Food and Drink – Livebait
Livebait made it onto the Best Of Manchester Oyster Restaurants. The only specialist fish restaurant in the city currently has a deal on: six oysters (sourced from Colchester and the Sound of Cumbrae) and two glasses of Prosecco for £15.
Open 12pm-10.30pm Monday-Friday, 12pm-11pm Saturday, 12-9 Sunday. 22 Lloyd Street, City, M2 5WA. 0161 817 4110. Web
Oysters...yum
Family and Museums - Maker Faire, MOSI
Giant games such as Ker Plunk, Connect 4, Operation Games and Etch-a-sketch are amongst the fun and innovative creations dreamed up by makers exhibiting this week at MOSI (Museum of Science & Industry, Manchester) for Manchester’s first Mini Maker Faire. Maker Faires are a celebration of things people create themselves - from electronic gizmos to homemade clothes and inventions built in the garden shed. There are over 60 makers and probably loads of fun.
28-29 July, Maker Faire, free, MOSI (Museum of Science & Industry, Manchester), Liverpool Road, Castlefield, Manchester, M3 4FP. 0161 832 2244. www.mosi.org.uk
Make and make again
Community – Dig the City
Dig the City, the UK's first urban garden festival, runs from 24 – 29 July in Exchange Square and Cathedral Gardens. The aim is to 'make our city grow' - to bring people to Manchester to both celebrate horticulture and gardening, and to champion the hard work that takes place already in many of the City’s communities.
The majority of the event is free and the full listing is available here.
Dance and Performance - Urban Moves
We're lucky to have the polyglot and mad world of Urban Moves in the city this weekend - main article here. The events take place Friday 27 July - Sunday 29 July at Castlefield, Manchester; Victoria Square, Bolton; St Peter's Basin, Salford (by Salford Quays Metrolink); and Millgate, The Rock, Kay Gardens and East Lancashire Railway Station, Bury.
For performance times and a full programme click here.
Urban Moves
Music – Morrissey at MEN Arena
The former Smiths' frontman returns to Manchester for his only UK performance of 2012 on Saturday 28 July. Tickets are still available here.
MCR Arena, Victoria Station, City, M3 1AR. 0161 950 5000.
Manchester love me please
Entertainment – The Smiths Room at Salford Lads Club
Full story here but there are posters, memorabilia and notes left behind by fans at this shrine to the Manchester icons.
To mark the return of Morissey to Manchester for the first time since 2009, Salford Lads Club will be open 12-4pm from Friday 27 to Sunday 29 July. Arrange a visit through their website. Salford Lads Club, St Ignatius Walk, Salford, M5 3RX. 0161 872 3767.
There's is a lad's club and it never goes out
Entertainment – Boating at Atelier [zero]
As part of the Cultural Olympiad, the canal has been transformed into a boating lake, with five boats available for use free of charge. For details check out our story here.
Atelier [zero] is at Jackson's Warehouse off Tariff Street at Piccadilly Basin and is around until 2 September.
Theatre – My Young and Foolish Heart
At Royal Exchange Theatre as part of the Truth About Youth Festival. Performances of My Young and Foolish Heart take place Friday 27 July, 2pm and Sunday 29 July, 3pm, and booking information is available here.
Royal Exchange Theatre, Saint Ann's Square, City, M2 7DH. 0161 833 9833.
French Cinema – The Giants (15)
Directed by Belgian Bouli Lanners, The Giants “is a refreshing portrayal of youth and the enduring power of friendship.” The film is showing at the Cornerhouse from Friday 27 July. Screen times and tickets are available here.
Cornerhouse, 70 Oxford Street, City, M1 5NH next to Oxford Rd Station. 0161 200 1500.
The Giants
New Release Cinema – Dr Seuss' The Lorax (U)
From the writer of The Cat in the Hat and The Grinch comes a new cinema adaptation, released in the UK on Friday. Featuring the voices of Zac Efron and Danny DeVito, the film is about a world where nothing is real and everything is plastic. The Lorax is on show at ODEON Manchester. Showing times and booking available here.
Odeon, The Printworks, 27 Withy Grove, City, M4 2BS. 0871 224 4007.
Comedy – The Best In Stand Up
Stephen Grant, Paul Thorne, Steve Royle and Keith Farnan perform at The Comedy Store. Book here and make a night of it by eating at the venue.
Friday 27 and Saturday 28 July, 7pm and 9.30pm. The Comedy Store, Arches 3 and 4 Whitworth Street West, City, M1 5LH. 0161 839 9595.
Exhibition - Focal Points: Art and Photography
A new display of around 30 photographs at Manchester Art Gallery explores some of the different ways contemporary artists have used photography in their work. The exhibition is free to visit and runs until 2013. More information here.
Opening hours: Monday-Sunday 10am-5pm. Manchester Art Gallery, Mosley Street, City, M2 3JL. 0161 235 8888.
Focal Points
