Suffragette City
Saturday 7th March
Hey, man! Or, woman? This night’s all about the ladies, and partying in the name of good. With all proceeds going to Women Asylum Seekers Together in Greater Manchester (WAST), Emmeline’s Pantry, Keeping Our Girls Safe (KOGS) and Contact Hostel, tonight we dance to the beat of the women’s drum. The best DJs in Manchester (incidentally, all happen to be women) are joining forces at Refuge for a night to celebrate International Women’s Day. These women have very magical mighty morphin’ powers, and will form their power-ranger megazord for free in the Refuge’s public bar, joining forces to combat bad music and misogyny.
The Perps @ Yes
Saturday 7th March
Apparently ‘perp’ is North American slang for a perpetrator in a crime. It’s also fake crack-cocaine made from candle wax and baking soda. Most importantly, it’s also your new favourite band. Your new favourite band are playing at YES this Saturday. Your new favourite band are going to make this Saturday the best Saturday ever. Your new favourite band are supporting ex Vida frontman, Jamie Pollock. Manchester natives, the 4-piece alt-rock band released their debut single in January this year, and are building a name for themselves in the Northern music. Be there at the start so you can brag to your mates 3 years from now how ‘you were there first.’
Promise For Nature
Saturday 7th March
I make a lot of empty promises, but they usually involve a treadmill and a kettle bell. But, unlike my summer body, climate change isn’t a myth that we have no evidence ever existed and ever will. So, this Saturday, the National Trust will be encouraging shoppers at Manchester Arndale to make their own “#PromiseForNature” by adding promises on seeded paper in the shape of oak tree leaves to a bespoke 3-metre-tall oak tree installation. Members of the public are being asked to join the likes of politicians, business leaders and celebrities by making a pledge for nature this weekend.
Deadbolt’s 9th Birthday
Saturday 7th March
They’re cleverly hosting a 9-hour party to celebrate their 9th Birthday. The club night incorporates elements of interactive games, live music performances and giveaways throughout the night to create a house party atmosphere with a hint of mayhem. As traditional for Deadbolt there will be guest appearances on the night and plenty of other mental things.
International Women’s Day @ Cottonopolis
Sunday 8th March
Let’s hear it for the girls! Girls just wanna have fun! Man! I feel like a woman! Celebrate all your womanly bits, and go get inspired by the boss women doing back-to-back workshops at Cottonopolis this Sunday. You can make your own sterling silver ring, or a flower bouquet. Your all-female tutors make it look easy (because they’re awesome) and they’ll make it easy for you too. I love being a feminist whilst designing and making rings to make my fingers look pretty – that’s called multitasking (and according to popular belief, we’re pretty good at that). It’s the perfect opportunity to support independent, female-led businesses whilst celebrating this International Women’s Day.
You, Me, For Six
Monday 9th March
Free ping-pong? All you have to do is rock up to one of the NQ’s best basement bars, Twenty Twenty Two, and spend just six English pounds. 6 quid gets you 2 beers and therefore unlimited ping pong. You can also grab one of their dead good cocktails for just 6 pound too. Once you are suitably tanked up on delicious cocktails or frosty pints, you can unleash your competitive side, have a game of ping-pong late into the evening and regret how late you stay out when you are a dishevelled stinking mess in work the next morning. Terrific.
Manchester Film Festival
Tuesday 10th March
You don’t have to be cool, smart, or super-into-German-expressionist-cinema to go to a film festival. Trust me, I’ve been, and I’m only one of those things (I’ll let you decide which). Tuesday has 2 showings of this year’s official selected short films, and I highly recommend going. They’re all of an insanely high quality, and if you have an attention span as short as mine, it’s a quite a fun bounce from comedy, to coming-of-age, to thriller, and back again. Also, if it’s anything like last year’s, all the adverts beforehand are also indie-made. One of them that sticks in my mind was a woman in bed with a gorilla and burger, surrounded by neon lights and soundtracked by Kids in America. I can’t find it again because I’m not sure what to search in Google.
Found Footage Festival
Tuesday 10th March
Essentially this is a bit like You’ve Been Framed. Found Footage Festival has been around for years, 15 to be precise. Celebrating the videos that time forgot, dredging up dusty thrift stores and estate sales throughout North America. Favourites that have been found include a local news stories about Pudgie Wudgie the Wonder Cat, an exercise video called ‘skiercise’ and unearthed footage from 1987 Miss Junior America Wisconsin Pageant. Excellent isn’t it?
Back To The Future The Musical
Wednesday 11th March
Almost every day this week, someone’s come into the office screaming about how good this show is. Not anyone who actually works here, just strangers who are very passionate about time-travel themed musicals. It’s been billed as one of the biggest musical events of the last 35 years – an adaptation of the 1985 classic film into an all-singing, all-dancing stage version. Most likely featuring many of the songs from the film, such as ‘The Power of Love’, ‘Earth Angel’ and ‘I’ve just got off with my own mother’ – it promises to be a musical experience like no other.
Gin & Jazz @ The Lowry Hotel Bar
Thursday 12th March
It’s a simple concept, but you’re a simple man. You see gin, you see jazz, you go to Gin & Jazz at the Lowry Bar. A classic pairing, that somehow isn’t done enough justice in todays modern world of noise and vodka (there’s a time and a place). Prohibition to modern-day jazz & blues duo, Almaz are garnering quite a reputation since their formation in 2017. Covering the time scale of jazz & blues from roots to branch, from Billie Holiday to Amy Winehouse. Catch them for a musical journey juke-joint style (with the bar’s supreme quality gin cocktails 2-4-1, no less). Tickets are free – you just need to turn up at The Lowry Bar at 7.30pm
Photo by Jack Kirwin -JK Photography-
Bongo’s Bingo
Friday 13th March
Right, we all know how mint Bongo’s Bingo is. If you’re observant, you may have noticed a load of Lidl savers knock-offs popping up all over the place in joints like Bierkeller. Obviously, no way near as good as the real thing. They have that magic sauce that everyone’s obsessed with and keeps us coming back for more (and it’s not just alcohol). Got to be real. Go make an absolute tit of yourself at the OG event to beat all events – it’s absolutely worth the sore head in the morning.
