Theatre

Black is the Colour of My Voice, the West End show inspired by the story of Nina Simone as both a singer and civil rights activist, comes to The Lyceum Theatre in Crewe on Weds 16 Oct, whilst the national tour of Who The F-k Is Shakespeare arrives at The Storyhouse in Chester on Thurs 10 Oct, promising a punky, witty take on some of the playwright’s most famous characters. 14+ in case you were wondering! For the Bard minus the bad language, there’s also a Storyhouse production of The Tempest for Kids from Mon 28 Oct – Sat 2 Nov for children 5+. Plenty of comedians coming our way this month too, with Peter Kay at the AI in Manchester Arena on 18-19 Oct (champagne package only by the looks of it if you have a spare £195), Miranda Hart at Chester Racecourse on Tues 22 Oct to talk about her new book I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest with You (tickets £35), Russell Kane feeling Hyperactive at Storyhouse on Fri 12 Oct, and Maisie Adam at Manchester’s The Lowry on Weds 23 Oct.

Exhibitions

artist Barbara Walker working on a wall mural Vanishing Point at Cristea Roberts Gallery, 2022. — Barbara Walker working on *Vanishing Point* at Cristea Roberts Gallery, 2022. Courtesy Cristea Roberts Gallery. Photo: Helen Waters

It’s an exciting season for art with The Whitworth, Manchester showcasing the powerful work of 2023 Turner nominee Barbara Walker (above) until 26 Jan 2025. The Birmingham-based artist is renowned for her large-scale figurative drawings and paintings, and her focus on black representation. Also focusing on black culture, Black History Month has arrived at Aviva Studios this month with a curated line-up of music, poetry, talks and world premiere of The Great North from visionary filmmaker, Jenn Nkiru.

The Museum of Illusions opened its doors last month in Manchester and it’s a blast. The first museum of its kind in the whole of the UK, there are a host of leftfield immersive rooms and interactive exhibits. Tickets from £23 for adults.

Museum-of-Illusions-Manchester-man-holding-woman-out-of-a-first-floor — The Museum of Illusions

Of if you want to shop the artists you see, hotfoot it to Manchester’s Victoria Baths for the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair, where over 200 makers, creators and artists will be showcasing their work within these extraordinary tiled Edwardian baths from Thurs 17-Sun 20 Oct.

Halloween

the magical woodland spooky woman adams family — The Magical Woodland

Thrillseekers, load up the kids in the car and head over to The Magical Woodland at Blakemere Village, where fairy-light-strung trails will lead you deep into the woodland and you might bump into Captain Hook, Wednesday Addams or Winifred from Hocus Pocus. Prices from £12.50, from 11 – 31 Oct.

A big outdoors cinema screen is back in the rambling grounds of Capesthorne Hall and to celebrate all things ghouslish this Halloween, haul along your camping chairs, picnic blankets, a flask of something hot and punchy and possibly a brolly for vampire cult film The Lost Boys on Fri 11 Oct; Hocus Pocus on Sat 12 Oct or Scream on Sun 13 Oct. Tickets from £16.

Remember Camelot, the Chorley-based theme park where kids went wild for the log flume? For the fifth year running, Scare City is returning to the now-abandoned park, scaring thrill-seekers silly as they tread through its harrowing spectres, flee from cannibal butchers and escape the clutches of a mammoth spider. You’ll either love it or hate it. Until Sun 3 Nov. From £25.

Also on your radar if you’re in easy distance of the Trafford Centre, is the immersive Halloween trail from the team behind last year’s Twilight Trail in Mayfield Park. Think spooky light installations plus pumpkin carving, marshmallow roasting, a skeleton petting zoo and a skeleton disco. Until Sun 3 Nov. From £10.

