There’s plenty of things to do in Manchester this weekend including wing and beer festivals, art battles and more
Wing Fest Manchester at Victoria Baths
Autumn is officially upon us. The summer furniture has been firmly stored away and the central heating put on standby, as we gear up for cooler weather and crisper mornings.
It’s a little sad that summer has ended so abruptly, but that said there’s a lot to love about autumn, from the crunch of leaves underfoot to Halloween and Bonfire events, and of course, plenty of country walks and roast dinners.
As we head into the season, there’s plenty of activities and events to get stuck into. This weekend, there’s a range of events across Greater Manchester including Oktoberfest celebrations, an art battle in a magnificent Grade II-listed building, and a wing festival taking over a Manchester institution.
Below we’ve rounded up a few events taking place this Saturday and Sunday.
Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest at Albert Schloss (Image: Supplied)
Dust off the dirndls and tighten the lederhosen – Oktoberfest is back, and Albert’s Schloss is set to host the UK’s biggest bier-fuelled celebration outside of Munich.
Kicking off from Saturday, 20 September, to coincide with the original festivities in Munich, the party continues for three full weeks through to Sunday 12 October.
The Bier Palace will be offering three weeks of unique Bavarian brews, delicious new dishes, and non-stop live entertainment – and no tickets are required.
Throughout the festival, guests can expect traditional keg tapping ceremonies, Oompah and brass bands, wiener-eating competitions, pretzel tossing, hat tossing and bier guzzling challenges – as well as live best-dressed lederhosen and dirndl competitions.
Albert’s Schloss is located at 27 Peter St, Manchester M2 5QR and is open seven days a week from 9am-2am.
Art Battle
Art Battle is back in Stockport(Image: Supplied)
After a two-year wait, Art Battle returns to Stockport with a Back-to-School theme and unprecedented access to a magnificent Grade II-listed building situated behind the town’s Art Gallery on Greek Street.
Organisers have been granted special one-off access to the former school built in 1909 before it’s restored under the name of Cheers and Smith after the building’s original architects.
On Saturday, 20 September, 10 of Greater Manchester’s top painters, illustrators and street artists will go head-to-head against each other.
They will be battling it out in the round with 30 minutes on the clock. Each will be given a blank canvas to create a masterpiece while crowds watch the action before crowning the champion for the night.
The event will see a night filled with live art, DJs, delicious street food and plenty of entertainment. Tickets (£20.60) are available from the Art Battle website.
Stopford Park, Greek Street, Stockport, SK3 8AB
Seconds Carvery at Freight Island
Seconds carvery, which is being served up at Freight Island this autumn(Image: Supplied)
Freight Island has announced the return of Seconds, its carvery dining experience. Served from 12pm until 8pm every Sunday from 21 September until 30 November, the carvery incudes bottomless trimmings and giant Yorkshire puddings, paired with endless jugs of proper gravy and even cheese sauce on tap.
The mains include grass-fed Cheshire Roasted Beef served medium-rare in a mustard salt crust with fresh horseradish cream, as well as free-range Shropshire Chicken with herb butter, roasted lemon and thyme stuffing, and a honey and mustard glazed Bacon Loin.
A rotating vegan roast also features each week, with dishes such as Mushroom & Chestnut Wellington, Beetroot, Walnut & Lentil Loaf, and Roast Squash, Sage & Butterbean Terrine, all served with vegan gravy.
Guests can choose between one, two or three meats, priced at £20, £22 and £24 respectively, with a children’s portion (one meat) available for £12. Extras include pigs in blankets (£5) and triple cheese cauliflower cheese (£5).
And to finish, every diner is treated to complimentary soft serve from Hello Dezato.
11 Baring St, Manchester M1 2PZ
United By The Groove
DJ Jake Smith will headline United By The Groove in Manchester
A groundbreaking new event in Manchester this weekend aims to show how club nights can be made accessible in the city.
Taking place at The Yard, on Bent Street in Cheetham Hill, United By The Groove has been billed as a fully accessible house music rave, featuring a line-up of big name performers.
Creamfields DJ Jake Smith, who uses a wheelchair and has cerebral palsy, will headline, whilst the likes of AJ Murphy, Finley Allen and Matty Taylforth will also perform at the event on Saturday (September 20).
Raising money for national disability charity Sense, the rave night will offer braille signage, a lowered bar with an audio loop and accessible toilets that are equipped with alarm pull cords and brackets.
In addition, there will also be a chill-out sensory room on the night for anybody who needs a break from the music. The event, which will run from 4pm to 10pm, has also been scheduled to make travelling home easier afterwards.
Tickets for United By The Groove can be bought here. 11 Bent St, Cheetham Hill, Manchester M8 8NF
Manchester Wing Fest
100,000 wings are to be served over the weekend (Image: MEN)
Feeling peckish? Well you’re in luck because this weekend the world’s largest chicken wing festival comes to Manchester and is taking over Victoria Baths. Every year the event showcases the best chicken wings the UK has to offer, with thousands of ticket holders and a judging panel deciding who really does do the best wings.
Tickets include all live music, DJs, bands, entertainment, games, axe throwing, eating competitions and Wing Fest trucker hats. All wings will be sold in individual joints and are £1.50 each (1 drum = £1.50, 1 flat = £1.50) to allow voters to try as many wings as possible from each of the traders.
Friday evening entry time is from 5pm to 9.30pm. The session ends at 10.30pm, and is for over 18s only. Saturday afternoon entry time is from 11:30am to 3.30pm. The session ends at 4.30pm.Saturday evening entry time is from 5pm to 9.30pm. The session ends at 10.30pm. Over 18s only. Sunday afternoon entry time is from 12:00pm to 4pm. The session ends at 5pm.
Tickets are available via the Manchester Wing Fest 2025 website. The event takes place at Victoria Baths, Hathersage Rd, Manchester, M13 0FE.
Erling Haaland ‘s supersized football boot at National Football Museum
(Image: National Football Museum)
A six-metre-long, record-breaking replica of the player’s latest Phantom signature edition rolled into the city last week and dropped into a Football Beyond Borders event with kids in Manchester, as well as being paraded around the Etihad ahead of the derby game.
Now it’s on show at the National Football Museum, where fans can see it this Saturday and Sunday, September 20 and 21.
The boot, given the tagline ‘Too Big To Miss’ by Nike, is an exact copy of the Phantom footwear with their ‘laser orange, lemon venom and blue void’ colour scheme.
Admission is free to Manchester residents (who pay council tax to Manchester City Council). For others it’s cheapest to buy online, with annual tickets costing £15 for adults and £9 for children aged 5 to 15. Under fives go free.
Todd St, Manchester M4 3BG