The Culture Gym

Come and get physical in an outdoor ‘bootcamp’ that fuses The Quays’ twin obsessions, culture and sport. Suitable for experienced athletes and newbies alike.

Time: sessions at 10.30, 11.00, 12.00, 12.30,  1.30, 2.00. Meet at Esporta/Virgin Active in The Lowry Outlet Mall, The Quays about 20 minutes before the appointed start time (participants can use showers and changing facilities.) Wear loose clothing, trainers and bring a drink and a waterproof. Each session lasts one hour and all are suitable for people of all abilities. Over 16s only. Cost: £2.50 for a session. Booking essential via  www.quaytickets.com (All participants will be ask to sign a standard disclaimer)

Photography POD

Family Friendly

Leave the iPhone and digital camera in your pocket for a little while and let yourself be exposed to the magic of film photography, developing your own photos in this pop-up darkroom. A fun-packed family activity.

Time: 1-4pm Venue: Imperial War Museum North, The Quays, M17 1TZ. Cost: Free, drop in.

An Exhibition in a Day

This photography masterclass will inspire and instruct. Under the guidance of professional photographer Len Grant, you will take pictures with a difference, and create an exhibition to be projected on a remarkable wall of micro-tiles to the amazement of friends and family. And all this before teatime. No special lenses or expensive equipment required – all you need is a digital camera.

Time: 10am-3pm Venue: The Egg, University of Salford, The Piazza, MediaCityUK, The Quays. £20 (£10 concessions). Over 16s only.  Cost: Booking via quaytickets.com.

A Taste of Modern History A Floating Family Day Out

Family Friendly

Manchester Food & Drink Festival invites families to a fun, foodie day out on the historic waterways that connect Manchester and The Quays, exploring the region’s gastro history along the way. Start your day with a visit to The People’s History Museum, then enjoy a cruise with kids activities, plus regional and historical snacks to try before exploring The Quays.

Brought to you by Modern History.

Time: 11:30am, 1.15pm, 3pm (journeys last approx. 30-40 mins) Venue: Tour starts at the Mark Addy, Stanley Street, Salford M3 5EJ. Cost: £6 per person (includes snacks) outward journey only. Book via ticketline.co.uk. Return by boat (12.30pm, 2.15pm and 4pm, but it is first come first served – return fare included for ticket holders or £1.50 without).

To order your own FREE copy of A Taste of Modern History recipe book visit modernhistory.co.uk/taste

Unlocking Salford Quays

Join a guided walk exploring the hidden history and the inspiration behind the new public artworks on view at The Quays. Guides advise over 12 years.

Time: 11am Venue: Meet in the foyer of The Lowry, The Quays. Cost: Free, booking essential 0843 208 6010.

MediaCityUK Community Gospel Choir

Family Friendly

Listen out for surprise performances from this community Gospel Choir, who will be performing live and unannounced.

Time: Throughout the day Venue: The Quays.

Big Saturday: Unearthed

Family Friendly

Get wrapped up learning about mummification and your hands dirty digging for precious artefacts with the help of virtual Egyptologist Dr.Digby, played

by Horrible Histories author Terry Deary.

Time: 10am-5pm Venue: Manchester Museum, Oxford Road M13 9PL. Cost: Free, drop in.

Subversive Stitching

Join Craftivism Manchester for a stitch-in; a session of cake, conversation and creativity as visitors are invited to make mini protest banners and change the world one thread at a time.

Time: 10am-12pm & 3-5pm Venue: People’s History Museum, Left Bank, Spinningfields M3 3ER. Cost: £10 (includes banner kit, tea or coffee and cake). Places limited so please book in advance at info@phm.org.uk or 0161 838 9190.

Craft Fair

Family Friendly

Come along and do some creative shopping with local artists and craftspeople showcasing and selling their work in the fitting surroundings of the People’s History Museum.

Time: 10am-5pm Venue: People’s History Museum, Left Bank, Spinningfields M3 3ER. Cost: Free, drop in.

Sounds Like A Gallery

Family Friendly

Two very different musical encounters. In the morning it’s the rather original Black Jack Barnet with his banjo and crowd-pleasing songs about the permanent collections – and in the afternoon emerging young talent from the Royal Northern College of Music take to all corners in an instrumental exploration of the different spaces, themes and inspirations of Manchester Art Gallery.

Time: 10-12am and 2-5pm Venue: Manchester Art Gallery, Mosley Street, M2 3JL. Cost: Free, drop in.

Alternative Camera Club

Photographic discussions and critiques that eschew snobbery and confusing technical jargon, and instead aim simply to revel in captivating images – old and new.

Time: 11am-1pm Venue: Whitworth Art Gallery, Oxford Road M15 6ER. Cost: £5, pay on door.

LipService: Hysterical Historical

Audrey and Olivia, WI frontliners and stars of cult Bronte spoof Withering Looks, lead a hilarious walking tour around the city presenting the stories of the women who shaped Manchester from trailblazing suffragette Christabel Pankhurst to eminent novelist (and renowned gossip) Elizabeth Gaskell.

Time: 11.30am-1pm & 2pm-4.00pm Venue: Meet in the foyer of the Royal Exchange Theatre, St Ann’s Square. Cost: First tour £15, second tour £30 – includes afternoon tea at The Midland Hotel. Book through quaytickets.com or 0843 208 0500.

Crafty Arty Manchester Tour

Get close up and personal to the materials that make up Manchester from fabric and ceramic to stone and glass.

Time: 1pm Venue: Manchester Town Hall Steps, Albert Square, M2 5DB. Cost: Book through katedibble@aol.com or 07905 110197.