Festivals

JolanDA with saxophone playing to children in bright room

Bookworms let out a collective cheer! Chester’s WayWord Festival lands at Storyhouse from Sat 26 Oct – Mon 4 Nov bringing with it a line-up of children’s authors and illustrators to the stage plus a whole host of theatre performances, workshops and book-inspired fun. Prices vary depending on what you sign up for, but tickets to catch performance poet Michael Rosen on stage are from £12. Meanwhile across into Manchester, The Manchester Literature Festival returns to the city this autumn with an incredible programme of author chats, workshops and poet readings. Highlights include an audience with Rebecca F. Kuang behind the wildly successful Yellowface and An Evening with Neneh Cherry hosted by Booker-prize-winning author, Bernardine Evaristo, from Fri 4-Sun 20 Oct.

Outdoors

beautiful woman running in urban setting

Dig out your trainers for The Macclesfield Running Festival on Sat 27 Oct with races from 5K and 10K all the way through to a half marathon, running from Macc into the sprawling countryside. Training. Starts. Now. From £26. If you’ve a head for heights, or just feel like doing something completely bonkers, the highest bungee jump in the UK is coming to Tatton Park on Sat 12 – Sun 13 Oct. Take the giant leap and you’ll also be raising money for homeless charity Shelter with each jump costing £60. Prefer staying bit closer to the ground? Head to Capesthorne Hall on Sun 13 Oct when instructors will be on hand for a tree-climbing masterclass. Open to anyone aged 6 plus. £15 per person.

Music

DJ booth at rave looking out at people with arms up

Ravers (retired or otherwise) we’re talking to you. The Warehouse Project is back for 2024 in the cavernous Depot Mayfield. Tickets fly out quickly and some nights are already sold out, but Four Tet appear on Sat 19 Oct, and if you log on quickly, Fatboy Slim will be taking his place in the DJ deck on Fri 22 Nov. Four Tet from £19.50; Fatboy Slim from £45. Want the kids in on the fun? Then head to Big Fish Little Fish Chester Family Rave – Nightmare on RAVE street. Six-time winner of Best Family Event at the Arts Council Family Arts Festival Awards, it had me at its tagline ‘Helping parents be responsibly irresponsible since 2013′. Bust some moves while your children throw colossal pumpkin balloons in your face. Sun 27 Oct at Popcorn, Chester. From £12.

For something entirely different, I’m loving the sound of brand new series Inspirational Artists at Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), Manchester, until 3 Dec 2024, which looks to respect the past but embrace the new, – check out Manchester Collective string orchestra performing Fever Dreams on 10 Oct, alongside ‘cyborg pianist’ Zubin Kanga and The ParaOrchestra, a mix of disabled and non-disabled musicians. Or for something less challenging, Chester Cathedral is the resplendent setting for A Night at the Oper a on Fri 11 Oct, led by the London Concertante and featuring some of the most famous arias from Puccini, Verdi, Bizet, Delibes, Mozart and Rossini. Tickets from £23.

Foodie masterclasses

Millington Hall’s *Wild Grill Experience*

Learn the art of sushi from former luxury yacht chef Jinny Chivers who has now settled in Bollington after 14 years at sea. During her sushi workshop on Sat 12 Oct, you’ll learn the secrets to preparing the rice and the knack to rolling the perfect maki. Tickets are £60 at Adlington Village Hall.

Can your kids cook? Help them on their culinary journey (and give yourself a break from mid-week dinners) with a Cooking Together masterclass at The Cheshire Cookery School on Sat 19 Oct, where you can take your children along to learn the basics of cooking. Past dishes include chicken and noodle soup, banana bread and koftas and flatbreads. From £130 for one adult and one child.

Or maybe you fancy zoning in on Thai street food. On Mon 14 Oct, the Harthill Cookery School will host a masterclass in Thai cookery, spotlighting how to balance all those sweet and salty and spicy flavours with dishes including Tom Yum Soup and chilli stir-fried beef. £85, while for meat-lovers Millington Hall is hosting The Wild Grill Experience on select Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays throughout October. Get to grips with pig butchery, meat seasoning, sausage-making and open-fire-cooking before tucking into a feast in the tipi – all of which is sourced within a 20-mile radius of the Cheshire farm. From £142.50.

Out you go! The best of what’s on this October across Cheshire

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