{"id":569931,"date":"2025-11-14T13:44:19","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T13:44:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/569931\/"},"modified":"2025-11-14T13:44:19","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T13:44:19","slug":"five-things-to-do-in-greater-manchester-this-weekend-to-forget-about-storm-claudia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/569931\/","title":{"rendered":"Five things to do in Greater Manchester this weekend\u00a0to forget about Storm Claudia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Christmas parades, superstar concerts, fresh brews and Japanese pop culture will keep you occupiedThis article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more<\/a>\"TheThe Trafford Centre’s Christmas Parade is back this Saturday for the first time in six years(Image: Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s almost time for another weekend – and Storm Claudia is set to make herself known for the start of it.<\/p>\n

Yellow and amber severe weather warnings have been issued<\/a> by the Met Office with parts of the UK expected to be affected by heavy downpours and potential flooding throughout Friday and Saturday morning.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, the stormy weather is expected to pass after that, meaning that there will hopefully be plenty of chances for us to go and enjoy the weekend however we wish.<\/p>\n

And, enjoy we can, as there are plenty of things going on across the city and Greater Manchester over the next two days – we\u2019re talking festivals, celebrations, parades and even a bit of friendly competition in the form of latte art.<\/p>\n

Join our Christmas in Manchester WhatsApp group <\/strong>HERE<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"JLSJLS will play Manchester’s Co-op Live on Saturday night (November 15)(Image: Redferns)<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s our round-up of five fun things taking place this weekend if you are still looking to make plans. As ever, please check all finer details with event organisers as, especially due to the weather, things can change at short notice.<\/p>\n

Christmas Parade<\/strong><\/p>\n

After a massive six year break, the Trafford<\/a> Centre is bringing back its beloved Christmas Parade<\/a> this Saturday (November 15).<\/p>\n

Taking place from 11.30am, the parade will feature a host of beloved children\u2019s favourites including the likes of Bluey, Hey Duggee, Teletubbies, Sonic the Hedgehog and Paddington, as well as Father Christmas<\/a> (of course).<\/p>\n

The \u2018musical extravaganza\u2019 will feature a host of singers and dancers as they get shoppers in the festive spirit and what\u2019s great about it is that it\u2019s completely free to come down and watch.<\/p>\n

The parade will be taking place on two occasions – both at 11.30am and 2.30pm. It\u2019ll take place around The Orient, so be sure to head there early to get a good vantage spot!<\/p>\n

Spectacular Sunday<\/strong><\/p>\n

Over in Stockport<\/a> on Sunday (November 16), there will be all kinds of dazzling fun and festive cheer taking place in the form of Spectacular Sunday.<\/p>\n

Running from 12pm to 5pm, the event will feature<\/a> more than 200 performers and 50 free shows with the likes of bouncing snowmen, stilt-walking Christmas Belles, brass bands, and giant carnival bees roaming around the streets.<\/p>\n

The event will be taking place across the Merseyway Shopping Centre, Suffragette Square, The Underbanks, Market Place and Warren Street.<\/p>\n

\" Stockport’s Spectacular Sunday is back (Image: Matthew Nichol )<\/p>\n

Some highlights are a performance from percussionist Sidiki Dembele as they bring the \u2018pulse of West Africa to Stockport\u2019 at Market Place at 2pm, whilst the dancing robots will be dropping beats at Suffragette Square at 2.30pm and there will also be an interactive exploration of bees at Market Place (from 1pm to 4pm).<\/p>\n

You can find the full line-up with times and locations here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Go see a show<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a busy time of the year and that means there\u2019s plenty of shows and gigs taking place in Manchester right now.<\/p>\n

New Zealand superstar Lorde will be performing at the AO Arena<\/a> on Saturday night, with the last remaining tickets available via AXS<\/a> and Ticketmaster<\/a>. The same night, JLS will bring their Club Is Alive greatest hits tour to Co-op Live – tickets via Ticketmaster.<\/a><\/p>\n

Absolute Bowie, Europe’s top tribute to David Bowie, will also be performing on Saturday with a show at Manchester Academy (tickets here<\/a>). Over at the Lowry theatre, Opera North will bring a production of La Boh\u00e8me on Saturday night (tickets here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

On Sunday night, the Opera House<\/a> will bring a lively rendition of Victoria Wood\u2019s Acorn Antiques to the stage with Katherine Kingsley, Gina Beck, Rob Madge, and Ria Jones, who is reprising her role as Mrs Overall after a 20-year hiatus. Tickets can be bought here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Celebrate Japanese culture<\/strong><\/p>\n

The UK\u2019s biggest celebration of Japanese pop culture, food, music and anime will be at Manchester Central<\/a> this weekend until Sunday (November 16).<\/p>\n

The three-day HYPER JAPAN festival will feature plenty of pop-up shops from indie and small businesses to peruse from (with some limited edition and rare items on sale), as well as street food stalls, live performances, contests and hands-on workshops stemming from Kintsugi, Calligraphy and Origami.<\/p>\n

\"HYPERHYPER JAPAN will be hosted at Manchester Central this weekend(Image: AFRAMEUNDONE)<\/p>\n

There will also be performances from anime star Aya Hirano and J-pop singer-songwriter Miyuna, plus traditional Enka, Koto and Taiko performances. In addition, there will be cosplay contests, fashion shows and other surprises.<\/p>\n

Tickets start from \u00a324. Children aged ten and under get in for free. More information and tickets here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Fresh brews and vibes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another big festival taking place this weekend will be the ideal pick-up for those who need it.<\/p>\n

The Manchester Coffee Festival will be running at Bowlers Exhibition Centres from Friday to Sunday (November 16) featuring a celebration of fresh brews with workshops, live DJs and panel discussions.<\/p>\n

There will be more than 50 roasters from all over the world attending including some of the leaders in Ugandan coffee<\/a>, which accounts for just 1% of the UK’s total imports but is described as being one of the finest topographies for quality beans.<\/p>\n

Highlights across the weekend will include latte art competitions and the finals of the UK & Ireland Filter Championships. The likes of Half Dozen Other and Saddleworth Brownies will also be there as part of a host of food vendors.<\/p>\n

Tickets start from \u00a316, with under 16’s going for free. More information and tickets here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Stay connected with our City Life newsletter <\/strong>here<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Christmas parades, superstar concerts, fresh brews and Japanese pop culture will keep you occupiedThis article contains affiliate links,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":569932,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[21149,748,35745,1936,578,393,10841,4884,2465,134782,180960,485,19084,1288,2627,32801,8880,10968,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-569931","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-ao-arena","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-christmas","11":"tag-co-op-live","12":"tag-coffee","13":"tag-england","14":"tag-festivals","15":"tag-great-britain","16":"tag-manchester","17":"tag-manchester-academy","18":"tag-manchester-central","19":"tag-manchester-family","20":"tag-manchester-opera-house","21":"tag-stockport","22":"tag-stockport-town-centre","23":"tag-the-lowry-theatre-and-arts-centre","24":"tag-the-trafford-centre","25":"tag-things-to-do-manchester","26":"tag-uk","27":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115548354756212131","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=569931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/569932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=569931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=569931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=569931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}