A whole host of immersive drive-in entertainment events set to return to Greater Manchester next month.
Cinemas and entertainment complexes right across the region may currently still be closed amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but with an “irreversible” roadmap for lifting England’s third national lockdown now in place, reopening is on the horizon.
If you’re far too eager to wait until mid-May though, Park N Party – the team that delivered both the sell-out successes of ScareCity and ChristmasCity, and a number of other outdoor live events throughout 2020 – comes SecretCity.
Manchester’s newest event space is back and it’s better than ever.
Rolling into Event City in Trafford on 15th April and set to run throughout the summer, SecretCity is giving film fans the chance to catch their favourite drive-in cinema classics and new releases on the UK’s biggest LED outdoor screen, alongside immersive entertainment, live actors, vibrant props, food and drink, and many more surprises.
With entertainment ready from the moment you enter the park and walk through the enchanted tunnel, guests are invited to “tumble down the rabbit hole into a new world”.
There’ll also be plenty of unique photo opportunities.
Park N Party / Visual ArchitectsPark N Party / Visual Architects
So, what films are already on the schedule then over the coming weeks?
Wonder Woman (1984) – Thursday 15th April at 9pm
Bridesmaids – Wed 21st April at 8:30pm
Onward – Saturday 24th April at 4pm
Greenland – Sunday 25th April at 8pm
Mulan (2020) – Saturday 7th May at 4pm
The Greatest Showman – Sunday 8th May at 4pm
Looking further into the future as SecretCity takes up residency in Manchester throughout the summer and will guided by government announcements, the unique events space will be home to outdoor events suitable for guests arriving by foot as well as by car, including cinema screenings, DJ appearances, live football broadcasts and much more.
With food available and a bar on site, there’ll be everything you need for a summer like no other.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMhwGlEl1Ne/
All Park N Party events are outdoors, with strict social distancing measures in place throughout the venue in accordance with all government guidelines, and guests are encouraged, where possible to remain in their vehicle and only attend in their household or social bubbles.
Hand sanitiser will be readily available throughout the venue, and in the toilets.
You can find more information ahead of the event and book your tickets to any of the SecretCity screenings via the Park N Party website here.
Aitch is playing a huge hometown set at The Warehouse Project
Danny Jones
Aitch has booked another massive hometown slot as the Moston-born rapper will be playing none other than the home of clubbing here in Manchester: The Warehouse Project.
Joining the WHP25 programme, which is already stacked right up until New Year’s Eve, the 25-year-old is the latest rapper to take on the famous club venue, following the likes of Little Simz and Loyle Carner, who played the event series back in October.
Aitch‘s new album, 4 – which denotes the number of studio LPs he’s made to date and acts as a nod to the M4 postcode – was released on June 20 and has already proved popular with fans.
Having just played Parklife as well as a secret set at Glastonbury this year, he’s already performed most of his biggest slots for the year, but the ever-rising local rapper thought he’d given Manchester another big gig and one more chance to see him live in 2025.
As an increasingly popular main event act across the UK, a headline show at Warehouse Project is nothing short of a massive deal for any artist, let alone a Manc.
The date itself will see him see him performing songs from the new record, which is his second to hit the top 10, as well as a selection of multiple platinum-selling hits.
Sharing details of early access tickets on Instagram stories shortly after the announcement, the UK hip-hop and grime star reminded fans: “This is the only chance to see me shut this sh*t down this year!!!”
It’s actually his only major domestic show in full stop, so if you’re a die-hard fan of Harrison Armstrong and his music, you really don’t want to miss this one.
He’s not the only big name coming to Mayfield this season either.
WHP25 /// FISHER – TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Don’t miss out on what’s set to be an unmissable night – packed with infectious energy from beginning to end – as he takes over Depot Mayfield alongside a lineup coming very soon.
Featured Images — Jahnay Tennai (supplied)/Aitch (via TikTok)
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‘Dazzling’ Victorian silver sculpture goes on public display in Greater Manchester after fears it was lost
Emily Sergeant
A long-lost masterpiece of Victorian silverwork has been saved and is now on display to the public in Greater Manchester.
Anyone taking a trip over to the National Trust’s historic Dunham Massey property, on the border of Greater Manchester into Cheshire, this summer will get to see the ‘dazzling’ sculpture called Stags in Bradgate Park – which was commissioned by a former owner in a defiant gesture to the society that shunned him.
The dramatic sculpture of two rutting Red Deer stags, commissioned in 1855 by George Harry Grey, 7th Earl of Stamford, was said to be an ‘act of love and rebellion’.
It also serves as a symbol of ‘locking horns’ with the society that ostracised him over his marriage to a woman considered ‘beneath him’.
“This isn’t just silver – it’s a story,” says James Rothwell, who is the National Trust‘s curator for decorative arts.
“A story of a man who fell in love with a woman that society deemed unworthy. When the Earl married Catherine Cox, whose colourful past was said to have included performing in a circus, Victorian high society was scandalised. Even Queen Victoria shunned the couple at the opera and local gentry at the horse races in Cheshire turned their backs on them.”
Modelled by Alfred Brown and crafted by royal goldsmiths Hunt & Roskell, Stags in Bradgate Park is a meticulously-detailed depiction of nature, and was considered a ‘sensation’ in its day.
Showing the rutting deer positioned on a rocky outcrop with gnarled hollow oaks, it graced the pages of the Illustrated London News, was exhibited at the London International Exhibition of 1862, and at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1867 – both of which were events that drew millions of visitors.
A ‘dazzling’ Victorian silver sculpture has gone on public display in Greater Manchester / Credit: Joe Wainwright | James Dobson (via Supplied)
The silver centrepiece was the celebrity art of its time, paraded through streets and admired by the public like no other.
Gradually over the years, some of the Earl of Stamford’s silver collection has been re-acquired for Dunham Massey, and this particular world-renowned sculpture, thought to be lost for decades and feared to have been melted down, has miraculously survived with its ‘dramatic’ central component being all that is left.
“The sculpture is not only a technical marvel, with its lifelike depiction of Bradgate Park’s rugged landscape and wildlife, but also a dramatic human story key to the history of Dunham Massey,” added Emma Campagnaro, who is the Property Curator at Dunham Massey.
Emily Sergeant -
17th March 2021 
