It’s February half term in Greater Manchester this week.
2022 is really starting to kick into action now, and with schools out across the region, there’s plenty packed into the events calendar, especially for families, so we’ve cherry-picked a few of the best things happening this week to put together another fresh edition of our ‘what’s on’ guide for the city of Manchester and beyond.
As always, some of the events we’re going to mention here are completely free, which is great for those looking to keep things on the cheaper side, while others will set you back a few pounds, and many will need to be booked in advance.
Here’s our top picks.
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Outdoor Fairground
Trafford Centre
Monday 21 – Sunday 27 February
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Credit: Trafford Centre
After a successful stay last summer, the Trafford Centre has confirmed that its popular outdoor fairground is once again reopening outside the Great Hall for February half term this week, and it sounds like it’s set to be the perfect day trip if you’re looking to entertain the little ones as there’ll be exhilarating rides for both children and adults, including The Wave Swinger, Apple Coaster, and Fun House.
You can also make a day of it too and head indoors to grab a drink, light bite, or hearty meal at on of the shopping centre’s delicious choice of restaurants, cafes, and bars.
You can find out more on the Trafford Centre website here.
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Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition
Trafford Palazzo
Monday 21 February – onwards
The Sistine Chapel is home to arguably the most awe-inspiring work of art on the planet – and now it’s been recreated here in Greater Manchester.
Previously, people would have to travel to Vatican City to see the collection of intricate paintings that cover the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, but now the frescoes have been recreated as huge prints covering walls and ceilings at a new immersive exhibition that’s taken over Trafford Palazzo (formerly Barton Square), giving visitors a chance to see them on the same scale as Michelangelo.
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Running between Friday 11 February and Sunday 27 March, it gives a life-size perspective of this remarkable feat of artistry.
A new ‘Fireground’ experience has opened up inside an old museum, and it gives kids the chance to play at being firefighters for a day.
Newly-opened attraction Fireground Rochdale has replaced the Greater Manchester Fire Service Museum in Rochdale’s old fire station, and it has everything from fully-restored fire engines, historic horse-drawn fire carriages, and manual hand-operated pumps, to an immersive Victorian street scene, and a scene from the blitz complete with lighting and sound effects all under one roof.
But probably one of the best parts about the new attraction for children is the interactive display elements that are there to teach them about the fire service’s impressive and extensive history.
Did you see that a massive new attraction has opened in the heart of Manchester city centre, and it’s giving visitors the chance to take on The Cube?
Spread over two floors and spanning 4,000 sq metres, Urban Playground has taken over a row of units that once housed Arcadia shops Burton, Miss Selfridge, Evans and Dorothy Perkins, and inside, there’s a high-tech mini golf experience, and the first UK branch of burger restaurant The Butcher.
ITV’s The Cube has also been brought to life at Urban Playground, with teams of four taking on deceptively-simple tasks inside the high-pressure confines of the familiar perspex box, with games like taking on obstacles blindfolded and collecting balls in a set time window.
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Tickets for ‘The Cube Live’ range from £30 to £45, and you can find out more here.
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Half Term at the Science and Industry Museum
Manchester City Centre
Monday 21 – Sunday 27 February
Credit: Science and Industry Museum
From taking a journey around the human body, to discovering the birth of computing, and more, there’s so much happening Science and Industry Museum this February half term, so if you’re looking for some science-filled fun and discovery when the schools are out in Greater Manchester, then one of the city’s most-loved museums is giving you the chance to explore a whole host existing exhibitions and take part in some exiting experiments.
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Cancer Revolution: Science, innovation and hope and A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley are two of the most-popular exhibitions currently on at the museum, and there’s plenty of other shows, including the Revolution Manchester Show, to catch too.
You can find out more about what’s on at the Science and Industry Museum, and grab your tickets here.
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Six Nations at Escape to Freight Island
Depot Mayfield
Monday 21 February – onwards
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The 2022 Six Nations Championship kicked-off a couple of weeks ago, and Manchester’s ever-popular food, drink, and events hub, Escape to Freight Island, is hosting the biggest fanzone in the UK outside of London to present all of the games throughout the tournament, in partnership with event sponsors Guinness.
A dedicated space within the much-loved Depot Mayfield venue has been transformed for rugby-lovers to stay and watch the games.
Street food will come courtesy of residents Ace Dogs, and another trader soon-to-be-announced.
One of the North West’s most-popular outdoor events has reopened near Manchester, and it’s an ideal day out for families this half term.
For the past two years, Totally Roarsome has taken the region by storm and has seen visitors flock from far and wide after it opened in untouched woodland following the initial lifting of lockdown restrictions in mid-2020, before returning after popular demand for the Easter half term in 2021.
