What's On North 11-19 May: Leeds Indie Food

Each week The Skinny team hand-pick a selection of the best events from the North's cultural calendar to provide you with this 'ere 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.

Independent Eats

We're hyped as hell for Leeds Indie Food, the food and drink festival celebrating the independent culture of Leeds and beyond. Running 11-28 May across various venues, expect a jam-packed programme of pop-ups and supper clubs, workshops and film screenings, foraging and chocolate making... and everything in between.

Find out about our programme highlights before reading more about Harrogate newcomer Norse and the secrets of Nordic cuisine (they pop up at the Corn Exchange 12-13 May), Laynes Espresso's favourite spots in Leeds (they'll have Carl Fleischer and Steve Nuttall in on 19 May) and the Yorkshire wine scene (lots of wine-based events to sink your teeth into, including the Grape Debate on 22 May).

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Watch Manchester-based dream-pop trio Blooms in session at Low Four Studio as part of our Stay Fresh series.

British Sandwich Week

British Sandwich Week takes place 14-21 May, so being the selfless types we are we've road-tested and rounded up the very best sandwiches in Manchester, from cheap eats at Rustica and Katsouris Deli to beefy extravagance at Hawksmoor and melted goodness at Northern Soul.

National Vegetarian Week

In a strange turn of events, it turns out next week is also National Vegetarian Week! Proving these things are entirely arbitrary publicity stunts... Either way, it's a good chance to scope out the very best non-meat eats of Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester. Photo: Giles Smith

Also This Week:

Castlefield Food Festival
Castlefield Bowl, Manchester. Thu 11-Sun 14 May, times vary

Castlefield Bowl gets filled right up to the brim with chef demos, cooking competitions, live music and food and drink, as Castlefield Food Festival arrives for its third shindig. Along with street food from the likes of local bods Eat New York (pictured) and Dim Sum Su, there'll also be gin masterclasses aboard a party barge and a series of Famous Five-inspired cookouts with chef Robert Owen Brown.

Annual Liverpool Improvathon
Invisible Wind Factory, Liverpool. Sat 13-Sun 14 May, times vary

Brace yerselves for the eighth Annual Liverpool Improvathon, Impropriety Comedy's 33.5-hour improvised soap opera, this time themed on 'The Space Age'. Starting at 1pm on 13 May, the event will run continuously for 17 two-hour long episodes, and will also feature live improvised music to accompany the onstage off-the-cuff silliness. Photo: Andrew AB Photography

Advertisement | Romeo and Juliet
Everyman Theatre, Liverpool. Sat 27 May-Wed 7 Jun

By William Shakespeare / Directed by Nick Bagnall
It’s the rage of the heart... Young and unafraid, with a fierce passion they freefall into love. But a tangle of secrets weaves its stranglehold, and in spite of the world crashing around them, they refuse to let go of the light. The Everyman Company and actors from Young Everyman Playhouse unite to celebrate Shakespeare’s brutal tale of love and family. #EvCompany

#SeeMySelfie
The Wonder Inn, Manchester. Tue 16-Tue 30 May, times vary

Following Girl Gang Manchester and Girl Gang Sheffield's social experiment last year exploring the 'selfie' as a vehicle for self-representation, the collective are launching an exhibition and ‘zine documenting the different voices to whom the project gave a platform. There will also be a programme of accompanying events including 'Speed Mate-ing' and a drink-and-draw event.

Leeds Vintage Weigh and Pay
Leeds Beckett University. Sat 13 May, 11am

At Leeds Vintage Weigh and Pay the premise is simple: browse through six tonnes of vintage gear from the 1960s onwards, before paying £15 per kilogram. Entry's also free (early bird admission costs £3), leaving you with more money to rifle through rails of pre-loved clobber and collectable oddities.

Next week: Museums at Night

There's a lot of good stuff on the programme for Manchester After Hours, the annual crepuscular one-night arts festival on Thu 18 May, including an NTS takeover at the Whitworth and an audio-visual installation at the Museum of Science and Industry by the Engine House collective. In Liverpool, the Museums at Night celebrations take place the next day on Fri 19 May with LightNight, with eight new commissions and a theme of 'Time'.

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