We’re into our first full week of February now, and there’s so much to getting up to across the region and beyond.
Sure, January was a bit of a slog… but now that a fresh new month has graced us with its presence, the Greater Manchester social calendar is really starting to become packed full of a wide range of events and activities you can get yourselves stuck into over the coming weeks.
If you’re finding it a bit tricky to pick what to do, 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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Manchester Open Exhibition 2024
HOME
Monday 5 February – 28 April
Manchester Open Exhibition 2024 / Credit: HOME
Manchester Open Exhibition is back for the third time in our city.
Taking place every two years down at HOME, the Open Exhibition is the biggest celebration of Greater Manchester’s creative talent, and sees HOME’s Gallery walls filled with 480 artworks created by the people of our region that have been specially-selected by a panel consisting of art experts and community representatives.
Open to all, the Exhibition brings together artwork including paintings, prints, photography, sculpture, ceramics, digital and mixed media, video, audio, and so much more.
Hamilton: The Story of Tonight / Credit: Danny Kaan (via Supplied)
Kimpton Clocktower Hotel is celebrating Manchester hosting the multi award-winning cultural phenomenon Hamilton for the very first time with a photography exhibition showcasing moments both on and off stage.
Open for free to the general public until the end of February, Hamilton: The Story of Tonight offers a glimpse into the journey of the musical that captured the imaginations of audiences in our city.
20 photographs taken by Hamilton’s production photographer, Danny Kaan, are currently on show.
Did you know there’s a huge gaming event currently happening in Manchester?
With more than 160 consoles and hundreds of games to play, Power UP is back for more in 2024 down at the Science and Industry Museum, and it’s taking ticket-holders on a journey through five decades of gaming every weekend.
There’s everything from retro arcade games, to state-of-the-art virtual reality, and so much more to get stuck into, and each ticket includes unlimited play all day.
It’s that time once again… the Six Nations is back.
With the international rugby tournament having officially kicked-off last Friday (2 February), we thought it would be only right to put together a list of the very best places in Greater Manchester to head on down to and catch a game.
After all, we don’t want you scrambling around to find places showing the action, we just want you to sit back and enjoy the games.
Read our round-up of the best places to watch the Six Nations here.
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Did you know there’s currently 15,000 free cinema tickets up for grabs this month?
It’s all part of Escapes – a new project supported by the British Film Institute (BFI) and National Lottery funding that’s giving everyone the opportunity to “enjoy the big screen experience” and “discover independent cinema”.
The thousands of tickets are now available across the UK for completely free of charge, and there’s a handful of Greater Manchester cinemas taking part.
Escapes / Credit: Unsplash | A24
So whether you’re someone who prioritises a trip to the cinema, someone who treasures a visit but only on a special occasion, or someone who’s just keen to discover more, there’s a free ticket to see brand-new wrestling biopic film, The Iron Claw, with your name on it
Back by popular demand, The Black Friar’s ‘Pie Festival’ has returned for 2024.
There’s nothing that sounds more inviting on a cold January evening than a lovely warming pie, right? So when we heard that The Black Friar’s now-annual Pie Festival was making a 2024 comeback, we have no shame in admitting we did a little dance.
Now in its third edition, the Salford restaurant has brought back the parade of meat and gravy, sweet and savoury, and all things pie and pastry-encrusted – with something for everyone on the menu.
Best of all, not only are there some enticing flavours on offer, but they’re also only £10 each.
Madagascar The Musical has arrived in Manchester this week.
Based on the DreamWorks animated film of the same name, Madagascar The Musical invites audiences along on a journey with “all of your favourite crack-a-lackin’ friends” as they escape from their home in New York’s Central Park Zoo and find themselves on an unexpected journey to “the madcap world of King Julien’s Madagascar”.
The show will be taking to the iconic Manchester Opera House stage from Thursday 8 – Sunday 11 February, and there’s still a few tickets up for grabs if you fancy it.
Chinese New Year 2024 / Credit: Fabio De Paola / PA Wire (via Supplied) | CityCo & Manchester BID
The legendary Dragon Parade is set to make its way through the city centre once again this weekend, as Manchester gets ready to celebrate Chinese New Year 2024.
Marking what will actually be the ‘Year of the Dragon’ itself, there arguably couldn’t be a better time for the city’s iconic and Dragon Parade to make a return to the streets of our city, and bring a spectacular show of colour and light along with it.
