As monsters take over Manchester again this Halloween, Cathedral Gardens is preparing to play host to an invasion of ice-skating spooks on its biggest ever outdoor ice rink.
Between 22 and 31 October, Scare Skate will see Halloween fans and fear-loving families take to the ice. The spooktacular rink will be complete with Halloween-themed music and lighting, whilst a band of ghoulish skating monsters will join skaters on the ice every hour! With fancy dress encouraged, the brand-new event will bring frightfully good fun to half term festivities.
The magic of the Cathedral Gardens ice rink will be turned on its head for its Halloween-themed opening week. Skating by starlight under the cover of the rink’s roof, the enchanting arena will take on a spooky and supersized edge, meaning you can skate in any weather and enjoy the atmosphere.
This year’s venue will be nearly double the size of previous years which means more space for skating, more fun and even more memories made.
Rob Derry, ice director at Arena, which coordinates the event, says: “There’s a real buzz around Halloween in Manchester. The city is a major destination for anyone looking to get into the spooky spirit thanks to Monsters in the City, an amazing spectacle that brings larger than life fun and fear.
“Scare Skate offers something brand new: an exciting, active, and creative activity, in a breath-taking setting, that brings chills and thrills for families, friends and colleagues looking to celebrate the season. We’re hoping to see as many people in fancy dress as possible.
“We’ve pulled out all the stops to provide a bigger rink for our customers so they can enjoy more room to skate. The ice rink will be nearly double the size of previous years so there will also be more room to pull off showstopping moves … or stumble towards a barrier for balance! We think this will be our best year yet.”
Tickets for Scare Skate are available now, with prices starting at £13 for adults and £11 for children, with discounted family and season tickets also available.
From 1 November to 3 January, except for Christmas Day, Skate Manchester will be open daily. After Halloween, the rink will take on the magic of Christmas, providing the perfect activity for festive get-togethers.
Popular daytime rave where you can be in bed by 9pm is coming back to Manchester
Clementine Hall
The famous Day Fever is returning to Manchester later this year, and it’s set to be bigger and better than ever before.
A rave where you can be in bed by 9pm? Now that’s our kind of rave.
If you haven’t heard of Day Fever before, then we are about to blow your mind. Launched in early 2024 by actress Vicky McClure and Reverend & The Makers frontman Jon McClure, Day Fever has become somewhat of a cultural sensation.
From its debut in Sheffield to a tour that sees thousands of ravers hitting the dance floor each month, the message is clear – people want to dance and let loose, but still be in bed before 9pm… and to be honest, we don’t blame them.
Day Fever is returning to Manchester later this year / Credit: Supplied
Running from 3pm to 8pm, Day Fever provides a proper night out that doesn’t completely write you off for the entire weekend.
“It started as a WhatsApp idea,” says Jon McClure. “Jonny just said, ‘A daytime disco, how good would that be?’ We’re all a bit nuts, so we just said, ‘Come on then!’
“It feels like a massive house party at your nan’s,” laughs Vicky. “No drama, no egos, just people acting daft, getting dressed up, and having the best time.”
The massively-popular rave starts in the afternoon, meaning you can still be in bed by 9pm / Credit: Supplied
From Manchester to Newcastle, Glasgow to Leeds, every Day Fever event has its own unique flavour.
There’ll be local DJs who know their crowds keep the energy high with a nostalgic mix of Northern Soul, disco, indie, and 90s classics. “Manchester goes mad for Oasis,” says Jon, “and if Vicky’s there, we have to play Whitney, it’s non-negotiable.”
Day Fever is about to set out on its biggest tour yet, and another Manchester date has been announced for later in the year, as it’ll be taking over New Century Hall once again on 20 September 2025.
Tickets are now available, so get your hands on them here.
We’ll see you on the dance floor.
Featured Image – Supplied
What's On
‘No ticket, no entry’ – Council urges ticketless Oasis fans not to travel to Heaton Park
Emily Sergeant
Ticketless Oasis fans are being urged not to make the journey to Heaton Park this week.
With three concerts still to be played by as part of Oasis Live ’25 here in Manchester this week, following the iconic band’s two hugely successful concerts at the weekend, Manchester City Council has now reissued its repeated request – and warning – for fans without tickets to the shows to not travel to the park.
The warning comes after it was discovered that the so-called ‘Gallagher Hill’ viewing area inside the park, that went viral on social media, has now had large steel fencing erected around its perimeter.
After taking stock of how the first two shows went, the Council says additional measures have now been deemed ‘necessary’ to protect the environment of the park, ensure areas of parkland and nearby livestock are protected, and maintain public safety.
These additional measures will be in place for the next three concerts, taking place tonight (16 July), and Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 July.
The Council says its decision to erect steel fencing around a large area of the hill within the cattle field in the main park is because the area is currently being developed as a new woodland for the park and has been recently planted with around 300 young trees, as well as being a measure to protect the livestock in the field, which include both expectant and nursing cows, and a bull.
“The erection of the fencing has a dual purpose – both to protect the environment from further damage and to dissuade people from gathering there,” the Council said in a statement released ahead of tonight’s show.
There are also no facilities for ticketless fans at the park, the Council confirmed, and they will not be able to see the concerts or get into the event arena – which is double-walled with solid high-security fencing all the way around.
The Council has urged ticketless Oasis fans not to travel to Heaton Park this week / Credit: The Manc Group
More than 2,000 event security staff and police officers will be on duty around the site across the next three dates to ensure both the safety and wellbeing of ticketholders, and to make sure that only those who have official tickets can access the concerts.
Councillor John Hacking, Executive Member for Employment, Skills and Leisure at Manchester City Council, commented: “As you would expect, given the size of the concerts and numbers of people attending, we go through a continuous process with partners of re-assessing the plans in place for the concerts to ensure both public safety and that any environmental impact on our award-winning park is minimised.”
“Our advice to music fans who don’t have tickets for the concerts is to head into the city centre instead,” Cllr Hacking continued.
“The whole city is going all out to celebrate and help everyone have a good time. We’ve got some fantastic things going on with a real party atmosphere for everyone to enjoy whether they’ve got tickets for the Oasis gigs or not.”
The Manc -
9th September 2021 
