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The August Bank Holiday may mark the end of summer for many of us, but it’s also a great excuse to make the most of the best that Greater Manchester has to offer. While we haven’t had the best summer so far weather-wise, there’s always time to make up for it and go out with a bang.
As always, there is plenty going on across the city-region this August Bank Holiday Weekend with festivals, events, exhibitions and more to keep you entertained. From foodie feasts to family fun, we’re not exaggerating when we say Greater Manchester has something for everyone.
If you’re looking for a way to finish your summer in style, we’ve rounded up some of the biggest and best things happening across Greater Manchester this August Bank Holiday.
Bolton Food and Drink Festival
Bolton Food and Drink Festival is back and better than ever this August Bank Holiday, as it’s celebrating its 18th birthday. Running from Friday 25 August to Monday 28 August, this is surely the tastiest way to spend a bank holiday. The North West’s biggest food festival is packed with food and drinks, cookery demos, celebrity chefs, markets and live entertainment including music and kid’s activities. You can also make the most of great restaurant, pubs and retailer offers that are all accessible with a Festival wristband, priced at just £2! Bolton Food and Drink Festival promises to be a delicious weekend that the whole family can enjoy, just make sure you have a big appetite.
Manchester Pride Festival
For many of us Mancunians, the August Bank Holiday Weekend means just one thing, it’s time for Manchester Pride Festival. From Friday 25 to Monday 28 August, Manchester city centre will be taken over by a vibrant celebration of individuality, equality and acceptance.
With a huge variety of free-to-attend events including the city’s biggest and most colourful parade, Superbia (Manchester Pride’s arts and culture programme) and Family or Youth Pride to name just a few. Of course, there is also the infamous Gay Village Party with a stellar lineup including Jake Shears, Jodie Harsh, Bimini and Natasha Bedingfield with weekend tickets costing £37.50 and day tickets starting from £21. Every year thousands of people gather in Manchester to celebrate Manchester Pride, advocate for LGBTQ+ equality and to challenge discrimination. It’s a weekend full of love, joy and happiness where everyone can express themselves freely and loudly. If you ask us, it’s a perfect way to celebrate a bank holiday.
Yayoi Kusama - You, Me and the Balloons
If you haven’t attended Aviva Sudios landmark opening exhibition Yayoi Kusama You Me and the Balloons yet, what are you waiting for? The colourful, otherworldly exhibition ends on Monday 28 August, so this Bank Holiday Weekend really is your last chance. The exhibition is Yayio Kasama’s largest-ever immersive environment and celebrates three decades of the pioneering artist’s inflatable artworks. Enter the surreal world of dots and patterns and feel truly transported to her playful universe. It’s a truly unmissable event and marks a historic moment for Manchester’s cultural scene. Tickets cost £15 and late night openings have just been announced.
Operation Ouch! Food, Poo and You
Families can also dive headfirst into the digestive system this August Bank Holiday (yes you heard us correctly). Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum is hosting the world premiere of Operation Ouch! Food, Poo and You which brings the hit CBBC children’s series brought to life. Discover more about our bodies and where food goes when we eat as you’ll be shrunk, swallowed and squeezed through a giant digestive system. It’s a one of a kind experience but a great way to learn more about how our bodies work and how best to protect them. Tickets cost £10 for adults and £9 for children.
Unpicking Couture
Any aspiring Fashionistas should head to Manchester Art Gallery this August Bank Holiday to celebrate spectacular high-end fashion. Unpicking Couture has outfits that showcase a groundbreaking moment in fashion with works from some of the worlds biggest designers from Christian Dior and Vivienne Westwood to Cristobal Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen. The exhibition celebrates creativity and pioneering design while investigating the links between fashion and emotions and focus on repair and restoration of garments. It's free to attend and the perfect way to add a bit of style to your bank holiday.
Julia and Axel: 30 Years of Favourite Stories
Celebrate your favourite children’s books this August Bank Holiday as The Lowry is hosting a new major exhibition celebrating the work of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. The duo have created some of the world’s best-loved stories including The Gruffalo, Zog and Room on the Broom. This free family exhibition features notebooks and ideas for stories, illustrations and sketches plus, lots of fun opportunities for little ones to get creative too. It's a fabulous, free way to entertain the kids this Bank Holiday and watch their favourite tales come to life.
Summer Daze at Trafford Centre
The Trafford Centre is bringing the beach to Manchester this summer with the return of their annual Summer Daze event. Featuring a funfair, outdoor food, entertainment, a 600 sqm beach and two splash parks this event brings all the fun of summer to Manchester. It’s the place for sun, sand and thrills. There will be a stage area which will host summer fun from crafts and facepainting to live entertainment and appearances from your favourite characters. Tickets cost £3 per person if booked in advance (plus a 30p booking fee) and £4 at the door, but ride tokens must be paid for separately.
