What's On
A huge new outdoor food market and event space is opening in Manchester in July
This looks incredible!
Manchester is set to get a brand new outdoor market and art space at the Depot, Mayfield, as part of the £1.4bn regeneration of the area.
Escape to Freight Island has until now been something of an enigma, with mysterious posters popping up in the city centre with almost no other information but the name.
Well, it turns out it’s a brand new outdoor food market, where art space and terrace-style seating collide on one sprawling tract – a long-forgotten freight depot carved from the city’s industrial past.
The new opening is set to be an international destination akin to Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Coney Island in New York and Grand Central Market in Los Angeles.
The area will be home to restaurant quality food vendors, inventive bars, secret dens, music, immersive art, festival takeovers and family focused happenings.
Of the food vendors confirmed they include Madre, a non-traditional taco stall, Voodoo Ray’s Pizza, and Baratxuri will also be having a wood-fired ‘Asador’ grill. There will also be a specialist wine bar, and a cocktail space from The Jane Eyre.
Escape to Freight island will be located on Baring Street and will become a permanent urban market and festival space.
There will even be a ’70s New York-inspired roller disco, a hidden high-fi audio bar – which will transform into a karaoke venue called Queen Samantha’s – and a retro arcade games corridor.
The entire venue will be sound-tracked by a visionary selection of music, festival takeovers and exclusive collaborations with the likes of Homoelectric, We Out Here festival, Festival N°6, Love International and other iconic musical curators.
Escape to Freight Island is the brainchild of individuals with a formidable reputation around food and culture in Manchester, including Justin Crawford and Luke Cowdrey of Volta, Electrik Bar and The Refuge, Gareth Cooper of Festival N°6, event production veteran Jon Drape of Engine No. 4 and Managing Director Dan Morris, who launched leading Manchester music venues Gorilla and the Albert Hall.
Electriks’ Luke Cowdrey, co-curator, said: “Escape to Freight Island isn’t your average food market. It’s a new and unique destination in Manchester, it is the next evolution in the food market sector that will fill a hole in the life of our city.
“Escape to Freight Island will take its place as one of the most exciting, forward-thinking and disruptive markets in the world. Escape to Freight Island is a game-changer and most importantly to me, Escape to Freight Island has soul.
“Platform 15 will give a flavour of what is to come when we launch the full Escape to Freight Island experience, so let’s all meet at Platform 15 to begin our escape to freedom.”
Phase one of the launch will open in mid-July 2020 with social distancing at the forefront, and limited capacity for 600 people. Following that phase two is planned for August, where capacity will be increased to 1,000 people.
Once restrictions are lifted, the venue will extend the capacity of 2,500 people.
Find out more and sign up to access tickets here.
What's On
Sing your heart out with your pals at this epic bottomless karaoke brunch event
Take my money!!
All Star Lanes is hosting a series of special Terrace Brunches and Karaoke Brunches, starting from this weekend.
We’ve all missed bottomless brunch and there’s a small portion of the population who have been itching to do their best rendition of Islands in the Stream
If you fall into one or both of those categories there’s just the thing happening for you this weekend.
Celebrate the reopening of bars and restaurants in style with a delicious Bottomless Karaoke Brunch with the drinks flowing, brunch and even a cocktail reception before your X-Factor finale worthy performance.
You can get your own luxury private karaoke booth for four to six people and sing to your heart’s content. Tickets cost just £47 per person, and you can get them here.
Maybe you get the jitters at public speaking, never mind singing, in that case you can opt for a delicious brunch out on the terrace with bottomless Prosecco, Mimosas or beer for a full two hours instead.
On the food menu is a whole host of delicious grub including Buttermilk Pancakes, American Breakfast and Fried Chicken & Waffles.
The classic Bottomless Brunch will set you back just £39 per person. Get your tickets here.
Both events will be running at various times throughout the day on most weekends, starting this Saturday, July 4th.
What's On
Blackpool Illuminations will be on for two months longer than usual this year
Amazing news!
