October has arrived and there’s plenty to be getting up to in Manchester.
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 and socially-distanced in order to keep you as safe as possible during these trying times.
Whatever you fancy doing though, there’s certainly no shortage of choice in our region.
Here’s some of the things you could be getting up to this week:
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GRIMMFEST
Online
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Wednesday 7th – Sunday 11th October
https://www.instagram.com/p/CFwhJMiFyVb/
Manchester’s very own annual horror film festival – GRIMMFEST: Manchester’s International Festival of Fantastic Films – is becoming a virtual event for the very first time and will be taking place online from Wednesday to Sunday this week.
Horror films fans have can watch 20 feature films, two short film programmes, two special events – including world-first film premieres – and dozens of supporting events all from the comfort of their own home.
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You can find more information about GRIMMFEST here.
If you’re looking to get in the mood for Halloween early, but keep things a little on the cheaper side this week, then you need look no further than up above in the city centre as the annual decorative pumpkin lanterns are back once again and they’re here all month.
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Going on a little tour to see the lanterns in the trees in St Ann’s Square, Market Street and beyond is the perfect activity for all the family, easy to plan and great for pictures.
There’ll be some very special visitors at SEA LIFE Manchester this Friday.
You are invited to explore the full Barton Square attraction after hours in this limited, intimate evening session and you’ll also get a rare chance to marvel at the real life mermaids in their natural habitat as they join SEA LIFE Manchester’s resident Sea Turtles – Cammy & Ernie – in the ocean tank.
These evening sessions are running from 4pm – 8pm, with last admission at 7pm.
Tickets are priced at £21.95 for adults and £16.95 for children. You can books yours and find more information about social distancing / COVID-safe precautions here.
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Headstock Festival x Nodding Dog Comedy Night
Escape to Freight Island
Tuesday 6th October
Escape to Freight Island
Music and mental wellbeing festival, Headstock, has teamed up with Nodding Dog Comedy to bring a night of stand-up comedy to Piccadilly on Tuesday.
10 comedians – including Live at the Apollo and Britain’s Got Talent stars – will take the stage for the exclusive event at Escape To Freight Island and funds raised from ticket money will go towards Headstock’s partners, which include mental health support organisation Manchester Mind and music charity Help Musicians.
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Tickets must be booked in advance and will set you back £10 per person.
You can books yours and find more information about social distancing / COVID-safe precautions here.
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Park N Party presents Scare City
Event City, Trafford
Friday 9th, Saturday 10th & Sunday 11th October
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This immersive drive-in cinema event – organised by Park N Party – sees terrifying performers swarming on unsuspecting viewers’ during each evening of car park entertainment at Event City in Trafford.
Horror flicks for all film fans will be showing throughout the month of October.
From the comfort of your own car, you can watch Annabelle Comes Home on Friday 9th October, The Witches, Coco and Halloween (2018) on Saturday 10th October, and Hotel Transylvania and The Grudge on Sunday 11th October.
Tickets are priced at £35 per vehicle.
Food and drink is also available to purchase on site, and will be served and distributed in compliance with COVID-19 safety precautions.
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You can reserve your spot at Scare City online now via Eventbrite.
A brand new Roxy Ballroom has just opened up in Manchester city centre.
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Taking over the old 17,000sq ft Birdcage building on Withy Grove, Roxy Ball Room has half a dozen bowling lanes, beer pong tables, shuffleboard, and arcade machines have all been installed, as well as a 12-hole ‘crazy pool’ game on a mezzanine level, and has a wide range of booze, cocktails and American-style food available.
Bookings must be made in advance for households or support bubbles only, with Roxy operation 3pm-10pm during the week and 12pm-10pm at the weekend.
Players can order food and drink using a QR code on each gaming table.
You can book your slot and find more information about social distancing / COVID-safe precautions here.
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KBOM – Sem Fundo Sundays
Hatch
Sunday 11th October
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KBOM Bar & Kitchen – based at award-winning independent food, drink and retail destination HATCH on Oxford Road – merges the vibrant flavours of Brazil, with the traditional soul food of Portugal and hosts a very special ‘Sem Fundo’ – otherwise known as bottomless’ brunch – on Sundays.
It includes a starter, main and complimentary drinks during your 90 pre-booked slot, and all of this comes for only £22.95 per person too.
You can book your table for KBOM’s Sem Fundo ‘Bottomless’ Sundayshere.
More information about HATCH and the social distancing / COVID-safe precautions can be found here.
What's On
You can pick your own fresh fruit from the fields of a family-run farm near Manchester this summer
Emily Sergeant
Just over the border into Warrington, you’ll find the perfect place to pick your own fresh fruit this summer.
We’re talking miles and miles (and miles) of strawberries.
This is Kenyon Hall Farm – a farm in Croft that has been worked by the same family since around 1500, and although it was originally considered a ‘mixed farm’, it has gone from strength to strength over the years, transforming from a traditional agricultural property into one of the UK’s top award-winning farm shops and tourism destinations.
