Shopping – Castlefield Artisan Market
Sadly, this Sunday, 4 November will mark the last Castlefield Artisan Market for 2012 (resuming again on Sunday 3 February 2013).
With lots of new craft and vintage stalls full of Christmas gift ideas, food, drink and more, you’d be a fool to miss it. Read our review of Castlefield market here.
Castlefield Artisan Market
Gig - Clash Manchester Issue Launch, Jesca Hoop + Josephine
We’ve got Manchester’s own Guy Garvey (Elbow) to thank for plucking the talented Jesca from American obscurity and insisting she come to our fair city. This Saturday, from 7pm, she’ll be playing at the Deaf Institute as part of Clash magazine’s issue launch. Support comes from Josephine who also has an astonishing debut LP under her belt. Get down early and pick up a free issue of the magazine too. Tickets cost £8 and are available here.
Jesca Hoop
Food - Cocoa Cabana Chocolatiers, West Didsbury
This new chocolate shop opens its doors on Burton Road, West Didsbury, this Saturday, 3 November. Specialising in handmade chocolates and chocolate wedding and celebration cakes, the new shop will also sell a range of artisan products from other, carefully sourced suppliers including small batch, bean to bar experts.
Trained at Manchester’s famous Slattery School of Excellence, owner Sarah Gallacher started her business from home and online, but, as demand increased, so did the need for a shop.
Cocoa Cabana Chocolatiers will open every Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 7pm and late night Thursday until 9pm. For more information visit cocoa-cabana.co.uk
Cocoa Cabana Chocolatiers
Festival - Winter Ales Festival 2012, Sale
Sale Masonic Hall is celebrating the third anniversary of its Winter Ales Festival. A perfect accompaniment to the cold weather of late, the festival will run over two days from 2-3 November and provide good old-fashioned ales and local live music for guests. Entry is £5 per person, with a branded pint glass thrown in for good measure – a nice souvenir of the evening. Tickets cost £4 each and are available here.
A sample of heart-warming winter ales
Breakfast - Great John Street Hotel
This place was given the biggest thumbs up of all from Gordo in our Best Of Manchester Breakfasts list. Click here.
He said: 'Fabulous tea in a fabulous pot. The Irish breakfast is phenomenal, with white pudding as well as black, which felt, even if it wasn’t, homemade. Sausages full of flavour, right amount of filling. Loads of toast, jam and marmalade (particularly good). The setting is class. Mushroom needs a mention, as does the remarkable service.'
At £16.95, it may seem steep for a breakfast, but we urge you to try it at least once. It's a Gordo go.
Great John Street, M3 4FD.
Great John Street Hotel brekkie
Shop – Art and Craft Fair at Victoria Baths
Sunday 4 November is your chance to buy unique items from a range of stalls while exploring the Edwardian swimming pool and Turkish Baths complex. The Art & Craft Fair aims to raise funds for Victoria Baths’ Stained Glass Appeal - to restore the three large side windows in the Gala pool over the next few years. Guided tours will take place throughout the afternoon with the last tour starting at 3pm. Tours cost £2.50 for adults, free for under 16s. The art and craft fair is open noon – 4pm.
Victoria Baths Art And Craft Fair
Exhibition - Art V Cancer At 2022NQ
North west based illustrator and graphic artist Chris Thornley, AKA Raid71, is launching the debut show of Art V Cancer at 2022NQ, on Friday 2 November from 6pm.
The show will feature a range of graphic artists and limited edition and one-off prints from over 35 national and international artists, including Stanley Chow, Si Scott, Raid71 and Sam Falconer, as well as celebrity contributions from Sir Patrick Stewarta. The variety of works included are reminiscent of the art of sixties counter-culture and alternative press, with a vibrant, contemporary edge.
Featured works in the exhibition will be for sale, with a percentage of proceeds raised, split between various cancer charities. Entry is free. Click here for more information.
