Adventure golf, escape rooms, and 2-for-1 tickets to catch the newest blockbusters are just some of the things families can be getting up to at Printworks this summer.
With schools across Greater Manchester now out for the summer holidays, the city centre’s landmark entertainment complex is promising “family fun and fantastic food” – with a wide range of activities and offers for parents, carers, and guardians looking for exciting ways to keep the kids occupied to make the most of.
From film buffs, to puzzle masters and tee-off champions, Printworks assures there’s “something for everyone” of all ages to get stuck into over the next six weeks.
The venue’s escape room centre Escape Reality is offering massive 25% off all escape rooms between Monday – Thursday this summer, and you’ll have an hour to tackle a series of puzzles and challenges inside “uber-real” and “movie-inspired” escape rooms to make sure you get out in time and maybe even gain a place on the coveted leaderboard.
You’ll just need to use the discount code ‘HEATWAVE25’ at the checkout when you book online until 31 August to claim a 25% discount.
Escape Reality and Treetop Adventure Golf are ideal places to take the kids while schools are out / Credit: Printworks
For those looking for an “epic adventure” this summer, Treetop Adventure Golf has got an exclusive ‘Family Saver’ deal currently running, and it lets families with at least one child aged 12 or under choose to play a round of 18 holes for just £32, or 36 holes for £50.
The Early Bird deal will also be running every Monday to Friday throughout the summer holidays for those early morning risers, where you can tee off before midday and play two courses for the price of one.
If films are more your thing, then Vue’s ‘Mini Morning’ sessions – which are running every morning in the summer holidays from 10am – give both adults and kids the chance to experience big screen entertainment from just £2.49 per ticket, with a whole host of family-friendly flicks and some of the latest blockbusters ready to watch
2-for-1 cinema tickets are available at Vue all summer long / Credit: Printworks
Not only that, but you can also still make the most of ‘Meerkat Movies’ throughout the summer, and enjoy 2-for-1 film tickets every Tuesday or Wednesday with the Meerkat app by entering your code when booking tickets online, or showing the code to a Vue staff member when buying tickets at the cinema.
If all that action has got you working up a hunger, then there’s plenty of children’s meal deals at different Printworks restaurants to tuck into afterwards.
wagamama and Frankie and Benny’s are two of the Printworks restaurants offering children’s meal deals this summer / Credit: Printworks
Frankie and Benny’s, Nandos, wagamama, and Chiquito are some of the chains with offers on.
At Frankie and Benny’s, kids can choose a drink, main, side, and dessert from just £6.49, while at Nando’s, there’s a set menu for under 10s for just £5.95, and at wagamama, kids can become part of the koclub and tuck into tasty mini dishes from just £4 each, and at Chiquito, a main, side, dessert, and drink costs just £6.99.
The kids meal deal at O’Neills will only set you back £4.50, and they can pick a classic main meal, a side and a portion of veg, and finally choose a sweet treat to finish.
Hit theatre production set at a house party to visit Manchester on UK tour
Daisy Jackson
Alright then, 24 hour party people, we’ve found a theatre production you might like the sound of – it’s called The House Party, and it’s set in (you guessed it) a house party.
This smash hit production by pioneering theatre company Headlong is set to land at HOME in March as part of the arts venue’s 2025 theatre season.
It tells the tale of a wild 18th birthday party, where Christine is trying to pick up the pieces of her best friend, a newly-dumped Julie (who happens to be the birthday girl).
Themes of class, power and privilege are all explored with a raw intensity as the cast on stage plough through shots and dive head-first into a night that will change everything they know.
The House Party, which has received glowing reviews from previous showings, is filled with ‘privilege, desire and destruction’.
When it stops off in Manchester, its cast will include Bridgerton’s Sesley Hope as Christine, Synnøve Karlsen (Miss Austen, Last Night in Soho) as Julie, and Tom Lewis (Gentleman Jack, Patience) as Jon.
The ensemble of Frantic Assembly performers includes Ines Aresti, Oliver Baines, Cal Connor, Micah Corbin-Powell, Rachael Leonce, Jaheem Pinder and Jamie Randall.
The House Party is written by Laura Lomas and is a reimagining of August Strindberg’s Miss Julie for today’s generation.
It’s directed by Headlong’s artistic director Holly Race Roughan, who directed the Royal Shakespeare Company’s world premiere of David Edgar’s major new political play The New Real.
The House Party. Credit: Ikin YumThe production will be at HOME. Credit: Supplied
Movement direction will come from Frantic Assembly’s Scott Graham.
Prior to the UK tour of The House Party, Headlong celebrated its 50 year anniversary, including the hit production of A Raisin in the Sun which played nationwide.
The House Party will be at HOME in Manchester between 25 and 29 March, 2025 – you can get your tickets HERE.
Greater Manchester’s annual Repair Week is back to make you fall back in love with your stuff
Daisy Jackson
If you’re not a handy person, when something breaks, the temptation is often to abandon or bin it straight away.
But that’s just not how we’re gonna do it here in Greater Manchester any more, with the return of the annual Repair Week to help you learn valuable repair skills and save money at the same time.
Whether it’s tinkering with your bicycle, fixing up your small tech items, or having your furniture re-varnished and upcycled, there are so many places and people who are on a mission to help you fall back in love with your belongings.
There are even workshops to help you put flat-pack furniture together.
Taking place between 3 and 9 March, Repair Week will be the chance to learn skills, fix your stuff, gain repair confidence and find local fixers.
Events throughout the week (and beyond) will be hosted by community groups, businesses and plenty more.
You can sharpen knives, fix zips, and un-wobble chairs with a little hand from local repair heroes.
JillyGDesign Jewellery in Heaton Moor will fix up your sentimental and special jewellery items, while Rag Revival will help you turn unusable textiles into new creations with basic sewing skills.
There are repair cafes popping up all over Greater Manchester where you can take your belongings.
Greater Manchester’s annual Repair Week is back to make you fall back in love with your stuff. Credit: Supplied
Repair Week will highlight schemes like the Manchester Library of Things, where you can borrow the tools and equipment you need for those repair jobs at home.
During the week you’ll also be able to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the incredible Renew Hub, the UK’s biggest reuse hub, where donated items are brought back to life.
Similarly, you’ll be able to get inside the textile recycling centre run by homelessness charity Emmaus Bolton, where you can choose your own fabric from the scrap store and turn it into a very handy draught excluder to keep costs down and your heat in.
Recycle for Greater Manchester’s Repair Week will take place between 3 and 9 March, with workshops, events and resources to help you revive your belongings.
Emily Sergeant -
10th August 2022 