Not only that, but Chinatown will be home to a live performance stage, a fun fair, and loads of stalls serving up tasty and authentic street food across the weekend too, while Manchester’s famous traditional red lanterns can also be seen adorning trees all around town.
You can find out more about everything happening for Chinese New Year this year here.
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00s Brunch
Brickhouse Social
Saturday 10 February
00s Brunch / Credit: Brickhouse Social
Brickhouse Social has announced that it 00s-themed brunch is back by popular demand.
The Manchester social hub is inviting music lovers down to enjoy 90-minutes of bottomless pizza slices, fizz, bottled beers, and select cocktails on its ooftop terrace every Saturday over the nexr couple of months – with a resident DJ playing all the best tunes from the 2000’s.
Tickets will set you back £33pp, and there’s two Brunch sittings available, so you can opt for 1-3pm, or 3:30-5:30pm.
Fancy watching the Super Bowl this weekend, and want somewhere to catch all the action in Manchester?
This Sunday is officially ‘Super Bowl Sunday’ for NFL fans.
Super Bowl LVIII is officially happening this Sunday 11 February, and with the NFL scene getting bigger in the UK each year, it’s understandable that more and more Mancs are getting keen to watch the action live into the early hours of the morning.
But, first things first… you’ve got to pick where you want to be come kick-off.
Luckily, there are a whole host of sports bars in Manchester city centre that will be showing Super Bowl LVIII right through till it finishes at around 3am UK time, and we’ve picked about a dozen places you can hunker down with some good grub and plenty of pints to watch it.
Read our round-up of the best places to watch Super Bowl LVIII here.
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Featured Image – HOME | Fabio De Paola / PA Wire (via Supplied)
What's On
The best things to do in Greater Manchester this week | 15 – 21 September 2025
Emily Sergeant
September, you’ve been treating us well so far.
Now that September is really in full swing, it’s getting harder and harder to ignore the fact that autumn is nearly here – but even though summer may be coming to an end, there’s still plenty of exciting activities to be getting up to in Greater Manchester in the coming weeks.
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.
A pioneering production company is bringing immersive theatre inside shipping containers to Greater Manchester this week.
DARKFIELD has announced their first shows in Greater Manchester for seven years, and will present their three most critically-acclaimed experiences at iconic venues across the region as part of an ‘exciting’ collaboration.
Keen audiences will be able to head to The Lowry, Aviva Studios, and HOME this month to see theatre like they’ve never seen it before.
The UK’s largest festival of history and culture has returned, and there’s thousands of free events on the lineup this week.
Always proving to be a smash-hit success, both here in Greater Manchester and nationwide, over the last 30 years, the National Trust’s Heritage Open Days are back by popular demand for the next couple of weeks, and this means loads of the UK’s top attractions will be open to visit for free.
You can explore historic houses, factories, museums, music halls, and countless of other places and spaces – some that are normally closed to the public.
Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies and You / Credit: Science Museum Group
You can plunge headfirst into the incredible world of our senses at a new immersive museum exhibition that’s now arrived at the Science and Industry Museum.
Back by popular demand after a successful run over these past two years, but with a fresh new adventure lined up for 2025, Operation Ouch! is giving you the chance to journey through an ear canal covered in gooey wax, squeeze past sticky snot, and delve deeper into how our brains interpret the world.
Tickets to Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies and You are now on sale, and visitors are being told to prepare themselves for an “epic exploration of the senses”.
Kargo on the Docks / Credit: Supplied | Mark Waugh
Summer is nearly over, but Kargo on the Docks is clinging on.
MediaCity’s al fresco dining pop-up has taken over the waterfront and gardens once again 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.
A handful of Greater Manchester’s most popular independents have set themselves up Quayside inside those signature re-imagined shipping containers.
Foodies can expect a menu packed with bold new flavours including Caribbean, Lebanese, Mexican, Ethiopian, and Pan-Asian dishes.
This is a stop-you-in-your-tracks addition to the city.
Mappin & Webb has opened the doors to its exclusive new store right in the heart of Manchester, and it’s two floors of jewellery paradise
The company has meticulously-restored this landmark pink building on St Ann’s Square and filled it with all things heritage and sparkly, with a luxury bar and lounge downstairs.
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NEW OPENING – Primark Home
Trafford Palazzo
NEW OPENING – Primark Home / Credit: The Manc Group
Home sweet (Primark) home.
