We’re now well into May – and our next opportunity for freedom is just a week away.
With ‘Step Two’ in the government’s roadmap to lifting England’s current national lockdown having already commenced from 12th April, and ‘Step Three’ – which crucially allows up to 30 people from different households to gather outdoors, hospitality to open indoors, indoor entertainment venues to reopen, indoor group sports / exercise classes to commence and more – set to be introduced from 17th May, pending official review, normality has been returning to Greater Manchester week on week.
And there’s plenty to be getting up to.
If you’re stuck for something to do, then this is your go-to guide for what’s on and what’s happening in the city of Manchester and beyond this week.
Some of the events we’re going to mention here are completely free, others will set you back a few pounds, and most will need to be booked in advance – but all are COVID-secure in order to keep you as safe as possible.
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Whatever you fancy doing though, there’s certainly no shortage of choice in our region, so here’s some of the things you can get stuck into.
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World of Music Choir
Band On The Wall (Virtual)
Tuesday 11th May
World of Music Choir
Think you’ve got a good singing voice? Love to sing regardless?
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Organised in Greater Manchester by the city’s iconic music venue, Band On The Wall, but happening every Tuesday at 6pm virtually all across the UK, World of Music Choir invites you to join award-winning folk singer Bella Hardy and the fantastic guest leaders for a workshop of song learning and harmony.
Workshop participants sing traditional and modern songs, three-part harmonies and rounds, all learned by ear, so you don’t have to be able to read music to take part.
The main aim is to enjoy yourself – there’s nothing scary, and no judgements are made.
Now that doors have finally reopened at Oxford Road’s award-winning food, drink and retail destination, Hatch, a brand new series of 60-minute, socially-distanced outdoor (but undercover) social yoga classes have been introduced, which are accompanied by the disco beats of live DJ, Hattie Pearson.
Absolutely everybody is welcome, whether you’ve practiced yoga before or whether you’re mostly coming for the music.
RESET is a studio where everyone has a place, whatever your motivation.
The first ever Chase The Sun 5k, 10k & 10 Mile runs are set to take place in Heaton Park this Wednesday 12th May, giving runners the chance to battle to the finish line before the sun goes down with each kilometre accurately marked out.
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You can play it safe and fly round the 5k, or go for the extra challenge of the 10k or 10 Mile.
There’ll be music, refreshments, a fantastic Heaton Park-themed medal, and a great opportunity for a chip-timed personal best.
Prices range from £22 – £24, and you can register here.
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BRUTAL Exhibition
The Saul Hay Gallery
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Saturday 15th – Sunday 30th May
BRUTAL / The Saul Hay Gallery
BRUTAL – the highly-anticipated exhibition of painting and sculpture reflecting on, celebrating and inspired by the built environment, which has sadly been delayed due to ongoing COVID restrictions – is finally set to open at the Saul Hay Gallery in Castlefield from Saturday 15th May until Sunday 30th May.
The free exhibition will include the works of some of the nation’s best artists specialising in Brutalism – including Mandy Payne, Emma Bennett, William Braithwaite, Dan Broughton and Jen Orpin.
You can find more information via the Saul Hay Gallery website here.
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Creative Makers Fair
Victoria Baths
Saturday 15th & Sunday 16th May
Victoria Baths
To celebrate the reopening of one of the city’s most iconic and historic venues, the Grade II-listed Victoria Baths will be hosting a Creative Makers Fair designed specifically to give some much-needed support to independent makers and businesses after a challenging 12 months and as lockdown begins to lift.
Ideas for the home, textiles, art, gifts and jewellery will be just some of the products being showcased by businesses from the North West.
You can find more information, COVID-safety procedures, and book tickets here.
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Manchester Cheese Crawl
Central Manchester
Saturday 15th May
Geograph / Ian S | Northern Soul Grilled Cheese
The Manchester Cheese Crawl will take you around some of the cheesiest spots the city has to offer for two hours of non-stop cheese-related fun, including everything from blue cheese tasting, to cheese quizzes, competitions and more.
Starting off in St Ann’s Square, the tour wanders across the city and gives you the chance to try the finest cheeses Manchester has to offer along the way.
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With tours taking place this Saturday 8th May, and happening every Saturday until 25th September, tickets cost just £25 each and include cheese samples, optional bread and crackers, and some red wine to complement.
