Spectrum Studio
Carmel Smickersgill, Tours & Activities Editor
Spectrum are a photography studios based in Ancoats hosting workshops and with multiple studios for hire.
Spectrum are a photography studios based in Ancoats hosting workshops and with multiple studios for hire.
Join Craft Beer Tour Manchester for a journey through some of the cities best local breweries and artisanal beer serving bars. Discover the personality of Manchester’s beer through a diverse
From £35Beat the Frog is a legendary amateur comedy night, taking place each and every Monday. Many famous names prove it’s the real deal.
Free entryRock-informed, techno-adjacent musical collagists Moin perform at Band on the Wall this spring.
From £16.50Band on the Wall bring people together to make, as well as watch, music. Join them to learn folk tunes from all over the world.
An insanely committed seven-nights-a-week, Creatures of the Night Comedy Club opens its doors (20.30-22.30 typically, though please check) for evening after evening of side-splitting comedy.
From £5.00Join in the celebration of creative communities in the heart of Manchester with MCDC’s new exhibition ‘Connecting Spaces’.
Free entryEvery Monday night upstairs at Fierce Bar, The Comedy Vault hosts an outrageously funny open-mic night. Come and try your hand or just to watch and laugh.
Free entryHappening as part of MIF25, Blackhaine’s world premiere performance promises to be one of the most compelling and emotionally charged experiences of the festival.
From £10.00Started by artisan baker Russell Goodwin, Companio Bakery sells freshly-baked bread from a small unit in Manchester’s Ancoats.
This café in Ancoats is locally famed for its lunchtime deals and sandwiches
Blossom Street Social is a wonderful Ancoats bar, with a vast selection of wine.
A hip hop-inspired, non-traditional chip shop, now based in Ancoats.
Manchester’s only Michelin-starred restaurant.
Cocoa Cabana is a highly-rated chocolatiers based in Ancoats, serving up decadent artisan chocolates, cakes, sweet treats and cocktails.
Erst specialises in perfectly-formed and eye-catching small plates with a focus on environmentally-friendly practices.
Popular bakery in the Ancoats and New Islington area, specialising in sourdough bread and viennoiserie baked goods.
Cask in Ancoats opened in November 2018, it is the flashy sister bar to Cask on Liverpool Road.
Ancoats-based bar and restaurant, specialising in cocktails, British small plates, weekend brunch and Sunday roasts.
Flawd is a neighbourhood wine bar based in Ancoats, from the team behind the wonderful Higher Ground dining experience.
Judy’s Affordable Vintage Furniture Fair, Leeds is the famed fair’s take on a more niche line of product.
Gigs are coming in hot this spring – from long-awaited returns to one-off happenings you’ll blink and miss (unless you’re paying attention).
Eclectic as ever. You'll find inventive reworkings, world-class contemporary dance and Greater Manchester's inaugural Improv Festival in our guide.
With these lighter, brighter days and warmer temperatures, it's really starting to feel like summer here in the North West!
Books, beer and burlesque. Dive into a glorious tangle of joyful happenings.
The sun is shining in the North, so use our guide to get out there and eat, drink and be merry in it.
Willow weaving, textile collages, digital arts and ecology - all this and more in our exhibition top picks this month
We've got laughs and we've got leftfield on the live literature radar this month. Something for everyone, from poets playing with form to short story writers looking long.
Read our latest highlights from the live classical music offer in Manchester and the North, taking in a number of the region's most cherished orchestral forces and venues.