The best: Things to do in Manchester over Easter bank holiday

A vintage pop-up shop takes over the beer garden of Wallop in Prestwich on Fri 18 Apr. Along with stalls run by a variety of sustainable-focused businesses, there’ll be music provided by way of vinyl DJs, and the Wallop team will be serving their selection of craft drinks. Entry is free and the event is dog-friendly.

On Sat 19 Apr (and every other Saturday for that matter) The Blues Kitchen hosts its Hip Hop Orchestra Brunch. The event features three live performances from the incredible Untold Orchestra, resident DJs filling the gaps in between with Hip Hop and R&B bangers, crowd-pleasing food and, for an additional £19.95, 90 minutes of bottomless drinks. If you prefer, table only tickets are £15pp, with standing tickets available for £10.

A great day out for adults and kids alike, Power Up celebrates five decades’ worth of gaming at the Science and Industry Museum. Visitors can try their hands at more than 150 consoles and titles ranging from vintage Atari to cutting-edge virtual reality systems. The museum has also gotten its hands on several super-rare consoles that you’ll almost certainly never have had the chance to play before.

Manchester Punk Festival returns to the city over the Easter bank holiday with a stacked lineup that includes The Menzingers, Dillinger Four, Strung Out, Wonk Unit, Belvedere and loads more. The festival is spread over several city centre venues: The Union, Gorilla, The Bread Shed, The Salutation, YES, Rebellion and Sandbar.

The famous White Hotel will be opening its doors earlier than usual this Sunday for a full day party celebrating 10 years of queen-run club night, High Hoops. Doors are at 4pm sounds come from Cromby b2b Fastlove, Kim Lana, Sarah Bates and AMAA.

The Musical Box – internationally renowned for its historical accuracy – revisits Genesis’ famous 1973 performance, recorded live at De Montfort Hall in Leicester and released as Genesis Live (1973), at The Bridgewater Hall this Saturday evening. The show has acquired a cult-like following amongst Genesis fans and is considered the quintessential early Genesis performance.

The brilliant Chris McCausland brings his latest live stand-up show, Yonks!, to Lowry’s Lyric Theatre on Sunday evening. His last tour was a sell-out, so don’t expect tickets to hang around for too much longer for this one.

THISISPOPBABY’s electrifying new show, WAKE, comes to Aviva Studios over the bank holiday, promising glitter, beats and banging tunes, stemming from the unlikely inspiration of an ancient Irish funeral rite. The performance comes fresh from two sold-out, award-winning runs in Dublin — check out the trailer below.

Bruk has been a fantastic addition to Stockport’s flourishing Underbanks, and this Saturday, Andy Votel celebrates the 100th episode of his Randomonium NTS radio show by taking over the decks there. Joined by Sean Demdike and Helene Gautier, Andy has also promised a few unannounced guests will be joining for the party.

Like board games? Like mouthwatering street food? Like bottomless fizz, mimosas, beers or cider? Boy, have we got the thing for you. Indie tabletop games company, Dungeons and Flagons, is hosting a special bank holiday edition of its Bottomless Board Game Brunch at GRUB on Sunday. For £22.50, you get 90 minutes of bottomless drinks, plus four hours of 200+ party board games.

Some of the UK’s most renowned burger specialists are set to go head-to-head at the Track Brewing taproom. Along with sumptuous stacks and fresh pints, music for the event is curated by Our Friends Eclectic, with sets coming from Coops Robyn and Craig Campbell B2B Gez Miley. Entry is free, too.

A landmark new exhibition at the Whitworth features work from over 90 women artists and collectives, whose ideas helped fuel the women’s liberation movement during a period of significant social, economic and political change.

This first-of-its-kind major UK survey of feminist art celebrates the powerful and often provocative work of women whose radical ideas and rebellious methods changed the face of British culture.

Common and Nell’s are throwing a Northern Quarter street party on Saturday, with a stacked lineup curated by Joy Social. Expect feel-good disco, house and UK Garage, with sets from Savannah, Nite School’s Richie and Aural-B and other Joy Social residents. There’ll be £6 margaritas all day, and Nell’s pizza served until late. Tickets are free, but you can reserve your spot ahead.

Kicking the bank holiday off early, Ramona is hosting five days of festivities to mark the venue’s fourth birthday. On Wednesday, Andy Votel hosts Ramona Radio, Thursday welcomes a live set from SHA-DEV, Good Custard leads the Ramona Club on Friday, Black Josh and Rinse FM resident AK provide Birthday bangers on Saturday, and Anargy Studios bring things to a close on Sunday. From Fri – Sun, you’ll also be able to tuck into Bottomless Birthday Brunch.