Manchester’s iconic Victoria Baths has announced it will be reopening its doors for the first time in over six months as it welcomes visitors to its Festive Winter Fair.
If you’re looking to get a spot of Christmas shopping done early, there couldn’t be a more perfect opportunity.
Taking place over two weekends next month, there’ll be up to 30 stalls at the Festive Winter Fair – handpicked by Victoria Baths’ Events Team – selling a variety of art, jewellery, ceramics, homewares and festive decorations, with shoppers being able purchase items from some of the highest-quality makers in the Manchester area.
Victoria Baths will also have its very own stall, with everything from stocking fillers, to fine art, which are all inspired by the building and its history.
And of course, the vast spaces of this Grade II listed building make it perfect for a winter fair 2020-style.
The Festive Winter Fair gives everyone the chance to “shop local” and support independent creative traders at the end of what has been a very tough year for small businesses, and for added festive cheer, mulled wine and mince pies will be amongst the treats on offer in the Tea Room, where visitors will enjoy a warm welcome from the Baths’ team of award-winning volunteers.
It also comes just in time for those finalising their Christmas lists too.
Victoria Baths
In order to ensure the event is as COVID-secure as it can possibly be, timed entry tickets, capped visitor numbers, signposted one-way routes, hand sanitiser stations, friendly volunteer ushers and more, will all be in place to ensure a relaxed and safe visitor experience.
Speaking on the COVID-secure measures in place, Victoria Baths said: “The safety of visitors, staff and volunteers is our top priority and we’ll be keeping up with and following all government and local guidelines. We’ve spread the Fair over two weekends and released a very limited number of tickets for each time slot, so it might feel quiet, but that’s to make sure there’s plenty of space for social distancing.”
Elizabeth Sibbering – Operations Manager at Victoria Baths – added: “We’re delighted to be opening our doors again, for what has to be one of our favourite events of the year.
“The beautiful tiles and stained glass found throughout the building make a really stunning backdrop to all the maker’s stalls. There’s lots of spaces for people to explore – including the Turkish Baths suite and two of the former swimming pools, despite some areas needing to be closed for Covid safety reasons – and we aren’t dependent upon the weather.
“Victoria Baths is incredibly lucky to have had such amazing support over the years, from those who campaigned to save this building, right through to those who’ve helped us to face the many challenges of 2020 [so] this event will be an opportunity for those who love Victoria Baths as much as we do to enjoy spending some time in one of Manchester’s favourite buildings.”
Victoria Baths / Bernadette Delaney
The Festive Winter Fair at Victoria Baths takes place on Saturday 14th & Sunday 15th November, and Saturday 21st & Sunday 22nd November from 10:30am – 4:30pm.
Entry to the Festive Winter Fair is by pre-booked ticket only:
Adults – £3
Under 16s and ‘Friends of Victoria Baths’ – FREE
All the money raised from Victoria Baths’ events goes toward helping to keep the beautiful and historic building open for everyone to enjoy.
As per government guidelines under Tier 3 restrictions, you must only attend as a group of up to six people in your own household or support bubble, and it’s also worth noting that the building isn’t heated, so it’s vital you wrap up warm for the event as it is often just as cold inside as it is outside.
Last entry to the fair is at 3pm, and the building will close at 4.30pm.
You can book you tickets here, and for more further information, visit the Victoria Baths website here.
What's On
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – a masterclass in comedy, colour and movement
Danny Jones
To start with, we’re going to begin this review by advocating for going into stage shows with as little knowledge as possible because it only dials up the already exaggerated nature even further – we knew next to nothing about Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat before seeing it in Manchester.
And we truly think it helped.
Now, when we say nothing, we’ve obviously heard the title plenty of times over the years as it remains one of the most celebrated musical productions on the planet, and you don’t need to be an avid theatre buff to know who Andrew Lloyd Webber is. The point being is that all we knew was its reputation.
Going along with a second party several decades older than us who shared the same blindspot and just never quite understood what all the fuss was about makes the next part even funnier: we both loved it.
Colour, colour and more colour.Some impressive yet superbly simple production value.Our review of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Opera House in Manchester. (Credit: Press Tristram Kenton)
We’re not going to dive too heavily into the story as we’re sure plenty of you who are more well-versed in the genre don’t need a synopsis regurgitating for the umpteenth time, but what we will say is that we’re somewhat glad we weren’t aware of its religious themes and numerous biblical references.
