IN YOUR FACE
Having given Castlefield a right ‘ole boot up the jacksie with mountains of naughty grub, grog and music for twelve weeks of Friday Food Fights, the city’s new good time guys, B.Eat Street, are back in Northern-Quarter-but-kind-of-Ancoats for next bash, Up In Your Grill. Taking over Tariff Street’s Brownsfield Mill (the oldest aviation factory in the UK), UIYG will host ten weekends of ‘summer block parties’ from Friday 20 June with each weekend (parties are Friday 5pm-midnight, and Saturday midday-midnight) curated by one of the city’s leading club nights, with more street food, street booze and street tunes. Edgy. Up In Your Grill/Brownsfield Mill/Tariff Street/Opens Fri 20 June/5pm-midnight/Free before 7pm, £3 after/@beatstreetmcr #upinyourgrill
BEVVY IN THE LEVY
Having conquered Saturday’s in Levenshulme, the spunky and sprouting Levy market is to host their first Friday night market of 2014, a special launch event for this year’s Levenshulme Food and Drink Festival on the evening of Friday 20th June. From 3pm to 8pm the market will be celebrating world food, with fifty traders hustling on-the-spot scoff from Burmese to Tex Mex, and produce to take home including wild game, cheese and butter from Winter Tarn Farm and bread from Manchester Food and Drink award-winners Trove. There’s also local bands and a fully stocked bar. Levenshulme Food Drink Night Market/Levenshulme Station/Fri 20 June/3pm to 8pm/FREE/More here
Brownsfield Mill
VIVA LEIGH VEGAS
In case you haven’t heard, Elton John is playing Leigh. No really, he is. It’s something to do with signing a massive residency contract in Las Vegas, meaning he’s not allowed to play any large venues in any other large cities, so we’re told. Spoil sports. So Leigh is the obvious choice. Amazingly, there’s still a few tickets on ticketmaster - £88 tickets - but tickets nonetheless. Viva Leigh Vegas. Elton John/Leigh Sports Village/Sat 21 June/7pm/Tickets here (be very quick)
GOB SMACKER
The multi-award-winning master of mentalism, Derren Brown, brings his latest one-man show, Infamous, to The Lowry. Brown, now one of the world's most renowned live performers, possesses a rare hyper-intuition that enables him to predict and control human behaviour. He's also a magician that rubbishes magic and tells us all to stop being so bloody gullible. Smart-arse. Derren Brown: Infamous/The Lowry/Until Sat 21 June/7.30pm/Tickets here
Derren Brown
BOWS, MEAD & WENCHES
Hundreds of medieval re-enactors and over 40 traders will pile into Tatton Park this weekend for ‘one of the most atmospheric events in the living history calendar’ (surely there can’t be that many?). There’ll be game meat, warm mead and busty wenches all stirred by the harmonic overtones of the gemshorn, probably. Cannons will fire, muskets will blow and longborns shall twang as grown men in chainmail roll around on the floor pretending to die – Suarez is giving it a miss this year, Brazil ‘n’ that. Medieval Faye/Old Hall/Tatton Park/Sat 21 to Sun 22 June/Tickets £7, child £4.50 (car entry £5)/More here
MANCHESTER YAY
Now in their fifth year, Manchester Day will sees thousands of participants parade their way through tens of thousands of spectators lining the city centre streets to celebrate, well, Manchester and being Mancunian. Why not eh? This year’s theme is ‘Going Global’, and will witness the glorious return of Gilly the Globefish, this year’s Manchester Day mascot who has been touring all the Manchesters in the world - but not really because that’d be too expensive. As well as the grand parade (starting at Liverpool Road from 1pm) there’ll be food, drink, music, dance and larks in Albert Square, St Ann’s Square, Exchange Square, Great Northern Square and Square Square. Manchester Day/City Centre/Sun 22 June/Parade starts at 1pm/More here
Manchester Day Parade
HELL ON EARTH
Opening in Spring 2015, HOME, a new centre for the arts, theatre and film at the First Street development, has announced a season of site-specific theatre in the run up to opening. Angel Meadow IS an immersive, adrenaline-fuelled encounter, digging up an area of Manchester that no longer exists, a predominantly Irish, Victorian slum that occupied Ancoats – “a sordid hell on earth at the centre of the industrial world, populated by red-eyed scuttling gangs and girl rippers.” Sounds like Scunthorpe. Angel Meadow/Ancoats/Until Sun 29 June/Shows start every hour from 5pm/Tickets here
IDEA? GO
A million pound mission to get Britain’s best ideas, coolest inventions, brightest young businesses and the most creative music and arts projects crowdfunded before the end of 2014 is launching at Northern Quarter's TechHub on Monday 23 June with a free workshop hosted by Indiegogo, the world’s largest crowdfunding platform. The aim is for Manchester to get at least 100 new campaigns off the ground (1000 nationally) before the end of the year and for each to raise at least £1000 to turn that idea into a reality. GoCrowdfundBritain/TechHub Manchester/Mon 23 June/6pm to 9pm/Tickets free here
BAND ON BAND
Formed in 1990, the highly acclaimed Chetham's Big Bands return to Band on the Wall for a lively evening of contemporary and classic jazz arrangements, alongside more intimate sounds from smaller jazz combos. Chetham's Big Bands and Jazz Ensembles/Band On The Wall/Tues 24 June/7.30pm/Tickets £9 here
Chetham's Big Band
LARK ADDY
The freshest comedy night in town, The Captain's Comedy Club at the reinvigorated Mark Addy pub will be hosted by resident MC Smug Roberts (Mrs Brown's Boys and Phoenix Nights) and welcomes John Warburton, Mick Ferry and Canada’s Allyson June-Smith. The Captain's Comedy Club/Mark Addy/Weds 25 June/8pm/Tickets £6 on the door/More here
BOOK WORMS
The Manchester Children’s Book Festival brings many of the world's best children's writers to Manchester. Carol Ann Duffy, Micheal Morpurgo, Guy Bass, Steve Cole, Andy Cope, Darren Shan, Justin Somper, Cathy Cassidy and Mandy Coe are just a few of the authors taking part this year. The festival provides an opportunity for children to meet authors, be inspired and express their creativity. Manchester Children’s Book Festival/Manchester Writing School/MMU/Thurs 26 June to Sun 6 July/More here
Manchester Children's Book Day
