapas tours, foodie masterclasses and high-end tasting menus.

Hosted cross Manchester, London, Cardiff, Brighton and Newcastle, locals can take part in the ultimate Spanish food tour with selected restaurants offering their best-selling tapas plates with a pint of Estrella Galicia on the side.

Former Masterchef contestant Caroline Martins of the Sao Paulo Project will host a special tasting menu at her current home inside Ancoats’ Blossom Street Social, mixing traditional Spanish dishes with influences from her home country of Brazil in Central America on Sunday 11 September.

Read more: Former MasterChef contestant opens fine dining pop-up inside Ancoats wine bar

Sao Paulo signature petit four: Coconut Marshmallow (Maria-Mole) / Guava Jam (Goiabada) / Jambu Flower (South American flower that numbs your tongue) / Image: The Sao Paulo Project
The ‘Romeo and Julieta’ with Guava Parfait / Guava Jelly / Parmesan Genoise Sponge / Sangiorgio’s Minas Cheese / Dormouse Chocolate & Lime Crumble / Image: The Manc Eats

An official Estrella Galicia Chef Ambassador for 2022, Martins has made quite a name for herself since arriving in Manchester – appearing on the Great British Menu earlier this year and wowing local diners in Ancoats with her Alice in Wonderland-style food.

Known for serving weird and wonderful creations like edible ‘beef fat’ candles, marshmallows topped with tongue-numbing Jambu flowers and desserts disguised as poisonous mushrooms, Caroline has become something of a local sensation since moving to Manchester in 2020.

Elsewhere across the festival, local tapas favourites Evuna, La Bandera and the family-run staple El Rincon de Rafa will all get involved in a special tapas tour across the city on Thursday 29 September.

A fixture in Manchester for over 25 years, El Rincon de Rafa is a family-run favourite amongst foodies in the know. / Image: El Rincon
Image: La Bandera is located just off Deansgate and is another long-running Spanish tapas favourite

Read more: Caroline Martins: the 2022 Great British Menu chef representing the North West on BBC Two

They will also offer some special ‘beer and a bite’ deals that will see them mix popular tapas dishes with freshly poured pints of Estrella.

Estrella Galicia is the flagship beer brand of Hijos de Rivera, an independent, fourth generation family owned brewery founded in 1906 in A Coruña.

Read more: Rozafa: the family-run Greek Cypriot restaurant that’s been a fixture for 15+ years

Estrella Galicia offers a wide variety of drinks here in the UK including Estrella Galicia Cerveza Lager, 0,0%, Gluten-free, 1906 Reserva Especial and 1906 Black Coupage.     

To find out more and book tickets, click here.

Feature image – El Rincon de Rafa

What's On

A giant Sunday roast served on ‘Salford’s longest table’ is happening next month

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson

A huge communal roast dinner has been announced as part of the food line-up for free festival, We Invented the Weekend.

The new event in Salford will be bringing together class acts from the worlds of sports, music, comedy, theatre, dance, workshops, talks, food, charity, wellness, crafts and more over the weekend of 10-11 September.

Eat Well MCR, a collective of chefs and hospitality professionals led by Mary-Ellen McTague, will be throwing together all the best bits of a cosy Sunday.

There’ll be piles of newspapers, a Bloody Mary bar, and a giant communal Sunday roast, served up on ‘Salford’s longest table’.

The huge communal roast dinner will take place at MediaCityUK as part of the We Invented the Weekend festival

Mary-Ellen will cook up a roast rib of beef with all the trimmings – Yorkshire puddings, gravy, roast potatoes, buttered carrots, and cauliflower cheese – with a celeriac nut roast for vegetarians, and sticky toffee pudding to finish.

Local vinyl reissue record label Be With Records will provide a laidback soundtrack, while Seven Bro7hers will create a special Weekend Beer for the occasion and will invite other breweries – including Shindigger and Manchester Union Lager – to join them.

Mary-Ellen McTague said: “We Invented the Weekend is such a wonderful idea and we’re delighted to get involved.

“The festival celebrates a hard-won campaign for workers’ right to leisure time. Many of the families Eat Well MCR supports have a working parent – and yet still struggle to feed their families. It’s a subject very close to my heart.

Mary-Ellen McTague will cook up a giant Sunday roast for 200 people at Salford’s We Invented the Weekend festival. Credit: Unsplash

“I’m cooking 200 roast dinners for ticket holders and we’ll also be delivering some to the people in our community for free.”

There’ll be two sittings for Mary-Ellen’s Sunday roast feast, between 12pm and 2pm, and 3pm and 5pm, on Sunday 11 September.

You can book your tickets for Salford’s giant roast here – they’re priced at £30 for two courses, and £10 for those under the age of 14.

Read more: Brand new festival to take over Salford this year – and it’s FREE

Elsewhere at We Invented the Weekend, there’ll be street food celebrating cuisines from across the globe joining MediaCityUK’s existing Box on the Docks offering.

Traders will include Carnival (home-cooked Brazilian food), Desert Island Dumplings (vegan dishes, in deep-fried dumplings), House of Habesha (traditional Eritrean and Ethiopian dishes), Mama Sue’s (home-spiced frankfurters), Spuds and Bro (poutine), Paradiso (Italian desserts) and Wild Soul (vegan doughnuts).

There’ll also be loaded handmade potato waffles from Thief Street, pizzas from Dagi pizza, and smashed burgers from ex-Emmerdale star Adam Thomas’s Patty and Press.

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Christmas Market favourites Panc will have plant-powered takes on burgers, kebabs, hot dogs, wtaps and desserts.

Then the resident businesses of MediaCityUK and Quayside, like Chapati Cafe, General Store, The Botanist and The Alchemist, will have festival specials over the weekend.

To find out more about the festival and sign up for updates, visit www.weinventedtheweekend.com

Featured image: Supplied

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