Culture Guides
Destination Guides
Seasonal Guides
We have a packed new guide of Tours and Activities to get involved with this month, with plenty of things to do, learn and experience. Once the novelty of being able to go for a sit down coffee has worn off, we’re all left with a need for creative outlets and new hobbies to discover. Thankfully there are many opportunities to get stuck into activities in Manchester. Whether that involves diving into the local history and street art of Manchester with Skyliner, learning to embroider with botanical designs or rekindling that playfulness and curiosity with the Royal Exchange, you won’t be stuck for things to do in May.
With physical tours still limited why not explore Skyliner‘s (Hayley Flynn’s) online content. For as little as £1 you can access thoroughly and thoughtfully researched video tours, that travel through decades and civic boundaries to bring lesser heard voices to the forefront of Manchester’s cultural identity. For something lighter on the intellect but heavier on the palate, join Manchester Cheese Crawl for a fromage based frolic through the city.
rekindling that playfulness
The People’s History Museum are once again programming excellent artistic guests for their Radical Lates series. Join visual artist Issam Kourbaj and songwriter Ewan McLennan for an evening of talks and music responding to the journeys of Syrian refugees.
If you’re a member of the elder community and looking for an excuse to get creative, try Elders Mondays with the Royal Exchange. These three workshops happen on selected Mondays and help you develop your writing, reading or performing skills. We’re also excited about the return of in person events with Rebecca Stevens beautifully designed botanical embroidery workshops.
Scroll down to find out more, alongside some other tops picks of tours and activities, and stay well folks.
Here are our picks
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1. Skyliner: Virtual Tours of Manchester
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2. Radical Late: Exploring Crossings: community and refuge
10 June, Radical Late, Issam Kourbaj @ People's History Museum © Trustees of the British -
3. Elders Mondays with the Royal Exchange
Royal Exchange -
4. The Manchester Cheese Crawl
Photo by Polina Tankilevitch from Pexels The Manchester Cheese Crawl at St Ann’s Square, City Centre, 8 May–28 August 2021, from £25 - Book now
Eat your way through the dairy based delights of Manchester, with the Manchester Cheese Crawl walking tour.
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5. Botanical Embroidery Workshop at OBJECT
Rebecca Stevens Botanical Embroidery Workshop at OBJECT, Chorlton, Chorlton, 9 October 2021, from £49.1 - Book now
Join artist Rebecca Stevens for an afternoon of crafting where you’ll make your own botanical embroidery with 3 simple embroidery stitches.
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6. Women and Girls Skate sessions at Projekts
Women and Girls Skate sessions at Projekts at Projekts MCR Skatepark, City Centre, Until 26 August 2021, from £8 - Book now
Join Projekts skate park for exclusively women and girls skating, every Thursday from 7 – 9 pm. Be warned the sessions are very popular so book in advance to avoid disappointment.
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7. Curator’s Tour: Grayson’s Art Club
Manchester Art Gallery -
8. Art Classes in Didsbury with ColourWheel
ColourWheel Art Classes -
9. Carve and Cast Workshop Kit with Wonderhaus
Wonderhaus -
10. Zoom Tours: Jonathan Schofield’s New Series
Johnathan Schofield -
11. Goodtime Games
Goodtime Games -
12. Alliance Française de Manchester
More Tours & Activities
Blackburn Open Walls
Over 3 years, forgotten walls of Blackburn were brought to life with the creation of a vibrant outdoor gallery, by international, national and local artists, who together over 2 weeks, created a collection of large scale murals and art walk trails for the residents and visitors of Blackburn to enjoy.
Pendle Hill Witch Experience Tours
Group tours of Lancashire in the area surrounding Pendle Hill. Through visiting the countryside and villages of Pendle, visitors learn all about the dark deeds and wicked plots surrounding the Pendle Witches in the 1600s.
Discover Buxton Tram Tours
Enjoy a journey through time on Discover Buxton Tour’s unique vintage tram.
Discover Buxton Character Tours
These colourful character guides offer unique and entertaining insights into the history of some of Buxton’s most iconic buildings.
Discover Buxton Walking Tours
Have your history delivered by expert guides whose passion for the heritage of Buxton spills into the unexpected.
Discover Buxton Roman Tours
Join local historian Brian Shepherd for a walk around the town and learn what Buxton may have looked like during Britain’s Roman occupation.
Discover Buxton Audio Tours
Discover Buxton’s audio tours of The Peak cover the area around Buxton and are designed to be enjoyed from the comfort of your own vehicle.
My First Protest Song with the People’s History Museum
My First Protest Song goes online. Round up the family and join Matt Hill for this live-streamed event full of toe-tapping tunes.
Doodle Den: Playful Protests Online
Pick up a pen and encourage the whole family to explore the art of peaceful protest.
Culture Guides
Cinema in Manchester and the North
We look at online festivals, new streaming releases and some newly announced outdoor cinema screenings.
Exhibitions
A floating festival, an LSD-inspired journey across space and time, an exhibition curated by GCHQ – there’s plenty to look forward to this month.
Literature
As the land of live literature tentatively opens the door a crack, we have some talks and walks IRL to flag up and a whole host of online dates for your diary this May, a jam-packed month of festival readings, digital book launches and spoken word showcases…
Classical Music in Manchester and the North
We preview the standout classical music events and venues in Manchester and the north.
Food and Drink in Manchester and the North
It’s the March edition of the Food and Drink Guide to Manchester and the North and things are slowly starting to feel more promising. Spring is here, the weather is mostly warming up and in just a few weeks we’ll be allowed to eat and drink outside at venues with outside space.
Online events
Discover the best things to do online from the organisations we love in Manchester and the North.
Related Guides
Food and Drink in Manchester and the North
It’s the March edition of the Food and Drink Guide to Manchester and the North and things are slowly starting to feel more promising. Spring is here, the weather is mostly warming up and in just a few weeks we’ll be allowed to eat and drink outside at venues with outside space.
Exhibitions
A floating festival, an LSD-inspired journey across space and time, an exhibition curated by GCHQ – there’s plenty to look forward to this month.
Theatre
You’ll find all the best live-streamed shows, online festivals and live outdoor performance in our theatre guide this month.
Classical Music in Manchester and the North
We preview the standout classical music events and venues in Manchester and the north.
Cinema in Manchester and the North
We look at online festivals, new streaming releases and some newly announced outdoor cinema screenings.
Music
We look ahead to the return of physical gigs, selecting a handful of live shows in May and June, as well as some online concerts to tide us over.
Places to go / stay / shop / eat / drink
Things to do right now
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