One of Greater Manchester’s best-loved outdoor dining concepts has returned for 2024, and there’s a proper tasty lineup of traders.
‘Kargo on the Docks’ – which is MediaCity‘s al fresco dining pop-up, in place of the former Box On The Docks – has had itself a bit of a “glow up” and has taken over the waterfront and gardens with a fresh wave of local food traders and stunning artwork by Salford-based creatives, all as the sun shines down on Salford Quays this summer.
A handful of the region’s most popular independents have set themselves up Quayside inside the concept’s signature re-imagined shipping containers.
For the first time ever, Salford legends Leopard Pie are now serving up their delicious – and trademarked – Honey Butter Rings, alongside authentic Neapolitan pizzas, from their very-own Honey Butter Ring Hut.
Other new food offerings come from the likes of Manchester’s beloved Parmogeddon, and Kargo MKT favourite, ThatZiki.
ADVERTISEMENT
Loads of local indie food vendors have taken over the Salford Quays waterfront for the summer / Credit: Supplied
So Famous and Block Steak Shop are some of the other local foodie favourites you can find down on the waterfront this summer.
Over the past few weeks, a collection of talented local artists, including Fernandes Makes, Kelly Ma and Caroline Daly, have returned to MediaCity to adorn the newly-added shipping containers with collaborative artworks and installations, and ultimately, bring a fresh summer vibe to its gardens.
ADVERTISEMENT
Not only that, but there’s now also a brand-new art trail display throughout the gardens too, featuring artwork from MikeSian Studio, A Studio Called Jane, Luke Passey, and Tasha Whittle.
MediaCity’s popular outdoor dining concept has had a “glow up” for 2024 / Credit: Mark Waugh (via Supplied)
Speaking following the long-awaited return of the popular outdoor dining event, Matt Bigland, who is the Founder and CEO of Blend Family – the company operating the new-look Kargo on the Docks – commented: “This is an exciting development for us and we’re looking forward to bringing all that Kargo offers to MediaCity in a brand-new format.
“The success of Kargo.MKT and Kargo Go has paved the way for this new venture and we’re pleased to be expanding our incredible line-up of food vendors on offer at MediaCity and Quayside.”
Kargo on the Docks will be open Tuesday to Sunday.
Food will be served from 11.30am-9pm, while the bar operates between 10am-11pm, and there’ll also be a range of pop-up events hosted throughout the summer too, with more announcements set to be made in the coming months, so keep your eyes peeled.
Featured Image – Mark Waugh (via Supplied)
What's On
The best things to do in Greater Manchester this week | 8-14 July 2024
Emily Sergeant
ADVERTISEMENT
Summer is well and truly in full swing across our region right now.
Greater Manchester‘s social calendar has been packed full of loads of foodie festivals, cultural celebrations, sporting tournaments, and wholesome family-friendly events so far this summer… and thankfully, there’s even more where that came from in July.
Finding it a bit tricky to pick what to do though? We’ve chosen a few of the best bits for another edition of our ‘what’s on‘ guide this week, so here’s some of our recommendations.
___
Power UP
Science and Industry Museum
Monday 8 July – onwards
Power UP / Credit: Science Museum Group
Did you know there’s a huge gaming event currently happening in Manchester?
With more than 160 consoles and hundreds of games to play, Power UP is back for more in 2024 down at the Science and Industry Museum, and it’s taking ticket-holders on a journey through five decades of gaming every weekend.
There’s everything from retro arcade games, to state-of-the-art virtual reality, and so much more to get stuck into, and each ticket includes unlimited play all day.
Sounds of the City 2024 is officially in full swing.
After having established itself as a staple part of the Manchester music scene, with some of the most acclaimed live artists taking to the stage over the years, the festival is back and has taken over Castlefield Bowl once again for a series of headline concerts this summer.
Avril Lavigne, The National, Tom Grennan, and Jungle are at just some of the famous names taking to the stage this year.
Broadway and West End smash-hit musical, & Juliet, is returning to Manchester this week.
Set to take over the historic Manchester Opera House stage, the musical reimagines Shakespeare’s iconic love story from a new angle, and asks what would have become of Juliet if she’d given up on Romeo before their tragic ending.
Audiences are whisked away on a journey that shows Juliet’s life if she’d skipped her famous ending for a second chance at life and love.