Crafternoon Tea at The Whitworth

Enjoy a brew whilst trying your hand at some new, unusual arts and crafts in a fun and friendly atmosphere.

Time: 2-4pm Venue: Whitworth Art Gallery, Oxford Road, M15 6ER. Cost: Free, booking essential through 0161 275 7450.

EthniCITY

Family Friendly

Enjoy an afternoon of exciting international music hosted by DJ Mayeva. The well-loved craft centre café will also be open for tasty nibbles. Part of the Made in Manchester craft exchange exhibition in Asia Triennial Manchester, music presented by Cultural Collage World Music Festival.

Time: 2-4pm Venue: Manchester Craft and Design Centre, Oak Street M4 5JD. Cost: Free, drop in.

Constructing Cities Art workshop

Artists Daksha Patel and Adrian Slatcher run a workshop, demonstrating how to read scientific data and translate it visually using drawing techniques to create exquisite maps.

Time: 2-3.30pm Venue: Cornerhouse, 70 Oxford Street M1 5NH. Cost: Free, booking essential through cornerhouse.org or 0161 200 1500.

VISA Hotline Project: Zeynep Ozler & Melih Ozsoz

To accompany the exhibition Life in the UK / Balance of Probabilities at Castlefield Gallery, Zeynep Ozler and Melih Ozsoz from the Economic Development Foundation (IKV) in Turkey will share their research on the VISA Hotline Raising awareness of the VISA issue as a major barrier to the fundamental right of free movement of Turkish citizens, the speakers will highlight the human experience within this  political issue.

Time: 2pm Venue: Castlefield Gallery, 2 Hewitt Street, M15 4GB. Cost: Free, book a place through eventbrite.

Manchester Football tour

Ed Glinert leads a walk around the city that made football great, following in the footsteps of legendary players like Best, Law, Charlton and Busby. Expect tales of bitter defeat, sweet glory and manly tears.

Time: 3-5pm Venue: Tour begins at Visitor Information Centre in Piccadilly Gardens and ends at Cathedral Gardens M4 3BG. Cost: £6, pay on arrival.

Lost and Found beneath the Bridgewater Hall

Secret spaces, giant springs, lost musicians and eerily familiar tunes in a tour behind, and under, the scenes at The Bridgewater Hall. Afterwards all tour goers will be invited to attend a complimentary pre-concert performance of Shostakovich’s Viola Sonata by Stephen Burnard of the BBC Philharmonic.

Time: 5-6.30pm Venue: Bridgewater Hall, Lower Mosley Street M12 3WS. Cost: £5 (£4 concessions), book through bridgewater-hall.co.uk.

Sheer Poetry

Family Friendly

A poetic tour-de-force as Mark Mace Smith nods a header in the direction of the soon to open National Football Museum with a participative performance

poetry workshop inspired by the beautiful game.

Time: 5pm Venue: Manchester Cathedral, Cathedral Gardens, M4 3TR. Cost: Free, drop in.

Beating Wing Orchestra at Castlefield Gallery

Family Friendly

Formed of international musicians from migrant and refugee backgrounds the Beating Wing Orchestra is a powerful group. Here the collective performs alongside Castlefield Gallery’s alternative Visa application centre. Part of Asia Triennial Manchester.

Time: 6pm Venue: Castlefield Gallery, 2 Hewitt Street M15 4GB. Cost: Free, booking essential through eventbrite.

A Taste of Modern History A Festival Floating Feast

Drift happily down the Irwell on this foodie boat cruise part of Manchester Food & Drink Festival. Dine in style on the river with a three-course fixed-menu meal prepared by top chef Robert Owen Brown and inspired by the recipe book A Taste of Modern History. Personalised commentary from our on-board tour guide shines a spotlight on the waterside sights en-route.

Brought to you by Modern History.

Time: Dinner cruise departs 6.30pm Venue: Leaving from The Mark Addy, Stanley Street, Salford M3 5EJ. Cost: £48. Booking essential via ticketline.co.uk.

To order your own FREE copy of A Taste of Modern History recipe book visit modernhistory.co.uk/taste

After Hours presents BlackLab

An innovative and haunting collision of film, still images and the written word featuring a live film soundtrack from artist and musician Otto Smart.

Time: 7.30-10.30pm Venue: Whitworth Art Gallery, Oxford Road M15 6ER. Cost: Free, drop in.

Hey! Manchester presents… Denis Jones

An exclusive weird-o-scopic 3D performance by the feted Mancunian musician who transformed novelty record ‘The Clapping Song’ into a filthy, infectious dirge.

Time: 7.30pm Venue: The Deaf Institute, 135 Grosvenor Street M1 7HE. Cost: £7, book through seetickets.com or tickets available at the Deaf Institute.

Portrait of Music and Words

A unique collaboration between Manchester Camerata and poet Michael Symmons Roberts, who has been commissioned to write new verse responding to the evening’s musical programme which includes Mozart arias and Benjamin Britten’s Les Illuminations. Part of Manchester Literature Festival.

Time: 7.30pm Venue: Royal Northern College of Music, 124 Oxford Road M13 9RD. Cost: From £10. Book on 0161 907 5555 or rncm.ac.uk.

BBC Philharmonic presents Shostakovich

Symphony 11 ‘The Year 1905’ is a movie score without the pictures, a sweeping panorama of political struggle and human tragedy that leaves the ears ringing and the heart pounding. For Conductor Emeritus Vaissily Sinaisky, this music is in the blood.

Time: 7.30pm Venue: Bridgewater Hall, Lower Mosley Street M12 3WS. Cost: £10-£33.50, book through bridgewater-hall.co.uk.

Images: Top: Manchester Craftivism; Middle: Denis Jones