And now, it’s found a new home for 2022’s event at Arley Hall in Cheshire.
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There’ll be more than 200 individual dinosaur models making up the woodland trail this year, with tickets priced at £8.95 and already selling fast.
Over 100,000 people have been to visit theVan Gogh Alive experience since it arrived at MediaCity UK a couple of months back.
And now this is your last week to catch its stay in Salford.
Van Gogh Alive takes people on a trip through the periods of Van Gogh’s life that defined him as an artist and showcases 3,000 images, including some of his most iconic works like Starry Night and Sunflowers, and lesser-known paintings inspired by his love of Japanese woodprints. The exhibition is home to a life-sized walk-in representation of Van Gogh’s ‘Bedroom in Arles’ painting, a ‘Sunflower selfie room’ – a 360° mirrored space complete with hundreds of sunflowers, and so much more
Tickets are priced at £23.50 for adults and £16.50 for children, with concessions and school group discounts available. Visitors to the exhibition will have the opportunity to make a donation to The Christie charity either when purchasing tickets, or while at the exhibition.
Manchester’s highest restaurant and bar, 20 Stories is hosting a cupcake masterclass led by Head Pastry Chef, Ethan Ballan.
Children will be able to let their imaginations runs wild high above Manchester, become chefs for the morning, and be taught piping techniques and put to work on four of their own cupcakes to decorate.
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This will be followed by a dining experience at 12pm in the restaurant from the 20 Stories Children’s Menu, which will include a three-course lunch and a soft drink, and there will also be the option for adults to dine from the A La Carte menu alongside their little ones, and cheers with a glass of Perrier Jouët Blason Rosé over the city too.
The cupcake masterclass sitting will be 11am-12pm, and costs £25 per child.
Two of the most popular foodie favourite events are back at Manchester’s largest street food fair GRUB – which is currently based at the Red Bank Project just outside of the city centre in Cheetham Hill.
The GRUB Food Fair this week will see the likes of Archchi’s, Little Yeti, Ur Buns, and Bakeorama serve a wide range of mouthwatering delights for you to try, while on Sunday, whether you’re plant based or just curious, there’ll be big handful of the finest vegan food traders there for Plant Powered Sundays to show you what it’s all about.
Both events are free to attend, and you can find more information here.
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Camelot Rises
Chorley
Thursday 24 – Sunday 27 February
Credit: Jason Roberts
28 Days Later, Insidious, and The Ring are just some of the chilling films showing at the North West’s newest immersive drive-in cinema this week.
Northern kids of the 80s, 90s, and 00s will get the chance to revisit their youth and return to the legendary medieval-themed Camelot Theme Park in Chorley, which sadly closed for good back in 2012 and has been largely abandoned and derelict ever since.
This is an experience like no other though.
Hosted by Park N Party – the team also behind sell-out seasonal drive-in events SecretCity, ScareCity, and ChristmasCity – visitors in up to 300 cars get to park up and watch a series of horror films across 12 weeks at ‘Camelot Rises’, but only after they have survived a terrifying one-mile journey through what has been described as a “zombie-infested wasteland”.
You can find out more about Camelot Rises and grab tickets here.
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Macaron Making Class
Food Sorcery
Saturday 26 February
Credit: Food Sorcery
Didsbury’s very-own cookery school is hosting a highly-requested macaron making class for all abilities this weekend hosted by with Steph Clubb, who’ll take you through all of the key techniques needed to create these notorious bakes, including how to make the macaron shell, how to make fillings that “tantalise your tastebuds” and enhance your piping skills.
This class is designed to give you the confidence to go home and practice all of these techniques time and time again.
Refreshments will be included throughout the class, copies of the recipes will be emailed to you afterwards, and you’ll get to take your tasty bakes home at the end.
You can find out more, and book tickets on the Food Sorcery website here.
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Manchester Cheese Crawl
Manchester City Centre
Friday 25 February – onwards
Credit: Flickr
In what is undeniably the stuff of dreams for cheese lovers, you can now take part in a cheese and wine crawl around Manchester city centre.
Manchester is city that’s packed with culture.
But if you don’t fancy seeing the sights through one of the more typical tours, 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.
Tickets cost just £25 each, and include cheese samples, optional bread and crackers, and some red wine to complement.
Crafty Families is an exciting and engaging art class for families and under 11’s with a different theme each week, meaning you’ll leave the session having created your own piece of art.
This week, those who attend Crafty Families will get to celebrate The Quays in a “fun and engaging” session to learn a bit about the history of Salford and The Quays, all while making your own 3D model of the area.
Featured Image – Escape to Freight Island | Trafford Centre
What's On
The best things to do in Greater Manchester this week | 2 – 8 February 2026
Emily Sergeant
Hello February, it’s nice to see you.