New openings don’t get much bigger than this, both metaphorically and literally, as Great Britain’s first-ever dedicated Primark Home store has now opened its doors over at Trafford Palazzo, and it’s an absolute interior-lover’s paradise in there.
The huge new store is packed full of homewares and lifestyle items at Primark’s typical affordable price point so expect bathroom bits, kitchenware, soft furnishings, bedroom decor, and right now, LOADS of pumpkins.
Looking for a bite to eat in Manchester this month? We’ve got a few suggestions to share…
Ooh we were eating good in August.
Even with the last of the warmer weather throughout August, that doesn’t mean we haven’t been having some right feasts – with plenty of cheese pulls, saucy drizzles, and for some reason, ANOTHER Labubu-themed dessert.
With the festive season soon approaching, we’re expecting the next month to get extra cosy and indulgent.
If you need some inspiration for where to eat in our region this month, we rounded up some of our best suggestions for you to pick from:
Everyone knows that brunch is better when the booze is bottomless, and there’s bangers blasting in the background, so if you’re on the hunt for a bottomless brunch that will truly get your night out started, Manchester’s The Blues Kitchen is the place to head to.
Endless mimosas, rum punch, and prosecco, banging brunch dishes like their legendary Buffalo wings and popcorn shrimp, and DJs spinning 90s and noughties tunes throughout.
The vibes of a Slow Jams Bottomless Brunch are truly unmatched.
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Manchester Wing Fest 2025
Victoria Baths
Friday 19 – Sunday 21 September
Manchester Wing Fest 2025 / Credit: Supplied | The Manc Group
The ultimate chicken wing showdown is back.
Wing Fest, the world’s largest chicken wing festival, will return to Manchester this weekend, taking over the city’s historic Victoria Baths and promising to be the ‘biggest and boldest’ event yet – with over 100,000 drums and flats served across the weekend.
As always, the festival will champion independent food traders, showcasing their skills as they compete for the coveted titles of Best Buffalo Wing, Best Wild Wing, and Best BBQ Wing.
Manchester Wing Fest will run across four sessions – Friday evening, Saturday afternoon and evening, and a Sunday afternoon finale, and tickets are now on sale here.
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SciTech Extravaganza 2025
Alderley Park
Saturday 20 September
SciTech Extravaganza 2025 / Credit: Supplied
SciTech Extravaganza is back for 2025 this weekend.
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 popular family festival is designed to ‘spark curiosity’ and ‘encourage engagement’ through STEM-related learning.
Last-minute tickets are on sale now at just £8.50 each, and you can get them here.
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Featured Image – Paul Harris | The Manc Group | Science Museum Group
What's On
Strictly Come Dancing favourite Oti Mabuse is hosting a free dance class in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
One of Strictly Come Dancing’s best-loved professionals, Oti Mabuse, is going to be hosting a free family dance class in Printworks this month.
The two-time Strictly champion will be getting Mancs jiving and waltzing with a fun and inclusive workshop, geared towards all ages and abilities.
Whether you’ve got a little one desperate to boogie or have two left feet yourself but love to dance, this event is for you.
Oti will be bringing her world-class moves and infectious energy to Printworks, dancing beneath Europe’s largest digital ceiling just in time for the show’s glittering premiere, screened on the huge gaming screen.
After your own dancing workshop you can watch Strictly Come Dancing’s first show as the new cast of celebs and professionals hit the famous dance floor.
The evening will kick off at 6.10pm on Saturday 20 September, with a dance class led by Oti followed by the launch episode screened on the giant Printworks gaming screen.
Strictly Come Dancing star Oti Mabuse. Credit: Michael WharleyOti will lead a dance class beneath the digital ceiling at Printworks
Ahead of the event, Oti Mabuse said: “I’m so excited to be coming to Manchester’s Printworks! It’s such an iconic venue, and I can’t wait to feel everyone’s energy and see how the city comes alive here – show me what you’ve got!”
Kristian Brennan, Marketing Manager at Printworks, said: “Printworks is the ultimate city centre destination for anyone ready to catch the Strictly fever.
“Europe’s largest digital ceiling will feature bold, bright and energy-inducing content to compliment the unique dance class led by the dancing queen herself Oti Mabuse, it’s set to be an unforgettable experience.”
Don’t miss this chance to learn from one of the UK’s most celebrated (and twice-decorated with the glitterball trophy) performers – book your spot HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
2nd February 2024 