Nestled among the backstreets of Manchester and tucked into the courtyard of an old, red-brick historic mill, Ancoats Pop Up Market is a COVID-safe weekly-run market event which has teamed up with MUD (Manchester Urban Diggers) to supply the neighbourhood with a wealthy selection of fresh, organic and locally-grown fruit and veg, as well as dry goods, all throughout May.
The market also features Manchester-based stallholders serving speciality coffee, locally-brewed rum liquors, locally-sourced bakes and crafts, and more.
Street food and freshly-brewed coffee is also available while you browse.
Manchester’s newest event space is back and it’s better than ever.
Cinemas and entertainment complexes may currently still be closed, but 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 – has launched SecretCity, and there’s a whole host of immersive drive-in entertainment events happening this week.
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There’s screenings of cinema classics such as Mean Girls, Grease, The Greatest Showman, Dirty Dancing, and more all on show throughout the week.
Tickets must be booked in advance, and you can grab yours from £35 per car here.
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Totally Roarsome
Mottram Hall
Monday 10th – Sunday 16th May
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Totally Roarsome
Named by many as being one of the safest attractions for all the family in Greater Manchester, Totally Roarsome took the region by storm last summer after it opened to the public following the initial lifting of coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown restrictions in mid-2020, with visitors flocking from far and wide.
Now at the new location of Mottram Hall, just over the border into Cheshire, Totally Roarsome features everything from dinosaurs, jungle animals and Arctic creatures, to superheroes, pirates and cartoon characters.
Tickets are priced at £7.95 per ticket (+ £1.50 booking fee, per transaction), and must be booked in advance online from the Totally Roarsome Facebook page.
This is to manage and restrict the number of visitors / families being allowed around the attraction at any one at a time, with five minutes between slots, to allow for necessary COVID-safety precautions and social distancing measures to be upheld.
You can find out more information, and book your tickets here.
The OT Art Trail – which has been organised by OT Creative Space and is funded by Arts Council England – sees a number of local artists work together with members of the Manchester community to create six individual large scale murals which have been painted onto walls and building gable ends around the area, including in Seymour Park and Ayres Road.
The new murals have added to murals and artwork already seen around Old Trafford.
The several new street art sites will be linked together via a downloadable audio tour, which is suitable for people of all ages.
Each mural centres around the theme ‘community togetherness and diversity’.
You can find more information on The OT Art Trail via the OT creative SPACE website here.
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons / Matt Short
What's On
A huge festival dedicated to tequila and mezcal is coming to Manchester this month
Daisy Jackson
Manchester’s first-ever Mezcal and Tequila Festival is taking place this month, filling Manchester Cathedral with tastings, masterclasses, cocktails and street food.
The massive event will see the Grade I-listed building transformed into an agave spirits tasting floor, featuring more than 100 varieties of premium tequilas and mezcals from some of Mexico’s best producers including El Jimador, Ojo de Tigre, El Sueno, Los Arcos, Del Maguey, Cazcabel, Komos, Nixta, Tapatio, El Tequileno, Tiempo and many more.
Festival-goers will be able to gain exclusive insights into the craftsmanship behind these spirits, sampling (responsibly, of course) from dozens of stands.
All samples, plus a limited-edition clay tasting copita, will be included in the ticket price – there’s no token system here and no extra charges for samples.
The new Mexican-inspired drinks festival only debuted in Glasgow back in Spring 2023 but it unsurprisingly went down an absolute storm – after all, what’s not to like a big festival full of booze?
Bartenders will stir up cocktails at the bespoke cocktail bar while the crowds are kept fed by delicious street food, including Mexican-inspired Taco Or Don’t, previously featured at the British Streetfood Awards.
And it’d be remiss of you to leave the festival empty-handed when you can take a taste of Mexico home from the exclusive bottle shop provided by Drinkmonger on site (with discount tokens included in the ticket price).
A tequila and mezcal festival is heading on Manchester. Credit: Supplied
Colin Campbell, one of Copita’s co-founders said: “We’re really excited to be bringing Copita to Manchester. It’s gone down brilliantly in Glasgow the last two years so we felt now was the right time to take it on the road and we couldn’t think of a better place than Manchester to head to next!
