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Queer Up North launches digital archive full of visual art and more from legendary Manchester festival

A festival vital to Manchester's queer history and the lasting impact it had.

Lydia Mastrolonardo Lydia Mastrolonardo - 9th October 2026

A new digital archive documenting the legendary Queer Up North festival has launched this month.

Running for an illustrious decade from 1992 to 2002, Queer Up North was the first multi-artform LGBTQ+ festival in Europe, but its significance has extended far beyond the arts as a beacon for queer culture, and is largely described as being one of the most pioneering and influential festivals ever. 

From the very start, Queer Up North had an international standpoint – gaining support and recognition from much further afield as well as here in Manchester.

The festival emerged during a period where Manchester’s queer communities were navigating new ways to gain visibility and to create culture on their own terms.

It played a central role in uniting artists, performers, audiences, and venues – helping to establish Manchester as an international destination for LGBTQ+ arts and culture.

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The newly launched digital archive shares materials from the iconic festival’s history, making them easily accessible to the public online for the first time, and for free.

The curated collection features 1420 images, 275 artefacts, and 29 oral histories revealing amazing stories about the people, performances, art, club nights, cabaret, and comedy that all helped to shape culture in Manchester during the 90s.

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It offers a chance to explore a pivotal decade of Manchester’s history and understand how a generation of artists, performers, and audiences created a whole host of new opportunities for the Mancunian queer community.

Queer Up North launches digital archive full of visual art and more from legendary Manchester festival / Credit: Jonathan Keenan (Supplied)

It also facilitates a platform for new work, inspired by the legacy of Queer Up North, with founders emphasising that its purpose is as much about the future, as it is the past.

Tanja Farman and Gavin Barlow, founder-directors of Queer Up North shared: “The festival set out to be pioneering, innovative, international and inspirational, and looking back 34 years later, is it incredibly exciting to see that history preserved and celebrated.

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“The Queer Up North Archive ensures that the creativity and contributions of LGBTQ+ artists and communities are remembered, while opening up their work and stories to a new generation.

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“We hope that, in discovering this history, they will find inspiration for their own futures.”

Find out more and access the archive here.

Featured Image – Dave Kendrick (Supplied)

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The most magical Christmas displays have now landed at one of the North West’s best garden centres

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Christmas has officially arrived at one of the best garden centres in the North West, and it’s just as magical as you’d hope it would be.

Just outside of Greater Manchester in the village of Glazebury in Warrington, you’ll find Bents Garden and Home – a multi award-winning destination garden centre that’s often voted one of the region’s best. It’s great place to visit all year round, but as anyone who has ever made the trip there will tell you, this place really comes alive during the festive season.

Bents first started out life all the way back in 1937, when Alfred and Margaret Bent began growing and selling roses in the front garden of their terraced house in Glazebury.

Ever since then, the business has gone from strength to strength – opening its first dedicated garden centre building in the early 1950s, and then undergoing several expansions in the 60 years that followed to create the place we know and love today.

A place that’s home to everything you need to kit out your home and garden, several cafes and restaurants, a food hall, a cook shop, a children’s boutique, and plenty more.

Christmas has arrived at Bents Garden and Home for 2026 / Credit: The Manc Group

And then at Christmas time, you can also get to wander around all the magical festive displays and stop for a bite to eat at the winter food markets.

Christmas at Bents originally began in the 1970s, establishing what would become one of the garden centre’s most successful – and favourite – times of the year, with people travelling in their thousands from all across the North West to visit, making it an annual tradition in the festive events calendar for many families.

With a jaw-dropping display to suit everyone’s festive decor tastes, Christmas at Bents really does need to be seen to be believed.

Expertly decorated trees form the centrepiece of each display, with all the baubles and decorations adorning them for sale by the side for you to recreate yourself at home.

Walking around the centre, you’ll also find every type of artificial tree (both normal and pre-lit), an array of fairy lights, wreaths, and garlands, before you arrive at what is sure to be one of the best Christmas Lemax Model Village set-ups you’ve probably ever seen.

A trip to Bents is an annual festive tradition for thousands across the North West / Credit: The Manc Group

Then, once you’ve filled your basket up with all the decs you need, you have to stop off at the Winter Food Markets before you head home.

There’s a wide array of different street food options to choose from like bratwursts, giant filled Yorkshire puddings, loaded fries, nachos, mac and cheese, crepes, churros, and build-your-own crumble, before taking a pew in one of the little wooden huts and washing it all down with festive-themed hot chocolates and mulled wine.

Don’t forget to stop off at the food hall, farm shop, and deli counters to stock up on plenty of goodies there before you leave too.

Basically, if you’ve never been to Bents before, we honestly cannot recommend it enough – even more so during Christmas time.

Don’t forget to stop off at the Winter Food Markets before heading home / Credit: The Manc Group

But it is really important to note that it does get very busy here, especially on weekends and at peak times like the run up to Christmas.

So you may have to be prepared to patiently wait for parking spaces and cooperate with your fellow shoppers, as well as join queues at the cafes and restaurants, all while respecting the hard-working staff at all times.

Let’s be as respectful as possible, and make this a place where everyone can enjoy a magical festive experience in 2026.

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Bents Garden and Home is open from 8:30am-9pm on Monday to Saturday, and 10:30am-4pm on Sundays, with the store open for browsing from 9am.

Find out more and plan your trip HERE.

Featured Image – The Manc Group

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Science and Industry Museum’s adults-only ‘after hours’ event returns with a Halloween twist this month

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

A popular adults-only ‘after hours’ event is returning to Manchester later this month… and there’s some spooky surprises in store.

If you need an excuse to leave the little Mancs at home, or you just fancy releasing your inner child, then one of Manchester’s most visited museums might have just what you’re looking for, as the Science and Industry Museum has announced that its popular After Hours event especially for adults is returning for one night only at the end of the month.

The museum will become your playground once it’s closed for the day as you settle in for a unique evening of live music, giant interactive games, and spooky surprises for Halloween. 

Science and Industry Museum’s adults-only ‘after hours’ event returns with a Halloween twist this month / Credit: Science Museum Group

The Museum’s permanent galleries and displays will be open after hours, so you can get hands-on with science in Experiment, meet mighty machines in the Textiles Gallery, and discover Manchester‘s rich legacy of industrial innovations, creativity, and world-changing ideas in Revolution Manchester.

You’ll also get free access to the popular Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos exhibition, which just opened earlier this year, and get to indulge your playful side in Power Up – with more than 150 consoles to choose from in the ultimate gaming extravaganza. 

Especially for spooky season, you can look forward to some very special one-off events too, like stellar performances from Manchester drag royalty, Anna Phylactic, a cosmic cabaret with live vocals, and a monster mash-up soundtrack guaranteed to get you into the Halloween spirit. 

There’ll also be a chance to meet Albert Slime-stein – a larger-than-life monster popping up the museum as part of Halloween in the City’s iconic Manchester Monsters trail.

And as this is an adults-only event, the museum’s events bar will be open on the night, serving up a wide range of wines, beers, and non-alcoholic drinks to wet your whistle while you’re looking around, with some delicious food to accompany too.

Museum After Hours is happening on Thursday 29 October from 7pm-10pm, with tickets setting you back £12 each or £6 for concessions.

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Book your place and grab your tickets here.

Featured Image – Science Museum Group

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