Top 10 Annual Events in Manchester

more than a year ago

The calendar is full, to say the least. Manchester is the largest city in the north of England and thus acts as something of a cultural centre, meaning not a month passes without a major festival of some sort taking place. These are the 10 to keep an eye out for.

CHINESE NEW YEAR (FEB)

Yes, the Chinese New Year is celebrated far more vigorously than the English one, and we aren’t about to complain. While the British one is essentially preparation for a hangover, Chinese New Year is an explosion of colour and excitement for all the family.

WONDER WOMEN (MAR)

One of the most exciting festivals on the calendar, Wonder Women is a celebration of feminist art, music, cinema and literature, held annually every March. Expect excitement and no small amount of debate.

GREAT MANCHESTER RUN (MAY)

While we’ve got no interest in going on long runs in the summer rain, thousands every year decide to do that in the Great Manchester Run. The largest 10k race in Europe, past winners include Haile Gebrselaisse, Mo Farah and Jo Pavey. Get training and add your name to the list.

MANCHESTER DAY (JUNE)

If every dog gets its day then why not a city? Manchester Day takes place every June and is a celebration of all things Manc, as the streets fill with hundreds of thousands of people and plenty of worker bee related fun.

PARKLIFE FESTIVAL (JUNE)

A bit strange that Manchester’s biggest music festival is named after a song by Blur and not Oasis, isn’t it? Too many questions IYP, too many questions. This June extravaganza takes place in Heaton Park usually features a stellar line up, with Snoop Dogg, The Chemical Brothers and The Flaming Lips among past headliners.

PRIDE (AUG)

Manchester’s annual Pride festival takes place every August and is centred around Canal Street, although that should be fairly obvious. A celebration of freedom, love and incredible dancing.

MANCHESTER FOOD & DRINK FESTIVAL (SEPT)

It does exactly what it says on the tin, surely? The Manchester Food & Drink Festival is a festival of food and drink held in Manchester, perfect for lovers of quality food and even better booze. We’ll see you there.

LITERATURE FESTIVAL (OCT)

People of the world, it is all good and well telling everyone that you look books, but what good is that if you do not support literature? Buy books! Celebrate writers! Visit Manchester’s Literature Festival, which takes place every October!

ZOMBIE WALK (OCT)

Few cities celebrate Hallowe’en with as much gusto as Manchester, as best seen with the annual Zombie Walk. Get that corpse paint on and practice your best stagger, before nipping to the pub for a pint and a plate of brains.

CHRISTMAS (DEC)

We absolutely adore Christmas here at In Your Pocket. The most wonderful time of the year? Temperatures aside, we can’t disagree with that. Manchester is a great place to be in December, with traditional Christmas markets and real sense of party going on.

Manchester