But if you’d consider yourself to be a pro pumpkin carver, and reckon you’ve got what it takes to beat the Manchester masses, then you might want to get yourself down to GRUB to put those bold claims to the test.
There’s a big pumpkin carving competition happening in Manchester this Halloween / Credit: GRUB | Concetta Huffa (via Unpslash)
With both adults-only and family-friendly competitions, the popular Manchester venue – which is based down at the Red Bank Project, just outside the city centre – is inviting everyone to pick your pumpkin from the pile, and compete with other carvers across a range of different categories.
Awards will be handed out for the spookiest face, the most original design, best all-rounder, and so much more.
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Tickets for both the adults-only event, which is happening on Friday 25 October at 7:30pm, and the family-friendly event on Sunday 27 October at 2pm, are now on sale and will set you back just £5 per person.
A pumpkin, and everything you need for carving is included in the ticket price.
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There’s a chance to take home some fantastic prizes if you win too, including cinema tickets, free food and drink at GRUB, Halloween-themed cocktails, and tickets to an event of your choice.
You can find out more about the Pumpkin Carving Competition and everything else happening at GRUB this Halloween here.
Featured Image – Nick Taylor (via Flickr)
What's On
Moulin Rouge The Musical is heading to Manchester for the first time EVER
Daisy Jackson
For the first time ever, smash hit show Moulin Rouge The Musical is heading to Manchester on its debut world tour.
The multi-award-winning spectacle has announced an eight week run of shows at the Palace Theatre, and has just released the dates for when tickets will go on sale.
Moulin Rouge The Musical is set to bring ‘a world of splendour and romance, eye-popping excess, glitz, grandeur and glory’ to Manchester next autumn.
The musical, based on Baz Lurhmann’s revolutionary film starring Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman, features more than 70 hit songs from across 160 years of music.
Audiences will hear everything from Offenbach to Lady Gaga as the Palace Theatre stage is transformed into 19th century Paris.
The musical is set amidst the unparalleled extravagance and beauty of the iconic Moulin Rouge nightclub, where the space beneath the red windmill is filled with bohemians and aristocrats, boulevardiers and reprobates.
It follows the tale of lovesick American writer Christian and the subject of his affections, Satine, the star of the Moulin Rouge.
Their glittering love story is halted by the nightclub’s host and mastermind, Harold Zidler, and the Duke of Monroth, who wishes to buy the Moulin Rouge – and with it, Satine.
The all-singing, all-dancing cast also includes starving artist Toulouse-Lautrec and tango dancer Santiago, along with a full line-up of Can Can dancers, musicians, and more.
This is the first time ever that Moulin Rouge The Musical has performed in Manchester, landing at the Palace theatre on 20 August 2025.
The show has won a whopping 10 2021 Tony Awards (including Best Musical), an Olivier Award, and masses more.
Carmen Pavlovic for Global Creatures, producer of Moulin Rouge! The Musical, said: “It is thrilling that the Manchester Palace will host Moulin Rouge! The Musical next year as part of its world tour.
Moulin Rouge The Musical is heading to Manchester for the first time EVER. Credit: Matt Murphy
“Manchester is such a welcoming, lively and culturally vibrant city, world renowned for its rich artistic and musical heritage.
“A city also known for defending free speech and liberty of opinion, so we know that the bohemians and artisans of the Montmartre will be embraced with open arms. We can’t wait to welcome Manchester to the Moulin Rouge!”
Casting is still to be announced.
Moulin Rouge! The Musical will come to the Palace Theatre Manchester between Wednesday 20 August and Saturday 4 October 2025.
Pre-sale tickets will go on sale at 12pm on Tuesday 5 November, before the general public sale begins on Thursday 7 November.
The best things to do in Greater Manchester this week | 14 – 20 October 2024
Emily Sergeant
It may be nearing closer to the start of spooky season, but there’s loads of exciting events planned in our region.
With Halloween right around the corner, and schools soon set to break up for October half term, it’s about time all started to fully immerse ourselves in everything autumn has to offer, and thankfully, there’s absolutely no shortage of things for the whole family to be getting up to across Greater Manchester.
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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Scare City 2024
Camelot Theme Park
Monday 14 October – onwards
Scare City 2024 / Credit: Supplied
Scare City has returned to the North West for its fifth year running with its “most immersive” horror experience to date.
Taking over the grounds of the abandoned Camelot Theme Park for “another year of terror”, just as it has done for the past three years following the success of its initial 2020 launch as a drive-in cinema, this year’s event features a selection of terrifying zones to weave your way through – some familiar, some brand new.
Tickets are now available to book at £26.95 for standard entry, or £36.95 for the ‘Gold Entry’ (both plus a £2.45 booking free).
Find out more and grab tickets to this year’s event here.
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Chester Zoo’s Halloween Festival
Chester Zoo
Monday 14 October – 3 November
Chester Zoo’s Halloween Festival / Credit: Chester Zoo
Chester Zoo has been transformed into a ‘super-natural spectacle’ for the spooky season, and there’s loads of exciting events planned now that Halloween is right around the corner.
The UK’s biggest charity zoo is getting into the scary spirit throughout October, with a trail of giant animals made out of pumpkins, and a fully animated 360-degree ‘mythical experience’ among the highlights at the huge new Halloween festival.
Visitors will come face-to-face with giant animal sculptures made with pumpkins, all before encountering untamed creatures at the new BEASTS experience – which is the first of its kind in the UK.
STAB Horror Film Season / Credit: Cultplex | Paramount Pictures
October is here… and so is STAB Horror Film Season.
Now a much-loved staple of Manchester’s spooky season, Cultplex’s annual horror film festival is back for 2024, and the Red Bank-based ‘mini cini’ has once again been taken over by a whole host of scary movies and more as part of the month-long festival.