The Grand Bug & Pest Hotel Hunt
The hero of the brand-new comedy series from Aardman, Lloyd of the Flies will be bringing his friends to RHS Garden Bridgewater this summer. Families can join The Grand Bug & Pest Hotel Hunt to help housefly Lloyd and his friends find their way around the garden to make it to their luxury bug hotel. This interactive trail runs from an augmented reality app, allowing you to see the world through insect eyes and learn fun facts about the brilliant bugs as you travel through the garden,. There will be plenty of fun, interactive activities to join in with and this trail will help the whole family to see the beautiful garden in a whole new light. Admission to the garden must be prebooked and begin at £18.85 for adults and £6.95 for children, with under 5s and RHS members going free.
Festa Italiana Manchester
Who doesn’t love Italian food? This Bank Holiday weekend you can celebrate all things Italian from food and drink to culture. This free weekend-long celebration brings together the community with live music, delicious dishes from some of Manchester’s most celebrated Italian restaurateurs and plenty of drinks. Inspired by the city’s Italian heritage, the festival will take over Cathedral Square from Friday 25 August to Sunday 27 August, so plenty of time for pizza, pasta and more.
Octagon Family Festival 2023
Bolton’s Octagon Theatre’s annual Family Festival returns this August Bank Holiday. This years theme is “Around the World” so you can expect the whole family to be entertained for hours with storytelling, live theatre, family discos, circus performances, arts and crafts and more. If you’re looking for a unique family day out this bank holiday, this is the perfect solution and will leave you with memories to last a lifetime. The festival is free to attend but the Octoagan Theatre are asking everyone to book a free slot to enable you to stay for up to 2.5 hours.
Luna Outdoor Cinema at Tatton Park
Fancy a movie night this August Bank Holiday? Then never fear as Luna and Tatton Park have it covered. The ever-popular outdoor cinema is back and showing a host of screenings with a stunning park and estate setting. On Friday 25 August they’ll be showing Top Gun: Maverick. On Saturday 26 August they’ll be showing Mamma Mia! For anyone looking for a singalong. On Sunday 27 August the outdoor cinema will show Pretty Woman and on Monday 28 August be transported back to the 1920s as they show The Great Gatsby. Sit back, relax and get ready for a movie night you’ll never forget. Tickets cost £17.50.
Colors Festival: Manchester's Most Colourful Street-Art Experience
With 30+ street artists from across the globe, this unique interactive exhibition will open your eyes to a whole world of artwork. This exhibition hosted in Salford’s Regent Retail Park gives you a chance to encounter art in ways you never have before with super-sized colourful works and interactive displays. This family-friendly experience will inspire both little minds and art lovers and promises to be the most creative and bright way to spend your August Bank Holiday. Tickets start from £10.
To learn more about events taking place across Greater Manchester this August Bank Holiday visit our What’s On Page.
For more ideas and inspiration on how to spend a day in the city from things to eat to activities, check out our blog.
Related
Clear your calendar, set your alarm and come and join us this August Bank Holiday weekend for some of the best family entertainment around at one of the North West’s favourite events!
Manchester Pride Festival brings thousands of people to the streets of Manchester each year. Manchester Pride is part of a global Pride movement celebrating LGTBQ+ equality and challenging discrimination and the Festival celebrates queer people, culture and expression as loudly and publicly as possible in a refusal to hide in shame.
Conceived especially for the soaring spaces of Factory International, Yayoi Kusama - You, Me and the Balloons celebrates three decades of the pioneering Japanese artist's inflatable artworks.
Dive headfirst into the digestive system for an unforgettable journey of super-sized science with the Science and Industry Museum's world premiere blockbuster exhibition, Operation Ouch! Food, Poo and You, which will see the hit CBBC children's TV series brought to life.
Unpicking Couture premieres spectacular high-end fashion which has recently entered Manchester Art Gallery’s collection.
This summer, The Lowry in collaboration with publishers Macmillan Children’s Books and Scholastic, are hosting a new exhibition celebrating the acclaimed partnership between Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, who have created some of the world’s best-loved, and best-selling children’s books, including The Gruffalo, Zog, Room on the Broom, The Smeds and the Smoos, and most recently, The Baddies.
Let Summer Daze begin. Chill at the beach, jump on the rides, find the ultimate summer outfit and experience one of the must-visit events of the summer.
Lloyd and his friends have gone to stay in a luxury bug hotel at RHS Bridgewater but have got lost on the way.
Festa Italiana Manchester is the country’s most exciting and vibrant festival of Italian food, drink and culture. It is a free, weekend-long celebration of all things Italian taking place from 25-27 August in Manchester city centre.
The Octagon’s Family Festival is back with an Around the World theme! And for 2023 we’re Bigger and Better than ever.
Sit back, relax, and let Luna do the rest. Tatton Park is where Luna sets the scene for four nights of outdoor cinema, this August.
Immerse yourself in a captivating world of vibrant colors and boundless imagination at Colors Festival, where art takes you on a journey beyond your everyday life.
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