There’s only a couple of days of the shortest month of the year left, before March rolls around once again.
With February’s half term and themed days having now been and gone, a new month always means there’s plenty to be getting up to throughout Greater Manchester, so we’ve cherry-picked a few of the best bits happening this week for another edition of our ‘what’s on‘ guide.
As always, some of the events we’re going to mention are completely free, 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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Manchester Museum
Manchester City Centre
Monday 27 February – onwards
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Manchester Museum / Credit: The Manc Group
Manchester Museum has finally reopened to the public after an ambitious £15 million transformation project.
After an 18-month refurbishment, the cultural institution – which is part of the University of Manchester – has expanded into a modern new two-storey extension, with new exhibition spaces and inclusive facilities added into the space.
New spaces inside include a brand new Exhibition Hall, which has opened with the blockbuster exhibition Golden Mummies of Egypt, where visitors get an unparalleled access to more than 100 objects and eight mummies in a UK debut, while the new extension also includes the South Asia Gallery, which will be the UK’s first permanent space to explore the lived experience of South Asian diaspora communities.
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There’s a new dinosaur in town too, joining the museum’s legendary T-Rex Stan.
LGBTQIA+ History Month with Cheddar Gorgeous / Credit: Supplied
Cheddar Gorgeous’ iconic Pink Triangle outfit is on show at Refuge throughout LGBTQIA+ History Month, and there’s only a few days let to catch it.
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK star Cheddar Gorgeous was applauded for the powerful HIV conversation in the werkroom on the hugely-popular reality competition show, and used the runway to showcase their activism with the bodysuit embellished with pink triangles.
Kimpton Clocktower Hotel and Refuge is also raising funds for its charity partner George House Trust throughout February with an outfit-inspired special cocktail called the ‘Pink Triangle’ – with a donation of 50% from each drink purchased going to the charity.
Turn It Up: The power of music / Credit: Science Museum Group
Mancs can “unravel the secrets of sound” through experiments, play, and performance at the Science and Industry Museum’s new world-first exhibition.
Fancy getting to march to the beat of your own drum? Turn It Up: The power of music gives visitors the chance to make some noise and get creative with hands-on activities – including the chance to build your own music-makers, create your very-own tunes, and explore the secrets of sound in a new science show led by the museum’s team of expert Explainers.
There’ll be a whole host of interactive activities, special shows, and unique performances all themed around the science of sound to get stuck into.
Manchester‘s new ‘sky park’ on Castlefield Viaduct has now reopened after being closed for maintenance over the winter.
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The New York-inspired elevated urban park on the giant Grade II-listed 330-metre steel viaduct opened to the public as part of a pilot project to gauge opinion back in July 2022, but has been closed since December to allow time for the team of National Trust gardeners, volunteers, and community partners to prune, plant, and create new and exciting areas.
On top of the work to add a variety of seasonal planting displays created by, four plots on the viaduct have also been handed over to local community groups and partner organisations to create their own unique gardens for visitors to enjoy.
Fancy trying something new in 2023? Time to conquer your fears? SEA LIFE Manchester’s snorkel cage experience lets people get closer than ever have before to more than 1,000 creatures of the deep at the Trafford Centre-based marine life aquarium.
Snorkel with Sharks is a one-hour surface snorkelling adventure.
Suitable for swimmers age 10+, the session includes a full briefing, introduction to the incredible creatures you can expect to see, and 20 minutes snorkelling in the purpose-built shark cage.
Fancy catching the last of all the February deals, discounts, and offers in Manchester’s cafes, bars, and restaurants?
Quite a few of the city’s bars and cafes have decided to extend their 50% off food deals from January into February, and we’re absolutely chuffed to see it.
Beyond that, there are some awesome set menus, lunch deals and general discounts going around.
February dining deals in Manchester / Credit: Cane and Grain | The Firehouse | The Mews
If you’re looking for somewhere to grab a bite this week, we’ve rounded up some of the best Manchester February restaurant deals to take advantage of in 2023.
The greatest of all romantic ballets returns to The Lowry this week.
Swan Lake is one of the best-loved ballet productions, and in this revival of Peter Wright and Galina Samsova’s glorious journey, the Birmingham Royal Ballet and Royal Ballet Sinfonia will perform alongside each other to Tchaikovsky’s iconic live soundtrack.
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Set to take over the Salford theatre from Thursday 2 – Saturday 4 May, early reviews of the production have called it “utterly mesmerising” and “supremely classy”.
Walk For Women 2023 / Credit: Manchester City Council
Hundreds will march through Manchester city centre in the name of equality and to mark International Women’s Day this weekend for the annual ‘Walk For Women’.