This year’s lineup features sci-fi and supernatural classics such as The Exorcist and Alien, as well as full-on movie marathons, special spooky one-offs, and other events.
NEW OPENING – Museum of Illusions / Credit: The Manc Group
The world-famous Museum of Illusions filled with optical illusions and interactive exhibits is now open in Manchester.
Inside the new attraction – which opened last week on Market Street, and is the only location in the UK – visitors are able to dangle upside down on a Metrolink tram, have their minds blown in the Vortex Tunnel, and probably learn a thing or two while they’re at it.
Visitors are promised mind-bending illusions and curious games around every corner.
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There’s even somee brand-new, Manchester-exclusive installations too, like The Reversed Room, and The Building Illusion, where you can dangle, Spider-man-style, from a classic city brick terraced building.
A major Jurassic World exhibition that’s been mesmerising visitors all over the world has now arrived here in Greater Manchester.
Based on the beloved blockbuster film franchise, this official award-winning experience is one of the fastest-selling exhibitions in history, and it’s not hard to see why.
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.
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.
Paddington Visits Manchester / Credit: The Manc Group
Did you know that an adorable statue of Paddington Bear has been installed in Manchester?
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Inviting passers-by to pull up a seat, the little likeness to the much-loved animated character in the middle of Spinningfields at Hardman Street is complete with red hat, blue duffle coat, and even his emergency marmalade sandwich.
The statue has been installed as part of the Paddington Visits trail right across the UK and Ireland, celebrating the upcoming release of Paddington in Peru.
The Paddington statue in Manchester has been constructed onto a bench with space beside him to sit with the loveable bear, and will be in situ for at least the next year.
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.
Did you see that a massive new vintage clothing store has now opened in Manchester city centre?
ReMarket / Credit: The Manc Group
ReMarket has opened on London Road, wedged between Piccadilly Markets and Manchester Piccadilly train station, with 6,000 sq ft filled with rails ripe for the rummaging.
From Dickies and Levi’s, to Stone Island and Gucci, there are some serious brands and serious bargains to be found inside, as well as a number of different independent brands – including Bare Necessities, Archive X, 28 Vintage, Cherry Blossom Vintage and Blank Seams.
A brand-new Halloween trail will be leading people through an enchanted and haunted woodland this autumn.
Kicking off this week, and taking place at the Trafford Centre’s little-known Wilderspool Woods, the 4.5 acre hidden woodland in the grounds of the iconic shopping centre will be taken over by skeletons, bats, and all sorts of other spooky creatures.
More than 100,000 lights will illuminate a Skeleton Village, and there’ll be laser-filled gardens of mist, a spooky soundtrack of otherworldly tunes curated by DJ Rasp, and supernatural surprises around every corner – whether it’s colourful bats soaring overhead or glowing LED eyes watching down from the treetops.
Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair / Credit: GNCCF
Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair (GNCCF) is not only the largest and most prestigious craft fair in the north, but it’s also one of the best in the UK, and it’s taking over the stunning historic Victoria Baths in Manchester for its 17th annual edition this weekend.
GNCCF brings together 200 talented makers from across the UK, with established artists and new graduate talent under the same roof, all selected for their excellence by a panel of craft experts.
It’s an unrivalled opportunity to browse and buy a wide array of high-quality, one-off handmade pieces – including ceramics, jewellery and silver, interior and fashion textiles, glass, basketmaking, prints, wood, furniture, so much more.
Manchester Science Festival 2024 / Credit: Science Museum Group
You can explore the extremes of nature, human capability, and creativity at Manchester Science Festival this year.
The massively-popular festival is making a grand return for 2024 from this week, and it’s offering visitors the unique opportunity to become a genuine part of history through a wide range of immersive events and activities.
Organisers say the festival is all about “tackling the extremes of our world” this year, and this means attendees will get to learn about some of science’s most cutting-edge developments through multi-sensory experiences and hands-on family fun.
Find out everything happening at this year’s festival here.
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The Manchester Mindfulness Festival 2024
Bridgewater Hall
Saturday 19 October
The Manchester Mindfulness Festival / Credit: MMF
The Manchester Mindfulness Festival returns for 2024 this weekend.
Taking over the Bridgewater Hall in the heart of the city centre this Saturday, this an independent not-for-profit event aims to serve the community through a comprehensive programme filled with informative mindfulness-based talks and workshops.
It’s all in a bid to make mindfulness more easily available to everyone, and ensure inspiration ripples across the region and beyond.
Lidl has partnered with Hunsnet to host its first-ever drag brunches, and there’s one happening in Manchester this weekend.
Exclusive to just London and Manchester, the #LiveLaughLidl Drag Brunches sound set to offer “a visual and literal feast” by bringing together two huntastic cultural icons in a showstopping spectacle to celebrate the supermarket retailer’s ties to the ‘hun’ subculture.
Greater Manchester huns can get a ticket to the one-off event in Manchester for a bargain £6.49, along with with a £20 deposit that’s returnable upon attendance.
Little Mancs who love LEGO can take part in some interactive building workshops in Greater Manchester this Sunday.
Aimed at young creators aged six to 12, the workshops – will take place down at Manchester Arndale and the Trafford Centre, as well as online for those who can’t make it in person – will be focused on themes such as entertainment, space, imagination, and gaming.
Kids can create their own ‘video game level’ or buildable characters, or have a go at building anything they want, all with a little help from the LEGO store associates for guidance.
Find out more and see if you can book FREE tickets here.
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Featured Image – Chester Zoo | The Manc Group | Science Museum Group
Emily Sergeant -
10th October 2024 