Current owners Tod and Barbara took over the farm in 1978, and the couple, alongside their two sons James and Simon, as well as their partners and dozens of other full-time and seasonal staff, have turned it into a place that families travel from far and wide to visit.
Popular for its ever-expanding pumpkin patch experience in the autumn, its Easter egg hunts in the spring, and its on-site cafe and farm shop, Kenyon Hall Farm is no longer the ‘sleepy’ arable farm that Tod and Barbara once inherited, it’s now a cultural gem in the Croft community that exceeds 500-acres.
It’s pick-your-own strawberry season at Kenyon Hall Farm / Credit: The Manc Group
But there’s one stunning ‘season’ at Kenyon Hall Farm that we just have to shout about… and that’s strawberry season.
Or, should we say, pick-your-own fresh fruit season instead, as not only are there miles and miles of strawberry fields to roam free in – which open from the start of summer in June – but as the season goes on, there’s also raspberries, blackcurrants, potatoes, onions, and loads more to choose from too.
Strawberries have been growing at Kenyon Hall Farm for nearly 50 years now, and used to be its main attraction, often being inundated with locals when it opened for just six-weeks a year – but then, back 2019, they decided to introduce special strawberry growing tunnels, meaning they could extend opening times until the end of August, all while making the experience less weather-dependent.
When 2020 rolled around and the COVID-19 pandemic hit, ticketing was introduced in order to keep everyone safe and help staff manage visitor demand once the fruit fields reopened.
But as this proved to work so well, it’s a system that has remained in place ever since.
This means that, especially for strawberry picking, you need to head online and book your ticket in advance, as staff really don’t want anyone to leave disappointed if they have to turn people away.
There’s so much seasonal produce in the on-site cafe and farm shop too / Credit: The Manc Group
And once you’re done frolicking in the fruit fields, you can then head into the cafe afterwards to try some seasonal specials like cream teas with homemade strawberry jam, or french toast with strawberry compote and Biscoff crumb, all washed down with strawberry matchas made with homemade syrup.
Make sure to pop into the farm shop before you leave too and stock up on all the seasonal produce and gifts you could ever need – including homemade strawberry jams, gins, and more.
Strawberry season has now started at Kenyon Hall Farm, and you can book your tickets online for £5.95 – £6.95 per person, with spaces released up to 24–48 hours ahead of time.
Included in your ticket price is a punnet to fill, and anything else you pick is paid for by weight on the way out.
You can win two VIP tickets to a Co-op Live show as part of a heartwarming Manc charity raffle
Danny Jones
Fancy bagging yourself the posh treatment at the biggest indoor gig and live entertainment venue in the city? Well, you can do just that by entering the latest Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity raffle, which is offering a pair of VIP tickets to a Co-op Live show.
All you have to do is simply do your bit for a crucial local cause.
It’s one that we’ve worked closely with in the past on many occasions: the ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, which helps house rough sleepers across the region.
Teaming up with The 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness – which was created specifically to generate funds for this ongoing crisis – as well as an upcoming community social, all you have to do to be in with a chance is put your name down for a cheap raffle ticket.
Writing in the caption of the post, the Mayor’s Charity has revealed that “Cross Club Social and The Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness are teaming up to raffle off 2x VIP Co-op Live tickets to a show of your choosing.”
That’s right, not just any random show – you get to pick which one you fancy going along to in style.
With the 2026 edition of the annual fundraising relay event, on behalf of Greater Manchester’s homeless community, taking place this November (find out more on the GMMC website and keep up to date with us here at The Manc for the latest) they’re hoping to get the donations going nice and early.
For anyone unaware, the Cross Club Social, or ‘XCS’, has been going for a few years now; it brings together runners from all over the 10 boroughs for a big post-race party, all whilst raising money for charitable organisations.
DJs, karaoke, quizzing, three full rooms, an entire beer garden to themselves, and MUCH more. 👀
The next edition will be taking place this Friday, 19 June, over at the award-winning Fairfield Social Club, where an all-day party will run, pardon the pun, well into the night.
Better still, entrants into the raffle don’t have to wait long to find out if they’re a winner, as the lucky recipient is set to be announced the following Saturday (20 Jun) after the big shindig over on the XCS Instagram page.
The Mayor’s Charity team signed off by adding, “Good luck and together, we will end homelessness” – a mission that many Manc groups, especially, have been working so hard to make possible in recent times.
For instance, last year alone, the aforementioned 24 Hour Run, whose team will be in attendance and taking donations for at XCS 2026, generated a whopping £70k, and the total tally has now reached truly life-changing sums.
As for the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity raffle, you can grab a ticket HERE for just a fiver to secure your chance to go along to a VIP night at Co-op Live. Fingers crossed!
Emily Sergeant -
2nd October 2020 
