Free things to do this weekend, ft. Federation House, Urban Moves Dance Fest, Soccerex + more

This weekend we’ve got art, the beautful game, urban moves and a refurbished park – all for free. All the boxes ticked, no?

Federation House open studios
This Saturday artists Chris Chapman, Lisa Denyer, Saoirse Higgins, Julie Del’hopital, James Moss, Val Murray and Lynn Pilling (Tea), Holly Rowan-Hesson, Graham Wann and Keith Wilkinson open up their second-floor studios in Federation House to the public with a special open day, showcasing a varied stock of painting, construction, automata, photography, text and installation. This is a great chance to meet some of Manchester’s finest, as well as catching a glimpse at one of the city’s most impressive art spaces at present.
Sat 6 Sep, 2nd floor, Federation House, Federation Street, M4 2AH, 2 – 8pm, FREE, www.fedmcr.tumblr.com

Urban Moves International Dance Festival
Brought to you by Dance Manchester and Manchester International Arts, the Urban Moves International Dance Festival returns to the city with an impressive lineup of outdoor dance performances. The last event saw 100,000 flock to watch the urban moves, and with 15 artists split between Cathedral Gardens & Piccadilly Gardens this year looks to be a strong contender with improvised capoeira, traditional Indian kathak, acrobatics, b-boying, contemporary dance, bmx biking and more, from renowned acts from the UK, France and Spain.
Sat 6 Sep, Picadilly Gardens and Cathedral Gardens, Central Manchester, Performances between 12 – 6pm, FREE, www.urbanmovesfestival.co.uk

Soccerex Football Festival
Since its debut year in 2005, Soccerex Football Festival has been to Dubai, South Africa and Brazil, but this year it’s heading to the UK’s football capital of Manchester. The free two-day event will house a football extravaganza with a youth tournament, football freestylers, competitions and activations for the whole family. Best of all, a whole host of football legends will be making an appearance, including Bryan Robson, Sean Dundee, Faustino Asprilla, Terry Phelan, Louis Saha, Bjarne Goldbaek, Carlos Valderrama, Dietmar Hamann and more.
Sat 6 & Sun 7 Sep, Ethiad Stadium, Ashton New Rd, M11 3FF, Sat: 9am – 6.30pm; Sun: 10am – 6.15pm, FREE, www.soccerexfootballfestival.com

Spend a day at Alexandra Park
Last week saw the launch of a brand new, refurbished Alexandra Park after a huge-scale £5.5 million transformation. The park now has a new children’s play area and four new tennis courts, as well as a beautifully restored pavilion and lake. So whilst this suggestion isn’t an event as such, we strongly suggest you head on down and lap up both the park’s new facilities and its swanky new lease of life.
Alexandra Park, Alexandra Road, Whalley Range, M16, FREE, www.manchester.gov.uk

Two day sausage and ale festival at Oddest
Saturday sees live music through the afternoon and DJs into the night with a selection of real ales from local microbreweries + some proper ciders on both days. Live music on Saturday includes John Mckinnie, Adam Snape (Mr Snape) feat Stolen From a Crow, Peer van See, Mighty Sea Lions and Zacc Rogers. Look out for real ales and ciders from Titanic Brewery, Raw Brewing Company, Rooster’s Brewing Co., Kinver Brewery, Abbeydale Brewery, Black Hole Beer Company, Peerless and more.
Sat 6 & Sun 7 Sep, Oddest, 414-416 Wilbraham Road, Manchester. Tel: 0161 860 7515, FREE, www.oddbar.co.uk