2022NQ, 20/22 Dale Street, Northern Quarter, M1 1EZ
Stanley Chow's artwork for Art V Cancer
Kids - Pop Up Book Shop, The Lowry Outlet Mall
The Royal National Institute of Blind People will be hosting a pop-up book shop at the Lowry Outlet Mall, Salford Quays, until the 4 November, full of free fun activities for children. The event will coincide with the charity’s annual fundraising campaign, Read for RNIB Day. The pop-up shop will be brimming with bargains including second-hand books and nostalgic prints, with proceeds going to the RNIB. To find out more, please visit www.readforrnib.org.uk
Alice in Wonderland... or Salford Quays
Cinema – Rust And Bone (De rouille et d’os) at the Cornerhouse
In the mood for love this weekend? This moving love story, brought to you by Jacques Audiard, the BAFTA award-winning director of A Prophet, was one of the most highly anticipated films at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The beautiful Marion Cotillard stars in the dark romance drama, with a performance ‘primed for awards’ according to Total Film. Watch the trailer below. Click here for Cornerhouse screenings this weekend.
Club - Snap, Crackle & 80s Pop!, Retro Bar
Step back into the decade which gave us power dressing, statement hair and Madonna. This Friday (and every first Friday of the month for that matter), Retro Bar is offering a taste of the past with the ultimate in cheesy 1980s pop classics, all for the cheap and cheerful entry fee of £4. From Michael Jackson to Prince, Boy George to Cyndi Lauper, embrace the inner 80s child in you and make for the dance floor for an evening or nostalgia.
Snap, Crackle and (80s) Pop!
Family - Bonfire Display, Brookdale Park
Located in Newton Heath, Brookdale Park brings you its annual bonfire display this Friday, 2 November, ahead of Guy Fawkes day. In addition to the fireworks there will also be a funfair for the kids. Fireworks start at 7pm.
Bonfire displays will be brighten up the city
Gig - Nicki Minaj, Manchester Arena
Rapper and self-proclaimed Barbie, Nicki Minaj, will be in the city this Friday as part of her Pink Friday: Reloaded tour. The ever-eccentric rap star rose to fame in 2010 with her debut solo album Pink Friday, achieving platinum status. The event is sure to be a hit with fans of the ‘Starships’ singer, who will no doubt put on an explosive show. If you’d like to see the big-bootied diva, tickets are priced at £39.50 and can be purchased here.
Nicki Minaj in full character
Food - Challenge Burger, TV21 Café Bar
An ongoing re-make of the popular TV show, Man v Food, why not treat (and most definitely challenge) yourself to Manchester’s biggest burger-eating competition to date? The family-sized burger is designed for sharing between three to four people. However, if you think you’re capable of demolishing this 12 inch tall burger all by yourself in less than 30 minutes, TV21 will give you a free t-shirt and your money back (the mega-massive mound of meat will set you back £19.99). Not for the fainthearted. Click here to visit the website if you dare.
Brave contestants take on the burger tower
Talk - Author, Francesca Brown at The Monastery
Author of My Whispering Angels, Francesca Brown, will be at The Monastery this Sunday 4 November talking about the book she wrote following ‘her daily communications with the angels and the messages she channels to others’.
My Whispering AngelsHaving faced the dawn of the new millennium debilitated by ill-health and despair, without any hope or faith in her future, My Whispering Angels tells the story of how ‘Francesca’s angels helped her to recover from her illness and led her to a profound spiritual healing’.
The afternoon session starts at 2pm when Francesca will tell her story and recite angel poems. Francesca Brown is speaking at The Monastery on one of the regular ‘Spiritual Sundays’ held at the former Franciscan Church and Friary in Gorton, East Manchester.
The day begins at 10.30am with a meditation, and speakers from 11am onwards. Other activities on offer include Yoga, Qigong, Sacred Circle Dance, Sound Healing, Walking the Labyrinth, taster ‘No Hands Massage’ sessions and consultations with healers from Hook Healing Trust and The Healing Trust.. Admission is £15 and includes a home-made vegetarian lunch. For more information click here.
Francesca Brown