The ‘Walk For Women’ will march through the city in a celebration of the significant economic, political, and social achievements that women have made since they first won the right to vote just over 100 years ago, with organisers saying it’s a brilliant opportunity to come together with family, friends, colleagues, and likeminded strangers to share a passion for equality and creating opportunities for Manchester women.
TEDxManchester is back at The Bridgewater Hall this weekend.
Founded in 2009, TEDxManchester was one of the first TEDx events in the UK, and since then, it’s grown to be one of the world’s largest and most recognised TEDx events – with this year’s lineup featuring 12 handpicked speakers and performers who will fill the day with insights on a wide range of topics.
Attendees will get to hear fascinating talks delivered by passionate speakers in a world class venue to help reconnect their ‘growth mindset’.
Under Armour Fitness Event / Credit: Cheshire Oaks
To celebrate the opening of Under Armour’s brand-new store at Cheshire Oaks, fitness fans and families are invited to join the Under Armour team and coach Dan this Saturday for what is being called “a workout like no other”.
There’s three different FREE classes to get stuck into, one for those looking to start their weekend with a 60-minute low impact workout, another for those looking to work up a sweat that even a full day of shopping can’t quite achieve, and another especially designed for families.
Attendees will get a goodie bag with Under Armour freebies, and healthy juices to take home with them.
Sing-a-Long-a Encanto / Credit: Disney & ATG Tickets
An interactive screening of Disney’s smash-hit 2021 musical film Encanto is coming to Opera House Manchester this weekend, and it’ll have the whole family singing along to the lyrics of the hugely-popular songs as they appear on screen.
You’ll get to sing your heart out with a live host – who’ll teach you some dance moves, help you create some magic, and show you how to use your free props bag.
With fancy dress strongly encouraged and full audience participation essential, the first rule of Sing-a-long-a is there are no rules, so head on down to cheer on Mirabel as she tries to save the magic surrounding the Encanto.
Featured Image – Cane and Grain | Manchester City Council | Cheshire Oaks
What's On
Blossoms’ ‘Five Nights in Manchester’ residency – everything you need to know
Danny Jones
The Blossoms boys are ramping up for their ‘Five Nights in Manchester’ residency to round off their UK tour of Gary, the fantastic fifth studio album which released earlier this year to critical acclaim.
Set to play not just one or two but five certifiably fantastic-looking gigs at five different Manc music institutions, each with a special place in our hearts and theirs, the incredible run of nights kicks off this Tuesday, 18 November and will see them play tracks from the album along with their biggest hits.
If you managed to grab yourself a ticket to at least one of these sell-out shows, you’re likely already trying to get things organised in your head to stop yourself from simply tail-spinning into an excited frenzy, so we thought we’d help you out where we can.
From the support acts to stage times, setlists and more, here’s everything you need to know ahead of Blossoms‘ ‘Five Nights in Manchester’.
Blossoms Manchester residency – all the important info
First up on the list is Manchester Academy on Oxford Road, where Blossoms will be starting their Manchester marathon of shows on Tuesday, 19 November – it will be the first time they’ve played the 2,600-capacity room since 2016.
Next up is the O2 Ritz on Wednesday (20 Nov), which many of the band members have said is their favourite venue of the lot given the number of acts they themselves have seen there and arguably their breakthrough hometown gig back in 2015, returning multiple times since then.
In at number three is the historic Albert Hall, where they’ve also taken the stage on a number of occasions, but this time their gig on Thursday, 21 November will see them perform their most polished and sprawling set yet.
The penultimate place hosting Blossoms’ Man residency is the O2 Victoria Warehouse over in Stretford, which will see them start the weekend in style this Friday (22 Nov). A big gig space made for big bands, so they’re a perfect fit.
And lastly, the Stockport boys round out the ‘Five Nights in Manchester’ mini-tour at one of the city’s very best venues full stop: the O2 Apollo. That sloping sprung floor, the stocks and the angle from the top tier – if you don’t know why this place is so special, we just can’t help you…
Perhaps the best part about this entire section of the tour, in our opinion, is that you’re getting a TONNE of different support acts across the five nights.
Not only are you getting different names every night but each Manchester gig will have not one but two warm-up acts, meaning you’ll fans will be treated to a total of 10 up-and-coming artists – and most of them are local too.
From Oldham’s very own Seb Lowe and Earlestown’s The K’s, who both supported them at Wythenshawe Park, to Scots Neon Waltz, local lads Delights; Manc rockers The Guest List; the ‘female Sam Fender’, a.k.a. Siobhan Winifred, London indie pop group Soft Launch, Brummy boys overpass, Leigh’s very-own Lottery Winners AND Liam Gallagher’s son’s exciting new band, Villanelle.