A new month is here, the days are getting lighter, and spring is on the horizon, so of course, we’re really not short of exciting activities and events to be getting up to right across Greater Manchester – with everything from 360° walk-through projection shows and pie festivals happening this week.
Finding it a bit tricky to pick what to do though? No worries. We’ve chosen a few of the highlights for another edition of our ‘what’s on‘ guide.
Both free things and those that’ll set you back a few pennies are featured.
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The Festival of Pie 2026
The Black Friar
Monday 2 – 28 February
The Festival of Pie 2026 / Credit: The Manc Group
Did someone say £10 pie? The Festival of Pie is back at The Black Friar is Salford, and in case you didn’t know, that means delicious handmade pies are yours for a bargain price all month long.
Pick from the classic meat and potato, or opt for something a little different like garlic, chicken and leek, mushroom keema and onion bhaji, and our personal favourite, the truffle dauphinoise. Plus, you can add sides like mash and peas for just £3.
The deal is available all day Monday and Tuesday, and 12pm-6.30pm Wednesday to Friday, so don’t miss out before it’s too late.
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LUMINISCENCE
Manchester Cathedral
Monday 2 February – 26 March
LUMINISCENCE / Credit: Supplied
Manchester Cathedral has been lit up with a ‘truly stunning’ new 360° walk-through projection show this winter.
Combining 360° video mapping, new orchestral arrangements of iconic songs, and a narrative story celebrating everything that makes Manchester and its residents so special, visitors are now invited to step into a ‘spellbinding fusion’ of light, sound, and storytelling.
LUMINISCENCE pays tribute to Manchester’s rich cultural heritage through specially arranged orchestral renditions of iconic anthems – with the setlist including songs by Oasis, The Verve, Joy Division, and Elbow, just to name a few.
A huge gaming event is happening in Manchester at the moment.
With more than 160 consoles and hundreds of games to play, Power UP at the Science and Industry takes ticket-holders on a journey through five decades of gaming, with everything from retro arcade games, to state-of-the-art virtual reality, and so much more.
Power UP is taking place each weekend only throughout this month, with each ticket including unlimited play all day.
L.S. Lowry’s iconic masterpiece ‘Going to the Match’ is being brought to life right before your eyes in this brand-new exhibition now open at The Lowry.
LOWRY 360 is an immersive experience forming part of the legendary The Lowry theatre’s 25th anniversary programme, and it means that, for the first time ever, you can see one of Manchester’s most famous paintings by, arguably, the city’s most famous artist come to life through sight and sound.
Better yet, after you’ve immersed yourself in this incredible experience, then you can then see the actual painting in the full gallery – Modern Life: The LS Lowry Exhibition.
Manchester’s swankiest postcode has a brand new resident, and just days after quietly opening its doors, it’s already looking pretty popular.
Kouba is a brand-new Lebanese spot serving everything from brunches and coffees, to Middle Eastern grills and shisha. It’s an all-day, beautiful restaurant with a menu of freshly-cooked, halal food, and it’s going to be absolutely rammed.
Looking to escape the elements and have your mind boggled this winter? Sounds like a trip to Museum of Illusions is on the cards then.
It’s time to let your competitive side out – get ready to experience the city’s most unique attraction like never before. Race through the vortex, create the best mirror image, and complete the brain gym the fastest to win the dazzling trophy at the end.
Whether you’re team building with your work lot, or taking your mates for a bit of healthy competition, it’s a great one to have a go at.
Horrible Histories – The Concert / Credit: BBC / Supplied
For the very first time, your favourite songs and characters from the BAFTA Award-winning CBBC TV series Horrible Histories will be appearing live (and dead) on stage in our city.
Taking to the Manchester Opera House stage, featuring a live band performing the sensational TV songs, including guest appearances from Charles II, Dick Turpin and a bunch of Vikings that we couldn’t stop barging through the stage door, this is one show you don’t want to miss.
A brand-new dessert spot has opened its doors (or should that be windows) in Ancoats this week, and there’s just one thing on the menu… tiramisu. Layr is a hole-in-the-wall for dessert, with three different tiramisu flavours on offer – pistachio, matcha, and classic.
These perfectly-portioned puds are all freshly-made, alcohol-free, and halal.
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Bubble Planet Experience
Depot Mayfield
Saturday 7 February – onwards
Manchester will welcome a ‘dreamlike world’ filled with giant colourful bubbles this week when Bubble Planet Experience arrives.
Bubble Planet Experience has already been visited by more than four million people in cities across the globe, but now it’s time for its first trip to Manchester, where it’ll pop up inside Depot Mayfield, and visitors will be able to explore 10 themed rooms, each one offering a different surreal landscape that will ‘blur the boundaries between dream and reality’.