Not because we have any particular issue with Christianity nor adapting stories within theologies to turn them into entertainment, but because as atheists we probably would have been less keen to choose this particular text over another.
However, this is why we’re thankful for going in blind as we fear many others have missed out on this long-standing vibrant, energetic, all-singing, all-dancing twist on the tale of Genesis for decades simply due to being non-believers/agnostic.
That being said, we can confidently assure you that not only can you put your thoughts on faith to one side for the duration of the performance but, for us at least, it felt like it was more of an undercurrent than anything else and had little bearing on what a truly joyful evening for all ages.
You also get hand-held through it through the eyes of the children being retold the story right in front of you by the expert narrator, Christina Bianco, whose interventions and comic timing were lethal on a crowd already easily cracked up by a punchline or two – but she had the best of the lot.
Where else to begin than with Joseph himself, played by Adam Filipe, who although we’ll admit to being layman on the subject until last night, feels almost born to play the role.
Not only did he bring respite to an otherwise frenetic (in the best way possible) onslaught of singing with his ability to deliver certain lines as nothing more than perfectly enunciated and emotional speech, but his voice was on point throughout and the way he made full use of the stage from the start was great.
One particularly immature slide up the curved wall of the set in the opening five minutes and we knew all we needed to know about not just movement but the rest of the cast too; pretty much non-stop movement and expression virtually at all times.
The dancing – particularly a rather hilarious ‘can-can’ confusion – was top-notch throughout and no matter which bright, flowing costume he or the ensemble was wearing during a specific number, they all looked the part and didn’t put a foot out of place.
Even a more serious interlude was welcome.We’d have loved more yellow-forward moment and backdrops in the palette but that’s just us being picky…Credit: Press Images
But much to our delight, there really wasn’t one standout performance that stood head and shoulders above the rest, simply because they were all brilliant.
Whether it was the Jacobs and Sons company of brothers bringing both melodrama and some comic relief, or the score of female dancers delivering an elegance and added level of pageantry to proceedings, they all played their part.
However, every time one or more of the kids took to the stage a show-stealing moment was ripe for the picking and they all seized their opportunity, be it in unison or in the select few solo moments in the spotlight. An audience is always going to get up for youngsters shining front and centre.
But, we suppose if we absolutely had to give another special mention to another member of the production and single them out, there’s only one person it could be…
Having previously played the lead role back in 2016 following his X-Factor success, Joe McElderry returns to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and the Manc crowd in the role of the Pharoah and boy was he good having passed the baton and shifted gears. So good and so funny.
As well as an expert command of light, colour and choreography, the one thing we were surprised by was just how well-placed the comedy was throughout.
Not too much, not too little and nothing too contrived – a hard balance to strike and one that helps ease in those rare typically theatre-goers prone to a touch of cringe.
All in all, we sincerely urge you to go and see this show for yourselves, especially if you’re like us and have never given it a chance before. You won’t regret it.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is on in Manchester until Sunday, 9 March. You can still grab tickets HERE.
In case you were wondering who stole the show in @JosephMusical at the @PalaceAndOpera, they all did… but we'll admit the Pharoah is a bit of a legend. 😅👏
The best things to do in Greater Manchester this week | 3 – 9 March 2025
Emily Sergeant
Now that March is here, it’s starting to feel like the early signs of spring have arrived.
While winter still seems here to stay for a little longer, spring has been showing its face a little in recent weeks, and that means there’s absolutely no shortage of things for the whole family to be getting up to in Greater Manchester throughout this week – both free things, and those that’ll set you back a few pennies too.
Finding it a bit tricky to pick what to do though?
We’ve chosen a few of the best bits for another edition of our ‘what’s on‘ guide, so here’s some of our recommendations.
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Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies and You
Science and Industry Museum
Monday 3 March – onwards
Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies and You / Credit: Science Museum Group
You can plunge headfirst into the incredible world of our senses at a new immersive museum exhibition that’s now arrived at the Science and Industry Museum.
Back by popular demand after a successful run over these past two years, but with a fresh new adventure lined up for 2025, Operation Ouch! is giving you the chance to journey through an ear canal covered in gooey wax, squeeze past sticky snot, and delve deeper into how our brains interpret the world.
Tickets to Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies and You are now on sale, and visitors are being told to prepare themselves for an “epic exploration of the senses”.
NEW OPENING – Oxygen Activeplay / Credit: Jamie McPhilimey
A brand-new indoor activity park has now opened down at MediaCity.
