Students in Greater Manchester will be able to bag some big savings next week when Manchester Arndale’s popular event returns to the shopping centre.
The MCR Student Social will feature massive discounts, live entertainment, competitions, games, and loads more as it welcomes new and returning students to the city.
Top brands like Levi’s, Urban Outfitters, The North Face, Space NK, and Victoria’s Secret will all be getting involved, with up to 30% student discount on offer.
And there’ll be huge unbeatable offers on Manchester Arndale’s food, drink and entertainment offerings too, like 50% off at Doner Shack.
The brand new HOP Vietnamese, which serves street-food-inspired bites from its colourful restaurant on Market Street, will also be slashing its prices in half.
You and your student pals can get competitive at Immersive Gamebox, or head to Urban Playground to try your hand at ITV’s The Cube.
Over on Market Street, our very own Audio North will be spinning tunes from a DJ truck – come say hi and get your requests in at @audio.north.
Another live DJ will also be in position at Halle Place, which is home to some of the shopping centre’s best restaurants.
The MCR Student Social is back at Manchester Arndale this month. Credit: The Manc GroupThe MCR Student Social is back at Manchester Arndale this month. Credit: Manchester BID
And keep your eyes peeled for roaming activations, where you can win big prizes and grab exclusive goodies.
Inside the many stores at Manchester Arndale there’ll be more games, giveaways, free samples and prizes. Just grab a leaflet on the night to see what’s on around the city centre destination.
Students will be able to get to grips with their new favourite retail hotspots, whether they’re browsing for accessories for their digs in Flying Tiger or TKMaxx, doing the big shop in Aldi, shopping in River Island and Monki, or having a night out in Roxy Ball Room or King Pins.
Many of these offer big student discounts all year round, but for one night they’ll be pulling out all the stops.
The MCR Student Social is the ultimate chance for new and returning students to grab amazing deals and experience the best of the city.
It’s back at Manchester Arndale on Thursday 26 September 2024 – see more here and follow @manchesterarndale on Instagram for the latest updates.
Featured image: Manchester BID
Sponsored
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.
Daisy Jackson -
20th September 2024 
