Today is World Bee Day – and one of Manchester’s top entertainment venues has unveiled a lineup of “buzzing summer” events to celebrate.
Printworks is dedicating the month of June to the 100,000 honey bees that live on its rooftop.
As well as announcing the packed lineup of events on the annual UN-designated World Bee Day – which is all about raising awareness of the importance of bees, the threats they face, and their contribution to sustainable development – Printworks is also launching new pollination stations around the venue especially for the rooftop bees to enjoy.
The venue will be getting itself a fresh new look, with planters of flowers for pollination stations, three honeycomb-inspired sculptures installed outside for Mancs to take pictures with, and four wildlife-friendly planters.
On top of all the fresh flowers ready for the 2022 Manchester Flower Show, these seven installations offer a little bit more than just some colourful content an Instagram feed.
Throughout June, anyone who uploads their photo with the honeycomb planters to Facebook and Instagram tagging Printworks will be in with a chance of winning a bee-keeping experience, as well as a meal at one of Printworks’ venues.
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Printworks has unveiled a lineup of “buzzing summer” events for next month / Credit: Supplied
What’s more, is that each planter contains a QR code, which can be scanned to adopt a Manchester Bee for just £2 – with 100% of the donation going to local charity, Forever Manchester.
Forever Manchester and Printworks work closely together to look after the bees that live on the Printworks roof.
Then, from 1-7 June, fans of a tipple can also take part in a cocktail trail for The Manchester Flower Show, as selected venues inside the Printworks have put their own “sting” on The Buzz cocktail – which will be decorated with unique floral garnishes and bee-themed toppers, and again, a portion of the cost donated to Forever Manchester.
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Head to Frankie & Benny’s, Treetop Adventure Golf, Floripa, Hard Rock Café, Bierkeller or Cargo to check them out.
Forever Manchester and Printworks work closely together to look after the bees that live on the Printworks roof / Credit: Forever Manchester
“The worker bee embodies Manchester and its people,” said Jason Shay – Centre Director at Printworks.
“We’re excited to give a little love back to our bees and our people to offer this incredible experience, while also helping our local community through our partnership with Forever Manchester [and] we’re looking forward to all the competition entries and putting the cocktails to the taste test.
“There’ll be plenty of fun for everyone with the bees being the buzz for families and our cocktail trail offering something exciting for our visitors.”
Featured Image – Printworks
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A dedicated anime, movie and gaming concert with a live orchestra is coming to Manchester
Danny Jones
Calling all self-proclaimed otakus, cinephiles and gamers: a huge concert experience will see dozens of musicians bring classic anime, film and gaming soundtracks and scores to life later this year, right here in Manchester.
The city is no stranger to events celebrating these beloved kinds of media, but you’ll struggle to find another bringing all of them together in one place.
Brought to us Mancs by KIN Music Entertainment, a locally founded arts, events and music label, this celebration of all things pop culture – and specifically, the music tied to it.
Entitled ‘The Kin & Fushigi Anime, Film & Videogame Orchestra’, this passionate collective serves as not only a platform for rising artists but also to hear some iconic sonic moments like never before.
KIN have created a large-scale live concert experience which will bring together a 25-piece pop orchestra made up of emerging professional performers and conservatoire graduates.
Aside from the impressive total of people behind this production to begin with, they also form an immersive hybrid orchestral and live band capable of bringing.
Speaking on the upcoming date, KIN Entertainment said in a statement: “We wanted to create the kind of live experience that many anime and videogame fans in Manchester have been waiting for — something cinematic, emotional and community-driven that brings these sound worlds to life with the energy of both an orchestra and a live band.”
Kin was founded by bassist, composer and ensemble performer Alejandro Urbina Diaz, who first brought his talents and wider interests over from Mexico to the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) here in the city centre at the age of 23.
Citing Manchester’s multiculturalism and cosmopolitan cultural fabric as a big part of his inspiration, he and his team have ended up carving out this niche for themselves, and now they’ll be playing this beloved music to Mancs at none other than the O2 Ritz.
Credit: KIN Music Entertainment (supplied via Academy Music Group Digital)
With new arrangements inspired by anime, cinematic and videogame culture, not to mention orchestral and even rock crossover twists – including both vocalist and rhythm sections, by the way – it’s set to be a highly unique experience that most will have never come across before.
This event itself is suitable for audiences aged 14+, although under-16s must be accompanied by an adult, and it’s taking place at the Ritz on Sunday, 26 July.
We’re not going to spoil any more details about the show for you, so which particular pieces of pop culture they reference will just have to be a surprise…
Featured Images — Publicity pictures (supplied via AMG Digital)
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You can now get Deep South-inspired BBQ dishes on Manchester’s Deansgate
Daisy Jackson
There’s a brand-new menu of smokehouse-style BBQ dishes being served up on a sunny terrace on Deansgate.
Motley, the neighbourhood bar and restaurant on the corner of John Dalton Street, has added an authentic smoker to its kitchen.
That means they’ve got a whole load of new dishes, slow-cooked over hickory wood, that are bringing a taste of a Deep South BBQ to Manchester city centre.
The smokehouse-style meats are all seasoned in-house and cooked for hours, for a perfect fall-off-the-bone experience.
It might be an authentic American smokehouse menu, but it’s firmly British too, with most products locally sourced.
You can now get Deep South-inspired BBQ dishes on Deansgate / Credit: The Manc Group
Motley are calling on local suppliers like Althams Butchers (established since 1856) for their meat, plus greengrocers R Noone and Son, and Cheshire Farm for their real dairy ice cream.
Signature dishes on the new menu at Motley include slow smoked brisket, seasoned in Motley’s signature rub before being slow-smoked for more than eight hours.
There’s also a beef short rib with a chimichurri sauce, and a pork belly strip that’s seasoned with sage and onion and finished with a panko breadcrumb crust.
And for the veggies, there’s a vegan smoked veg kebab with courgette, mushrooms, bell pepper, sweet corn and red onion drizzled with homemade BBQ sauce.
Motley has added an authentic smoker to its kitchen / Credit: The Manc Group
Prices across the board start from just £16, served with beef dripping fries, rainbow slaw, pickles and homemade beef gravy.
As for small plates, you can expect short rib bonbons, homemade corn bread, spicy chicken wings, bang bang cauliflower, mac and cheese, and frickles.
House favourites like steak, vegetable hash, salads, and burgers will remain on the Motley menu.
Victor Gonzalez, food and beverage manager at Motley, said: “Our new signature smoked dishes are all crafted and seasoned in-house then slow cooked for hours over hickory wood to create rich and smoky melt-in-your mouth flavours.
“From our slow-smoked brisket to our home-made sides, everything has been carefully crafted to bring an authentic taste of the deep south to Manchester and we can’t wait for guests to try it.”
Motley can be found at 2 John Dalton Street on the corner of Deansgate in the city centre.
Emily Sergeant -
20th May 2022 