“It’s a really easy-going event with a great atmosphere, lots of local street food, shopping and music, so whether you’re an aficionado or a casual sipper we’re confident you’ll have a great time.”
The Copita Mezcal and Tequila Festival will be at Manchester Cathedral on Saturday 14 September.
The best things to do in Greater Manchester this week | 9 – 15 September 2024
Emily Sergeant
We’re into our second full week of September now, and summer is already beginning to feel like a distant memory.
For many people, the end of summer can sometimes mean the end of all the fun and the start of the cosy season, but as we head into autumn, there’s still absolutely no shortage of things for all the family to be getting up to across Greater Manchester.
If you’re 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.
Here’s some of our recommendations.
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Heritage Open Days 2024
Greater Manchester
Monday 9 – Sunday 15 September
Heritage Open Days / Credit: Chris Lacey | Paul Harris (via HODs)
The UK’s largest festival of history and culture has returned this week, and there’s thousands of free events on the lineup.
Back by popular demand, the National Trust’s ‘Heritage Open Days’ are run by thousands of local organisations and volunteers, and they’re all about bringing people together to celebrate their culture, community, and history.
From historic houses, factories, and museums, to music halls, formal gardens, and graveyards, countless of places and spaces across the country – including loads here in Greater Manchester – are open to the public, all without having to spend a penny.
Find out more about everything on the lineup here.
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Injecting Hope: The race for a COVID-19 vaccine
Science and Industry Museum
Monday 9 September – onwards
Injecting Hope: The race for a COVID-19 vaccine / Credit: Science Museum Group
More than 100 objects and stories collected during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic are now on display as part of a new exhibition at the Science and Industry Museum.
The groundbreaking new exhibition, titled Injecting Hope: The race for a COVID-19 vaccine, explores the worldwide effort to develop vaccines at pandemic speed, while uncovering the inspiring stories of scientists and innovators around the globe who collaborated to tackle the worldwide COVID-19 challenge along the way.
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.
The exhibition will also crucially look at how we can tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis by making the world more wild.
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.
Manc visitors will be able to walk through the iconic Jurassic World gates, explore some richly-themed environments, and encounter a life-sized Brachiosaurus, Velociraptors, and the most fearsome dinosaur of all, the mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex.
You can be in with a chance of winning one of hundreds of free prizes just by heading down to Spinningfields this week.
In case you hadn’t heard, Spinningfields has just launched a brand-new app that’s now available to download, and in a bid to mark the occasion and properly celebrate this exciting launch, the city centre leisure and business district will be hosting an epic ‘Spin to Win’ event where “everyone’s a winner” on Tuesday from 8am.
There’ll be free coffee and free prizes to make the most of, all for just downloading a free app.
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.
Did you see that Bolton has launched its own ‘Hollywood of the North’ TV and film location tours around the town centre?
Merely months after being named Greater Manchester’s new ‘Town of Culture’, Bolton is already proving why 2024 is its year, as the town is celebrating its shiny new title by celebrating all the times it has been chosen as a filming location for dozens of major film and TV productions over the years.
These new behind-the-scenes tours are led by local historian and professional tour guide, Suzanne Hindle, and will feature all of the town’s famous filming spots.
Bolton Film & TV Tours / Credit: Supplied | BBC
Visitors will get to explore places such as court rooms, cells, and Crescent corridors whilst hearing tales of how the industry adapt these unexpected locations to set the scene.
Known and loved for being one of the best musicals the 21st Century – and one of the funniest of all time – having scooped up dozens of coveted awards both in the US and here in the UK in its time, The Book of Mormon is currently out on tour, and the Elders are set to arrive in our city this week for an extended stay.
The hilarious production will be taking over the iconic Palace Theatre stage from this Wednesday until early October, and there’s still chance to grab yourself some tickets too.
A new science and tech festival for all the family is coming to Cheshire this weekend to help “inspire young minds”.
Set to descend on the grounds of Bruntwood SciTech’s Alderley Park – a unique place where world-leading science, innovation, and stylish living all come together in the Cheshire countryside – SciTech Extravaganza will be a day filled full of fun science-themed shows, interactive activities, new skill-building opportunities, and more.
The brand-new family festival is designed to “spark curiosity” and “encourage engagement” through STEM-related learning.
Emily Sergeant -
6th May 2021 