Tim Burgess – Live and In Conversation / Credit: Supplied
Tim Burgess returns to AO Arena by popular demand, once again, for Q&A-Sides with Chris Hawkins.
Fans of the iconic musician are in for a treat, as you’ll be treated to an intimate evening of acoustic music and conversation.
This setting offers a unique opportunity for fans to connect with The Charlatans frontman, as he reflects on his storied career, musical inspirations, and personal anecdotes, so expect candid stories, unforgettable music, and more.
Read our full interview with Tim and get your last-minute tickets here.
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Featured Image – Supplied | The Manc Group
What's On
Manchester Pride WILL return for 2026, including the parade and party
Daisy Jackson
Manchester Pride will be returning to the city this summer, complete with the legendary parade, a party in the Gay Village, and the annual candlelit vigil.
The LGBTQ+ celebration’s future had been thrown into doubt following the collapse of the Manchester Pride Events Ltd company last year.
But now it’s been announced that the beloved event will return, delivered by a not-for-profit, Community Interest Company with a board of unpaid directors. t
Every pound of profit will go to supporting LGBTQ+ charities, grassroots organisations and community services.
Manchester Village Pride will have the backing of key partners including Manchester City Council, Marketing Manchester, Cityco and Equity, alongside LGBTQ+ organisations, charities and community stakeholders.
Plans are now in place for Pride to return over August Bank Holiday weekend again, between Friday 28 and Monday 31 August.
Over four days, Mancs will be able to gather together for the parade, the Village party, and the vigil, plus a vibrant Pride Fringe of arts, culture and nightlife events.
Manchester Village Party has received £120,000 from village venues, reflecting the determination of local LGBTQ+ businesses to safeguard Pride and ensure it remains rooted in the community which created it.
Carl Austin-Behan, one of the founding board members and spokesperson for Manchester Village Pride CIC, said: “Manchester Village Pride is built around a simple belief. Pride has a home – and that home is the Village – but Pride belongs to everyone.
“This is a really exciting time for our community. We have a chance to start again. 2026 is a year of rebuilding, reestablishing trust, reconnecting with Pride’s origins and reinforcing the role of the Village as the heart of the celebration.
“From 2027 onwards MVP plans to develop a wider programme of citywide activity around Pride.
“Bringing Pride home to the Village is about more than location. It is a commitment to responsibility: paying artists properly, funding community groups, supporting charities, protecting LGBTQ+ heritage – and building a sustainable future for Pride in Manchester.”
Deputy Council Leader Cllr Garry Bridges said: “Pride is vital for Manchester, as a symbol of our welcoming and inclusive city, a chance to celebrate our LGBTQ+ communities and to highlight injustices which still exist.
“The Council have always been clear that Pride must happen this year. Manchester Village Pride came to us with a strong and credible plan which we are happy to support. Who better to organise our city’s Pride than the people who work with our LGBTQ+ communities all year round?”
Rachel Bottomley, Managing Director of the LGBT Foundation, said: “We’re proud to stand alongside Manchester Village Pride as it rebuilds a celebration shaped by and for the community. This renewed focus on community and transparency is an opportunity to ensure LGBTQ+ people across Greater Manchester feel supported, represented, and empowered. We look forward to playing our part in continuing to spread hope and joy, with our Village Angels helping keep people safe over the Manchester Village Pride weekend.”
Darren Knight, Chief Executive of George House Trust, said: “George House Trust’s history is built on the passion and determination of Greater Manchester’s LGBTQ+ community. For the last 40 years, the August Bank Holiday weekend in Manchester has been about inclusion, voice and making life better for people! Everyone at George House Trust is proud to stand in solidarity to ensure that for 2026 and beyond, there’s no change in that.Pride has always been, and will always be, for everyone.
“It’s great to see this community response and we hope we see you at the vigil.”
Karen Lockney, Equity’s North West Official said: “Equity is delighted that Manchester Village Pride will be signing an Equity agreement – the first ever UK union agreement for a Pride event. Not only will this guarantee fair pay and professional industry standards for all performers, but it also provides the workers of a Manchester Village Pride with a meaningful dialogue and a say over the terms of their work.
“Pride events fight for the rights of the LGBT+ community and that must include workers’ rights. We hope other Pride organisations will follow Manchester Village Pride’s fantastic example. This is testament to the work of members of Equity’s Drag Network, staff, and Equity members in the Village and our Greater Manchester branch.
“We have consistently called for unionised terms and conditions for Pride, and this positive development will restore the trust of our members in the event. They can be confident they will be paid and treated fairly in future. These are exciting developments, part of giving Manchester the Pride it deserves. An Equity Pride agreement is something for which the city should be truly proud.”
Emily Sergeant -
18th February 2022 