Phew. Let us catch our breath for a second. Sounds like an unreal few nights of nothing but non-stop indie and good times, right?
With doors opening from 7pm on all five nights in Manchester, you can expect a good half-hour or so for each support act, as well as two intervals to grab yourself a drink, nip to the loo or take a breather from your ape suit (trust us, we’ve seen plenty of people doing it) before the main event.
Blossoms are scheduled to take the stage for their highly-anticipated headline performances at 9pm throughout the residency, so you can plan accordingly depending on how far long it takes you to get to each venue from your location.
Luckily, they’re all in the city centre, so it shouldn’t be too much of a hassle to get to any of them; maybe just give yourself an extra bit of leeway to head to the likes of a busy Oxford Rd and to queue of course.
The concerts so far on this tour have lasted around two hours, meaning you’ll be heading home by 11pm, which should be just enough time to get the earworm that is ‘Gary’ out of your head.
Setlist for Blossoms’ Gary tour
Now, it won’t surprise anyone to learn that most of their current setlist is made up of tunes from the new album, but we’ll warn you now that they won’t be playing Gary in full.
They’ve sprinkled hits from previous albums into the running order and, according to the Leeds show recorded on the ever trusty Setlist.fm, they have the split down as five songs from their debut, four from Foolish Loving Spaces, two tracks from Cool Like You and just one from Ribbon Around the Bomb.
Meanwhile, there’ll be seven songs off Gary. You can see the most recent show from start to finish down below, but you can always expect some surprises from these guys:
Your Girlfriend
Perfect Me
Oh No (I Think I’m in Love)
What Can I Say After I’m Sorry?
I Can’t Stand It
Getaway
If You Think This Is Real Life
Big Star
Slow Down
The Keeper
Care For
Honey Sweet
Gary
I Like Your Look
At Most a Kiss
My Favourite Room
Encore:
Nightclub
There’s a Reason Why (I Never Returned Your Calls)
Charlemagne – obviously…
A glimpse at what the Blossoms stage will look like for the ‘Five Nights in Manchester’ shows.
And that should be just about everything you need to know ahead of Blossoms’ ‘Five Nights in Manchester’: a once-in-a-lifetime event that’s going to go down in history and Manc music heritage.
They’ve described this as a “lover letter” to the places that helped put them on the map, not to mention a trip down memory lane now more than a decade into their career.
If you were looking for a secret ticket link from us, we hate to break it to you but this thing sold out in a flash. You can of course keep your eye out on resellers like Twickets and SeeTickets but, as always with these things, be careful and due your due diligence.
Get ready to say hello to an eight-foot-tall gorilla and have what we already know is going to be an amazing week.
Featured Images — Ewan Ogden (supplied)/The Manc Group
What's On
Greater Manchester cinemas are screening loads of classic Christmas films throughout December
Emily Sergeant
Cinemas across the UK will be screening loads of classic festive films in the run-up to Christmas, and you can already book tickets.
With the nights drawing in, the temperatures dropping by the day, and the most wonderful time of the year now firmly in our sights, film fans looking for some wholesome festive fun in the run-up to the big day itself will soon be able to head on down to their nearest Greater Manchester cinema to catch a classic on the big screen.
Vue, Odeon, and The Light are among the cinema chains set to screen a handful of beloved Christmas films throughout December.
Although there may already be a TV channel showing Christmas films 24/7 now on air in the UK, if you fancy seeing the festivities in full screen instead, then you can watch showings of fan-favourites like Elf, Home Alone, Love Actually, and more over the next few weeks.
Greater Manchester cinemas are screening loads of classic Christmas films throughout December / Credit: 20th Century Studios | Universal Pictures
You can also see seasonal screenings of live ballet, theatre, and concert performances too.
Undoubtably one of the highlights on the lineup this year, however, has to be The Polar Express, with several cinema chains scheduled to screen the 2004 animated Christmas gem to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its release.
Starring Tom Hanks alongside a talented supporting cast of voice actors, The Polar Express is based on the beloved children’s book by Chris Van Allsburg and tells the story of a young boy who boards a powerful magical train to visit Santa Claus’ home on Christmas Eve, learning about friendship, bravery, and the spirit of Christmas along the way.
Elf, Home Alone, and Love Actually are among the films on the lineup / Credit: Krists Luhaers (via Unsplash)
Looking for a more intimate festive film experience this Christmas?
Well you can also get yourself down to one of Manchester’s most popular hotels, King Street Townhouse, where a jam-packed lineup of classics will be screened in its very-own exclusive cinema over the next two months.
Here you can also complete your seasonal experience with festive-themed cocktails, popcorn, pick n mix, and a whole host of other treats too.
Emily Sergeant -
24th February 2023 