Salford was chosen by Oxygen Activeplay as the location for its next venture, and the brand-new park has descended on Quayside MediaCity, just above bustling food hall Kargo MKT, following a £2.5 million investment – with state-of-the-art equipment and activities to help local families stay active whilst having fun at the same time.
The new park features more than 30 trampolines, a mega-air bag, a high ropes course, a ‘Rollglider’ aerial ride which flies over the facility, and Oxygen’s signature illuminated sensory experience ‘Excite Tunnel’, along with even more “epic” activities.
Are you ready ready for the ultimate rock experience? Bat Out Of Hell has roared back into Manchester, with the iconic music of Jim Steinman and Meat Loaf once again taking over the iconic Palace Theatre stage, delivering an electrifying journey that will ignite your love for rock like never before along the way.
Described as being a ‘heart-pounding’ production, you can expect to see a stellar cast and a powerhouse eight-piece live band on stage.
Did you see that Rochdale has been named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2025?
Taking over the reins from Bolton, which held the title in 2024. it’s now the turn of the north-eastern Greater Manchester borough of Rochdale, and the year will build on the town’s already-rich cultural history and international reputation as the home of the co-operative movement.
More than 35 arts organisations will be bringing together an ambitious programme of festivals, exhibitions, events, and performances throughout the year.
Rochdale has been named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2025 / Credit: The Manc Group | Rochdale Council
In Rochdale’s case, you can expect the ‘very best local talent’, as this year is promising to put ‘people power’ centre stage, with residents helping to plan, develop, and deliver a lineup of creative activities, alongside a number of major events.
Read more about why it’s been chosen and what this means here.
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Repair Week 2025
Across Greater Manchester
Monday 3 – Sunday 9 March
Greater Manchester’s annual Repair Week is back to make you fall back in love with your stuff. Credit: Supplied
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.
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.
A Taste of Altrincham Festival / Credit: Altrincham BID | The Manc Group
A Taste of Altrincham is currently showcasing everything Altrincham’s vibrant dining scene has to offer.
This new celebration of food and drink – which has been organised by Altrincham BID – includes special offers, interactive demos, culinary classes and workshops, supper clubs, chef demonstrations, and of course, lots of tasty food to took into.
With downloadable offers and engaging activities, A Taste of Altrincham gives you the chance to explore new venues and cuisines, and enjoy Altrincham’s gastronomic landscape.
A groundbreaking new immersive exhibition exploring our relationship with the natural world is now open at Manchester Museum.
‘Wild’ look at how people are creating, rebuilding, and repairing connections with nature, and how the natural world has traditionally been presented and idealised through Western art, as well as looking at some unique approaches to environmental recovery too.
The exhibition will also crucially look at how we can tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis by making the world more wild.
Did you see that Chester Zoo is giving away more than 30,000 free tickets to kids this year?
The UK’s largest charity zoo is on a mission to help nature to “survive and thrive”.
And so, in a bid to do just that, has announced that it will once again be handing out tens of thousands of tickets to schoolchildren for completely free of charge, so that they can explore the zoo up close and learn all about the inspiring work the conservation charity does.
With the hopes of empowering as many youngsters as possible, and sparking their passion for saving species once again, the zoo has now opened the scheme back up for the 2025/26 season – with a whopping 33,000 tickets available for schools, nurseries, and colleges to claim.
Those who secure tickets will have the opportunity to visit the zoo between this November and February 2026.
Did you see that one of Greater Manchester’s popular museums has been named the best free museum in the UK?
With the Easter holidays not far off, plenty of parents, carers, and guardians across Greater Manchester will likely be looking for a ways to keep the kids entertained and educated while schools are out, and without having to break the bank too.
Luckily enough, Bolton Museum has taken the top spot in a list of the best free museums and galleries to visit in the whole of the UK.
Bolton Museum has been crowned the best free museum to visit in the UK / Credit: Bolton Council
The museum – which is on the Grade II-listed Le Mans Crescent in the town centre, and dates back to 1852 – has been a part of the leisure and education of Boltonians for over 120 years, and is home to one of the largest regional Egyptology collections in the UK, made up of over 10,000 archaeological objects.
There’s also an extensive local history section, with 38,000 objects from the 17th to 20th century relating to Bolton.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat / Credit: ATG Tickets | Tristram Kenton
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat is back on stage in Manchester.
The beloved musical production actually started out as a concept album based off a small-scale school show, before it grew into what we know today.