Blackpool illuminations are set to be extended for an additional two months this year to help boost the seaside resort’s tourism.
VistBlackpool has revealed that the Illuminations will run for an extra two months this year from September 4th to January 3rd 2021.
They have also announced they will be hosting their first-ever virtual Switch-On concert in association with MTV Music UK.
This means the switch-on will be free-to-access for all in the online streamed event taking place on Friday September 4th.
Originally the Switch-on was scheduled for the same date, but with an audience of 20,000 people at the Tower Festival Headline.
Due to social distancing, this event cannot go ahead in its usual format. So instead, for the first time in 70 years, the resort will be holding an accessible virtual Switch-On event that can be seen all over the world.
There will be an hour-long concert with a mixture of pre-recorded and at-home performances as well as live performances filmed at a closed event in the Blackpool Tower Ballroom.
The event will be hosted by Diversity’s Ashley and Jordan Banjo, and will feature a star-studded line-up of talent, leading up to the all-important Switch-On moment.
Cllr Gillian Campbell, Cabinet Member for Tourism & Culture for Blackpool Council, said: “The annual Switch-On event is the biggest night in Blackpool’s events calendar. Sadly, it is simply not possible to stage an event of that scale given the current restrictions around social distancing and mass gatherings.
“However, it would be unthinkable not to launch our Blackpool Illuminations season with an extraordinary event. Staging the first-ever virtual Switch-On concert to a mass audience watching from home does exactly that.
“We are very much aware of how much our tourism businesses are suffering as a result of the pandemic and we hope that by extending the Blackpool Illuminations season by two months, it will give them an opportunity to bring in some additional trade.
“We are planning for a safe, socially distanced Illuminations experience and will be keeping all Government health guidance under review as we move towards the autumn season.”
Details of the Switch-On concert’s line-up will be revealed over the course of the next few weeks, along with how you can view the streamed event.
Plus VistBlackpool will also be releasing a preview of new features on the 2020 illuminations display.
What's On
A drive-in Peter Kay tribute night is coming to Manchester this week
This will be hilarious…
Article contains affiliate links
EventCity is hosting a week of socially distant events this week including a Peter Kay tribute comedy night.
The events promise to be loads of fun for all the family, but one that has definitely caught our eye is the Peter Kay tribute comedy night.
If you rightfully agree that Peter Kay is one of, if not the, best comedian in all the land then you’ll definitely want to grab some tickets to this.
The night also includes Britain’s Got Talent semi-finalist, Ricky K. He got to the semi-final with his The Fairytale of Love routine which received a huge global response and made him a YouTube sensation.
There are loads of other events on this week too, like Bumper Boogie, a live music night with DJs on hand to keep you entertained. Or if you fancy a game night, go for the Bingo Bedlam, where numbers will trigger disco classics with the DJ getting you bopping in your car.
There’s also Frozen and The Greatest Showman sing-a-longs, and musical tribute nights from the likes of Bruno Mars and Little Mix – be quick though, as tickets for all events are selling fast!
The full Party N Park line-up and tickets:
Wednesday 17th June – Charity and NHS Exclusive
Bingo Bedlam
Thursday 18th June
3pm: Frozen 1 & 2 Sing-a-Long
6pm: Car Park Comedy – BGT’s Ricky K & Peter Kay Tribute
9.00pm: Bumper Boogie
Friday 19th June
12pm: Frozen 1 & 2 Sing-a-Long
3pm: The Greatest Showman Sing-a-Long
6pm: Bingo Bedlam
9.30pm: Bruno Mars Tribute
Saturday 20th June
12pm: Frozen 1 & 2 Sing-a-Long
3pm: The Greatest Showman Sing-a-Long
6.00pm: Little Mix Tribute
9pm: Bingo Bedlam
Sunday 21st June – Father’s Day
12pm: Frozen 1 & 2 Sing-a-Long
3pm: The Greatest Showman Sing-a-Long
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