50 Years of the Replica Shirt / Credit: National Football Museum | Admiral Sports
A new exhibition telling the story of the football shirt pioneers, Admiral, is now open at the National Football Museum.
50 Years of the Replica Shirt will take visitors right through the Admiral’s history, from their humble beginnings in a Leicestershire textile town, to the official kit manufacturers for the England national team – with key moments in the company’s timeline highlighted through a range of objects, photographs, and kit designs.
A groundbreaking new immersive exhibition exploring our relationship with the natural world is now open at Manchester Museum.
‘Wild’ look at how people are creating, rebuilding, and repairing connections with nature, and how the natural world has traditionally been presented and idealised through Western art, as well as looking at some unique approaches to environmental recovery too.
ADVERTISEMENT
The exhibition will also crucially look at how we can tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis by making the world more wild.
Little Mancs can try their hand at becoming a pilot this summer, as the popular Flight Academy returns to Manchester Airport.
After proving popular with families during plenty of school holidays in recent years, the Flight Academy programme is back at Runway Visitor Park over the next couple of months on a handful of selected dates, especially for the summer break.
Curious kids the chance to learn all about the different job roles that help keep Manchester‘s airport in action throughout the year during 90-minute sessions.
Find out more and book tickets from £14 each here.
___
ADVERTISEMENT
Looking for somewhere to watch UEFA Euro 2024 in Greater Manchester this summer?
European football’s flagship tournament has now officially kicked off.
But if you haven’t been lucky enough to grab tickets to catch a game over in Germany itself, and you don’t fancy sitting at home and watching on your own, then thankfully, our region is filled with places where you can catch all the action surrounded by hundreds of other football fans.
UEFA Euro 2024 / Credit: Road to Victory
You’re absolutely spoiled for choice this year, as there’s plenty of places in Manchester city centre and beyond screening all the games.
Check out our round-up list of all the best places to watch the Euros in Greater Manchester here.
___
ADVERTISEMENT
Manchester Green Spaces Trail
Manchester & Salford
Monday 8 July – onwards
Manchester Green Spaces Trail / Credit: Carl Sukonik | Annapurna Mellor
Workers and visitors are being invited to discover some stunning outdoor spaces across Manchester city centre and beyond this summer.
Keen to get out and about on foot? Manchester has launched Manchester Green Spaces Trail – a brand-new walking trail celebrating the best green, blue, and outdoor areas the cities of Manchester and Salford have to offer.
Created in collaboration with Manchester tour guide, Jonathan Schofield, the walking trail is free to do and accessible via a downloadable map, and it features 16 garden and water spaces.
The Manchester College ‘Greater Mancunians’ Exhibition
Manchester Central Library
Monday 8 July – onwards
The Manchester College ‘Greater Mancunians’ Exhibition / Credit: Supplied
Photography students from The Manchester College are noq showcasing their ‘Greater Mancunians’ project as part of a landmark exhibition at Manchester Central Library’s Main Exhibition Hall.
ADVERTISEMENT
150 students have participated in the groundbreaking photography project, and it features images of some of Manchester’s most famous and influential people shot at numerous locations across the city.
More than 100 contributors are featured in the project, including musicians Noel Gallagher and Johnny Marr, athletes Diane Modahl and Ricky Hatton, local politicians Andy Burnham, Angela Rayner, and Bev Craig, actors Maxine Peake and Bill Roache, artists Stan Chow and AKSE P-19, and other local figures like Jonathan Warburton, Simon Martin, and Professor Erinma Bell MBE.
One of Greater Manchester’s best-loved outdoor dining concepts has returned for 2024, and there’s a proper tasty lineup of traders.
‘Kargo on the Docks’ – which is MediaCity‘s al fresco dining pop-up, in place of the former Box On The Docks – has had itself a bit of a “glow up” and has taken over the waterfront and gardens with a fresh wave of local food traders and stunning artwork by Salford-based creatives, all as the sun shines down on Salford Quays this summer.
‘Disco Bingo’ is one of GRUB’s best-loved events, and this week it’s putting two of music’s best decades up against each other.
If you find yourself at a loose end this Friday night, you might fancy nipping down to GRUB, as the Green Quarter-based street food market and social hub is hosting a 90s vs 00s edition of ‘Disco Bingo’, and it’ll be combining all your favourite bangers from the two decades with lyric challenges, karaoke, guess the intro, bottomless brunch, and classic bingo hall vibes.
