What's on North 13-20 Oct: Food and drink winners

Each week The Skinny team hand-pick a selection of the best events from the North's cultural calendar to provide you with this here top ten guide to the most exciting goings-on for the week ahead. From gigs, plays and exhibitions to spoken word, pop-up foodie events and one-off film screenings, we give you the insider's guide to things to do in Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds every Thursday morning.

The North's Food and Drink Heroes

The latest Michelin guide may prove that we've still got far to go to rival the capital (yaaaaawn), but it seems the culinary credentials of the North are still very much something to sing about.

And over the past fortnight we've all been doing precisely that. Find out who won big at Monday's Manchester Food and Drink Festival Awards, before checking out who was crowned champ the week before at the Liverpool Food and Drink Festival Awards.

Now, though, it's time for something of even greater magnitude: THE SKINNY FOOD AND DRINK SURVEY! That's right, she's back. Back to doff the cap to the food and drink titans of Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool and beyond – simply click here to get involved and cast your vote for the places you love.

A Carefully Planned Festival
Various venues, Manchester. Sat 15-Sun 16 Oct, times vary

Waving the flag for all things indie, DIY and alternative, A Carefully Planned Festival takes on Manchester's Northern Quarter for another weekend of stellar live music from the likes of Fruit Bomb, Jo Rose, Championlover, allusondrugs and new Skinny favourites, Peaness (pictured), who we caught a few weeks back at Stay Fresh Fest. Photo: Debbie Ellis

Advertisement | Picasso Linocuts
Lady Lever Art Gallery, Liverpool. Until Sun 8 Jan, 10am-5pm

Picasso Linocuts from the British Museum is displayed at the Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight for the first time outside London until 8 January 2017. This wonderfully bold and colourful exhibition highlights a period in the artist’s life when he rejected the established method of cutting a separate block of linoleum for each colour and instead, impatient to see the results, progressively cut and printed from a single block, resulting in masterpieces in linocut that required him to foresee the final result.

The free exhibition is open daily from 10am to 5pm (excluding 24, 25, 26, 31 December and 1 January). For the latest events visit: liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/picasso

Cider Festival
Left Bank, Leeds. Fri 14-Sat 15 Oct, times vary

Autumn's here, aka cider season! And to mark the occasion accordingly, Left Bank are throwing their very first cider festival, championing 14 craft cider mills along with live music and food from Bears Pantry, Leeds Bread Co-op and That Old Chestnut. To paraphrase The Wurzels, drink up that bloody cider, stat. Photo: Rebecca Siegel

Southport Comedy Festival
Various venues, Southport. Thu 13-Sun 23 Oct, times vary

Merseyside's favourite seaside town brings the laughs this week, as its comedy festival returns with over 40 shows and events from the likes of Sam Simmons (pictured), Jo Caulfield, Russell Kane, Tanyalee Davis, Paul Sinha, Jason Byrne and many more, along with a dedicated Children's Comedy Festival.

Advertisement | Vintage Home Show
Victoria Baths, Manchester. Sun 23 Oct, 11am-4pm

Find unique items for your living space at one of Manchester’s coolest venues, as The Vintage Home Show returns to Victoria Baths on Sunday 23 October. Get your hands on plenty of retro and mid-century furniture from the 1950s and 60s, with loads of funky lighting, artwork and chairs among the delights on display.

Tickets are available on the door or via the website, and entry is £3.

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Design City Fair
London Road Fire Station, Manchester. Sat 15-Sun 16 Oct, 10am

Creative festival Design Manchester is now underway, and this weekend it's time once again for the annual print fair in collaboration with G F Smith, Manchester Print Fair and Hot Bed Press. Along with affordable prints and more on sale, there will also be workshops throughout and, better still, local DJs, food and beer – including a special festival beer by Alphabet brewery. Aces.

House of Suarez Vogue Ball: The Iconic Ball
Invisible Wind Factory, Liverpool. Sat 15 Oct, 8pm

House of Suarez's multi award-winning Vogue Ball makes its way to the suitably outlandish Invisible Wind Factory, going all-out to celebrate the famed dance event's 10th year with an 'iconic' theme, a whopping 50ft runway and star judges Dean Murphy, Aviance Milan and The Vivienne. Photo: David Munn

Northern Vegan Festival
Various venues, Manchester. Sat 15 Oct, 10am

Manchester gets itself a very welcome vegan invasion this weekend, as the Northern Vegan Festival fills Sachas hotel, the Methodist Church, The Wonder Inn and various other venues with stalls, cooking demos, beer, live music and more, all embracing life without animal cruelty or exploitation.

Looking ahead: Leeds International Film Festival

Find out what's in store for the 30th LIFF, taking place 3-17 Nov and promising everything from old classics through to new films from Jim Jarmusch, Xavier Dolan and Kelly Reichardt.

Last chance saloon: Liverpool Biennial and Rogue Studios

This weekend it's time to lap up the last of Liverpool Biennial, and of Rogue Open Studios at Crusader Mill before they're forced to move on elsewhere.

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Read more news from across the Northwest cultural scene at theskinny.co.uk/news
Find out how you could win some lovely prizes at theskinny.co.uk/competitions

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