A rare Lancaster Bomber will fly over Greater Manchester next month.
The Second World War plane will fly over the skies of Stockport as part of the town’s inaugural soap box derby. The historic aircraft is one of only two remaining from an original 7,377 fleet.
The Totally Stockport Krazy Races soap box derby will take place on Sunday May 28th at St Peter’s Square. The event has been chosen to become part of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Flyover.
Taking place between the months of May and September, the series of flyovers are designed to ‘meet the values and principles of the RAF’. The rare Lancaster will give Greater Manchester residents the opportunity to witness the most successful RAF heavy bomber of WW2.
Geoff Acton / Wikimedia
Sarah Belcher, founder and director of Krazy Races, said: “Competition for a flyover is very tough with the majority being over massive, well established airshows.
“To be able to share this extra, added treat with the families of Stockport is a real pleasure.
“The Motto of the Royal Air Force memorial flight is ‘Lest We forget’ and we are sure that this special honour will help give the people who attend our event, memories that will last a lifetime.”
Geoff Acton / Wikimedia
Over 10,000 people are expected to attend the event, not just to marvel at a stunning piece of history flying overhead, but also to cheer on the crazy wacky downhill races and support the outrageous downhill racers taking part.
Launching from St Peter’s Square, the racers will navigate through chicanes, down the steep hill into Mersey Square before hitting a tight right-hand bend onto Chestergate and past the Air Raid Shelters. The course is over 350m with chicanes, obstacles, water and more.
Amateur teams will be entertaining the crowds and competing to be the best dressed, have the best designed and the fastest soapbox karts powered by nothing more than courage, inspiration, gravity and a bit of luck.
Totally Stockport BID Company
Competitors will work their way through a knockout style competition with only the fastest 10 cars making it through to the final, where they will battle to take home the winner’s trophy.
The opening procession will take place at 10.45am, before the first run at 11am. There will be three runs before a final run of the ten fastest at 5pm.
The soap box derby is FREE to attend and will take place on Sunday, May 28th.
A huge cookout featuring Greek, Caribbean and Argentinian barbecue is coming to Manchester next weekend.
Three Manchester pitmasters will cook-up a storm over live smoke and fire with dishes from around the world on the lush green at the Carlton Club, Whalley Range, on Saturday, June 17th.
Shindigger has announced the family-friendly day — which also welcomes dogs — running from 2-10pm and featuring food from Manchester’s Knights BBQ, Broke N Bone, and Taka Taka Mam.
The brewers are holding The Cookout to raise money for Trussell Trust with 100% of ticket revenue going to Food Banks.
Broke N Bone
Knights BBQ will serve up their succulent and tender smoked Caribbean jerk chicken, while Broke N Bone will grill their meat slowly, taking influence from the traditional Argentinian Asado way of cooking.
Foodies can expect a whole lamb at The Cookout, as well as beef steaks charred on the fire pit.
Taka Taka Mam will have a menu of chicken and lamb Greek gyros, as well as halloumi and mediterranean salads.
Shindigger will also be serving up the perfect ales to accompany the variety of chargrilled food — a heavenly summer combination.
Shindigger
There will be a dedicated bar of eight draught options to wet your whistle, including summer specials and Chin-Chiller — a brand-new ale making its debut at the event.
The easy drinking 3.4% pale ale, with refreshing zingy notes of mango and lychee, is designed for all-dayers.
Tickets for The Cookout cost a fiver, with all proceeds going towards local Trussell Trust food banks.
The Trussell Trust supports a nationwide network of food banks that supply food to people facing hardship, with numerous sites across Greater Manchester.
Broke N Bone
The money will go towards vital community work and support for families struggling with soaring food prices.
Grab yourself a ticket so you can get your chops around a gyros, with a Chin-Chiller in hand to wash it down – it’s all for a good cause. Tickets cost £5, plus an additional booking fee.
To book tickets to The Cookout at The Carlton Club on June 17th, click HERE.
You can take a romantic date, or even a bunch of mates, to go and sit on the sandy rooftop of Depot Mayfield and watch some classic ’80s films under the breezy palms — don’t forget to wear your best Hawaiian shirt and a pair of aviators to complete the look.
Next month, take a trip back to 1980s Miami with neon lights and deco architecture, and get ready to enjoy a summer holiday in the city.
Lateef Photography
All ages are welcome to this family-friendly experience, which will host a variety of special events as well as spectacular sets.
Friday nights will feature Dirty Dancing beach parties with watermelon cocktails.
In addition there will be movie sing-a-longs, drag acts, and for those who are fans of all things pink, there will be screenings of the new Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.
Lateef Photography
There will also be lots of matinee screenings added for the school holidays so the kids don’t miss out. They’ll be able to have a whale of a time as they enjoy movies such as Super Mario Bros, Moana, The Little Mermaid and plenty more.
A variety of food and drink will be available, as well as alcoholic themed-cocktails, and guests are encouraged to come in fancy dress.
Join the waiting list for Backyard Cinema Miami Beach now. Open from July 5th, opening hours will be every Wednesday – Sunday from 12pm.
Given the name, it may not be a huge surprise to learn that Backyard Cinema started in its founder’s back garden with a group of friends enjoying a Blues Brothers sing and dance-along, with fancy dress, food, drink, the whole works.
Lateef Photography
Things took off from there and Backyard Cinema has now grown to be one of the leading alternative cinema experiences in the UK.
Dominic Davies, Founder and Creative Director said: “After the huge success of our Winter season we are super excited to bring our smash-hit Miami Beach to the roof of Depot Mayfield.
“We are going to take people back to a retro 80s Miami full of glitz and glamour and create the closest thing to a Summer Holiday in Mayfield.”
Open from July 5th, ticket prices start from £9.50 and you can book tickets HERE.
Children under the age of 15 must be accompanied by an adult aged 18+. Age certification for films apply regardless. The venue is wheelchair accessible.
Manchester’s biggest night of Country and Western floor fillers is happening this week.
Red Solo Club is bringing its successful club night to Cooper Hall on Saturday, June 10th — yeehaw!
Put on your best cowboy hat and boots, and get ready for a great night of dancing as country lovers can expect to hear some absolute contemporary bangers by the likes of Luke Combs, Taylor Swift and Shania Twain.
And for those who love to a little Hillbilly Rock, there will also be occasional interludes of traditional country singalongs from Kenny Rogers, Alan Jackson, Jimmy Buffett and more.
@redsoloclub / Instagram
Since its first night sell-out in November 2022, Red Solo Club has grown to become a successful bi-monthly event in Manchester, and as of July, it will be coming to Glasgow too.
Taking its name from Toby Keith’s country hit Red Solo Cup, Red Solo Club was created by friends Ste Brown and James Macdonald.
They said: “We were both introduced to modern country music while driving around America together about 15 years ago. You can’t go far over there without hearing some country music, and our interest in it has grown and grown since then.”
The pair also present The Dive Bar on LCRUK — an online country radio station setup during lockdown.
They continued: “We’d play all this music on our show and go to gigs but there was nowhere in the area that would play these songs late into the night, so we thought… why not do it ourselves?
“The genre is becoming really popular in the UK, and with young people too. I think some people maybe assume it’s just line dancing, stetsons and Achy Breaky Heart but give it a listen and realise there’s some great rock and pop songs — just with a little southern American twist.”
Red Solo Club is Manchester’s biggest country party, playing five hours of the best country music at Cooper Hall, Northern Quarter, on Saturday June 10th 9pm to 2am.
Ticket prices start from £5 and can be purchased by clicking HERE. Advanced tickets are available for £6, or £7 for anybody wishing to pay on the door.