There’s loads of exciting prizes up for grabs too.
Tickets will set you back £6 for ‘standard’ and £25 for ‘bottomless’, so you can find out more and grab yours here.
___
Red Rose Diner
East Lancashire Railway
Friday 12 July – onwards
Red Rose Diners / Credit: ELR
Greater Manchester’s iconic heritage railway is hosting one of the most unique fine dining experiences in the region this summer.
Running on selected Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays throughout the summer, East Lancashire Railway’s ‘Red Rose Diners’ are described as being “the ultimate first class foodie experience”, as they start with a glass of fizz and stretch over an almost three-hour steam train journey through the Irwell Valley.
The experience includes a four-course dinner with complimentary sparkling wine, followed by tea or coffee and after-dinner chocolates.
Fancy trying out some new independent food and drink businesses that’ve opened in Greater Manchester this past month?
Our region is lucky enough to get to welcome a whole host of new hospitality residents all year round, but once those summer months arrive, doors to exciting new places are being flung open left, right, and centre… and just in last month alone, there’s been that many to choose from, it’s hard to keep up.
We’re talking a new coffee and brunch spot, a pop-up pasta bar turned permanent, the rebirth of an old venue into a swanky Irish bar, and so much more.
Taking over New Century to celebrate World Rum Day this Saturday, festivalgoers can expect a day packed full of master distillers, experts, brands from across the globe, food, a calypso-inspired DJ, and so much more.
The festival’s bar sponsors, Monin, have also brought together four bars from across Manchester to show off their rum creations to try once you’re there.
Find out everything happening at this year’s festival and grab last-minute tickets here.
___
Hits On The Pitch 2024
Stockport
Saturday 13 July
Hits On The Pitch 2024 / Credit: HOTP
Liberty X, Chesney Hawkes, and D:Rream are just a few of the famous names set to play at a “throwback” festival over in Stockport this weekend.
Fancy a bit of a blast from the past? One of Greater Manchester‘s favourite retro music festivals, Hits On The Pitch, is back at this Saturday at Stockport Rugby Club in Bramhall, and the organisers of the epic one-day event are promising it’ll be “bigger and better than ever”.
Music lovers from across the region can expect a “celebration” of the “golden age” of music.
Featured Image – Manchester Rum Festival | The Manc Group | HOTP
What's On
Co-op Live and TfGM extends FREE tram travel scheme for event ticket-holders
Emily Sergeant
ADVERTISEMENT
A groundbreaking scheme offering free tram travel to all Co-op Live event ticket-holders has now been extended.
The Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) initiative – which was announced back in March ahead of the massive new arena’s long-awaited opening, and is the first of its kind in the UK – has already seen thousands of ticket holders get to make the most of integrated travel across a Manchester‘s Metrolink tram network over the last couple of months.
When announced, the popular scheme initially applied to anyone who had tickets to events at Co-op Live between 20 April and 30 June.
But now, TfGM has announced that the scheme will continue until the end of this month (July 2024).
Co-op Live and TfGM has extended its free tram travel scheme for event ticket-holders / Credit: Bee Network / TfGM
As part of Co-op Live’s “ongoing commitment to sustainable travel” – which is funded by the venue – the continuation of the initiative means that fans with a valid arena event ticket can use the Metrolink from four hours before, and up to four hours after (depending on the timing of each show), to allow people to travel at a time that’s most convenient to them.
The initiative will remain active across all four Metrolink zones.
The two organisations say the scheme has been been extended because integrated tram travel with all event tickets offers a sustainable alternative to driving, and ensures that fans can make a quick and easy getaway at the end of the night, whether they’re heading back home or into the city centre.
We’re delighted to confirm that Co-op Live ticket holders will continue to enjoy integrated tram travel until the end of July 2024 across the full Metrolink service four hours before and after each event.@BeeNetworkhttps://t.co/imSWuXoaDspic.twitter.com/0k6XWBxM7z
“We’re over the moon to see the positive results of our collaborative sustainable travel initiative with TfGM, and very pleased to be able to extend the offer of integrated tram travel until the end of July,” commented Rebecca Kane Burton, who is Co-op Live’s Interim General Manager, on the scheme extension announcement.
“Alongside recent partnership announcements, it further cements our dedication to give back to the planet, to our local community, and to our fans.”
Emily Sergeant -
3rd July 2024 