Told entirely through song with the help of the narrator, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat follows the story of Jacob’s favourite son, Joseph, and features songs that have gone on to become musical theatre stapes, including ‘Any Dream Will Do’, ‘Close Every Door To Me’, ‘Jacob and Sons’, and ‘Go, Go, Go Joseph’.
It is, of course, the first major stage musical collaboration between theatre legends, Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice.
World Book Day at The Museum of Illusions / Credit: Supplied
World Book Day 2025 is coming up this Wednesday (6 March), and the new Museum of Illusions down on Market Street is inviting families to step into the pages of their favourite stories with a series of different literary-themed activities – including a live book reading with award-winning children’s author Marie Basting.
Any children who go dressed up in book character costumes will be able to enter a prize draw for a book bundle too, and every visitor will walk away with a magical illusion bookmark.
It’s International Women’s Day this Saturday, and Manchester will be marking the special day in several ways.
IWD 2025 is a chance for women across all generations and dedicated allies to come together in advancing women’s rights in Manchester and around the world, and the theme for this year’s celebration is ‘Accelerate Action’ – calling on supporters of gender equality to act against systemic barriers women from all backgrounds face.
In recent years, Manchester City Council has marked IWD with a dedicated ‘Walk for Women’ event, but this year, however, the Council has joined forces with a diverse range of women-led community organisations to co-design a different approach.
Did you also know that the Printworks will be marking IWD in a very unique way this year?
The landmark entertainment complex will mark International Women’s Day with a UK-first event – a digital art installation spanning 115 metres, illuminating the stories of local Manchester women on Europe’s largest digital ceiling.
It’s aiming to create a mesmerising visual celebration of identity, empowerment, and representation.
IWD 2025 at Printworks / Credit: Printworks
In addition to the groundbreaking art display, Printworks will also host a special one-day Makers Market, running from 12-4pm on Saturday, also spotlighting Manchester’s incredible female-led businesses.
Manchester Irish Festival 2025 / Credit: Colin Home (via Supplied)
Manchester’s massive Irish Festival is returning to the city centre this week.
The biggest of its kind in the whole of Europe, Manchester Irish Festival is known and loved for putting on 10 whole days of Irish revelry in the heart of the city centre every year – with something for everyone of all ages to get involved with.
Taking place from this Saturday 8 March, right through to St Patrick’s Day on Monday 17 March, you can expect a jam-packed lineup of more than 100 events spanning the whole city this year.
Schofield’s will be celebrating its 4th birthday this Saturday and will be joined behind the bar by their friends from Bar Leone in Hong Kong – which was awarded Best Bar in Asia in its debut year, placed number two in the 2024 World’s 50 Best bars, and was recognised as Best New International Cocktail Bar at Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards.
With its motto ‘Cocktail Popolari’ (Cocktails for the people), Bar Leone celebrates the craft of cocktails in an Italian spirit.
Bar Leone co-founder Lorenzo Antinori and Assistant Bar Manager Taki Li will be serving up a selection of their signature cocktails, alongside Schofield’s classics.
‘Disco Bingo’ is one of GRUB’s best-loved events, and this week it’s celebrating all the amazing women in the music industry.
If you find yourself at a loose end this Saturday night, you might fancy nipping down to GRUB, as the Green Quarter-based street food market and social hub is hosting as special International Women’s Day edition of ‘Disco Bingo’, and there’ll be everything from lyric challenges and karaoke, to guess the intro, bottomless brunch, and classic bingo hall vibes.
There’s loads of exciting prizes up for grabs too.
Tickets will set you back £6 for ‘standard’ and £25 for ‘bottomless’, so you can find out more and grab yours here.
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Alt Wedding Fair
The Monastery Manchester
Sunday 9 March
Alt Wedding Fair / Credit: Alt Wedding Fair | Katie Elizabeth Photo
Do you want to come to a wedding fair that celebrates all types of love? That knows it was never a phase? That embraces the non traditional? That champions diversity within the wedding industry and helps couples find suppliers who align with their values?
Alt Wedding Fair is here for you.
Live from The Monastery Manchester this Sunday (9 March), kicking off 11am and running until 4pm, more than 35 varied, alternative, and inclusive suppliers and entertainers will be running through the day.
Tickets start from £5 (+ fees) for general admission, and there’s special VIP tickets too – which include freebies and access to deals from the vendors.
Emily Sergeant -
22nd October 2020 
