Halloween in the City 2024

Shekina Rose, Families Editor
Halloween in the City
CityCo

Halloween in the City at Exchange Square, 25 — 31 October 2024 Entrance is free — Visit now

Looking for some fearsome family fun? Halloween in the City is back to haunt Manchester over Halloween weekend, with a petrifying programme of spooky events and activities taking place across Manchester city centre.

Manchester’s streets will be overrun by frightening but friendly monsters, with audiences encouraged to dress up and meet the beasts as they make their way through the city, causing fright and delight.

In its eighth year, Halloween in the City is pulling out all the stops, bringing back the iconic MCR Monsters – a vibrant invasion of inflatable creatures that will take over city rooftops throughout the week from 25-31 October during the half term break, along with a thrilling two-day family-friendly festival right in the heart of Manchester’s shopping district on 26 and 27 October.

The main event unfolds on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 October with a two-day, monster-packed festival. Families can enjoy the Monsters Rock! Music Festival, featuring live bands, DJs, and gruesome games, while the Rock! Party Procession will bring giant puppet monsters, stilt walkers, and a live band to the streets of Manchester, parading through Manchester Arndale and Market Street. Don’t miss this monster mash-up of spooky music and petrifying performances.

And new for 2024, a brand-new monster is slithering into the city: The Leech, produced by Walk the Plank. Catch this eight-metre-long creature dancing with its skeleton friends in St Ann’s Square.

Expect hair-raising live bands, electrifying DJs, exhilarating rides, jaw-dropping circus acts, and even monstrous portable loos as the Monsters Rock! Music Festival returns to the city, spanning New Cathedral Street, St Ann’s Square, Market Street, and Exchange Square!

This Halloween, Manchester is the place to be, and Halloween in the City promises a monster-sized celebration like no other.

Halloween in the City at Exchange Square, 25 — 31 October 2024 Entrance is free Visit now

Where to go near Halloween in the City 2024

Ripley's Believe It Or Not
Blackpool
Museum
Ripley’s Believe It Or Not

Located at Blackpool Pleasure Beach resort, this museum of oddities is the perfect place for families to discover the strange, the unusual and the extraordinary.

Image courtesy of Saoko Cocktail Bar.
Blackpool
Restaurant
Saoko Cocktail Club

This cocktail bar may be the new kid on the Blackpool block, but it’s already renowned for its excellent service and imaginative drinks that offer an ‘experience and a story’.

Little Black Pug by Ian Jones.
Blackpool
Restaurant
Little Black Pug

Head to Balckpool’s Little Black Pug for an historic, laid-back, family-friendly pub with a huge malt whiskey collection.

Ian Jones.
Blackpool
Shop
Aunty Social

Both a lifestyle store and a community arts hub, Aunty Social showcases the very best of Blackpool’s creative community. A great spot to pick up lovingly-made gifts.

Exterior of fish and chip shop
Blackpool
Restaurant
Harrowside Fish & Chips

Winner of the Good Food Award’s coveted Chippy of the Year award on multiple occasions, Harrowside is a great choice for fish and chips in Blackpool.

Ladies eating Fish and Chips
Blackpool
Restaurant
C Fresh

C Fresh is an old school, decidedly affordable chippy near Blackpool prom, consistently busy with locals – a sure-fire sign it’s doing something right.

Twisted
Blackpool
Restaurant
Twisted Indian Street Food

Blackpool’s number one Indian restaurant, Twisted Indian packs a flavour punch and isn’t afraid to mix the traditional with the modern. Their motto? ‘Being normal is boring.’

What's on: Festivals

A close up of a pink bottle of Leeds Sauce
Until
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free entry
ignite at gibside
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FestivalsNewcastle
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free entry
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An unmissable ten days of luminary adventures. Interact with boundary-breaking new commissions, create your own digital masterpieces and take a selfie with a Dalek. Yep, really.

free entry

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