What's On North 6-13 Oct: Light Night
Light Night Leeds leads the way this week to provide much-needed magical autumnal spectacle, while in Manchester it's Ladyfest, Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair and Manchester Literature Festival, as Liverpool hosts the first leg of the RBMA tour.
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.
Go With the Glow
As darkness falls, Leeds will be coming to life with installations and performances across the city... Yep, it's time for this year's Light Night!
Taking place across two nights (6 & 7 Oct), there's ample time to get stuck reet into more than 50 artworks, film, dance, music, theatre, exhibitions and street performances, including the festival centrepiece, The Phoenix in the Stone (pictured), which can be seen on both evenings projected onto the Civic Hall in Millennium Square. Browse the full programme here, before wrapping up warm!
Manchester Literature Festival
Various venues, Manchester. Fri 7-Sun 23 Oct, times vary
One of the undoubted highlights of the Northern cultural calendar, Manchester Lit Fest returns for more than two weeks of readings, discussions, performances and workshops from the likes of Jonathan Safran Foer, Margaret Atwood, Lemn Sissay (pictured), Vivienne Westwood, Lionel Shriver, Hollie McNish Olivia Laing, Jackie Kay and many more. Check out our highlights.
Red Bull Music Academy: Liverpool
Various venues, Liverpool. Thu 6-Sun 9 Oct, times vary
The RBMA tour takes flight this week ('cos Red Bull gives you wings, innit), kicking off in Liverpool for a weekend jam-packed with acts including Mercury Prize nominee Jamie Woon, Detroit icon Moodyman (pictured) and London hip hop duo Krept & Konan. Leeds, you get your turn at the end of the month.
Group Therapy Leeds launch
Headrow House, Leeds. Fri 7 Oct, 8pm
Manchester's favourite comedy club heads across the Pennines this week to make its debut in good ol' Leeds! They're kicking things off with all the appropriate bangers, in the form of Simon Munnery (pictured), Liam Williams and host Andrew O'Neill, and after that the night will return every first Friday of the month at Headrow House.
Advertisement | James Wilton presents Leviathan
The Grand Theatre, Blackpool. Tue 8 Nov, 7.30pm, £13.50-£19.50
Multi-award winning choreographer James Wilton re-imagines Herman Melville’s seminal novel, Moby Dick. Featuring a cast of seven and Wilton’s trademark blend of athletic dance, martial arts, capoeira and partner-work, LEVIATHAN will have you on the edge of your seat. It will leave you gasping for air under the sheer ferocity of movement, all accompanied by a powerful electro-rock soundtrack by Lunatic Soul.
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Ladyfest MCR
Various venues, Manchester. Fri 7-Sun 9 Oct, times vary
Paying homage to Manchester's talented, creative and radical women both past and present through music, art and ideas, Ladyfest this year features a night of live bands, a Women in Tech workshop, an all-female DJ night at Eastern Bloc and lots more. Bloody amen to all o' that. Illustration: Laura Griffin
Oktoberfest
The Tetley, Leeds. Thu 6-Sun 9 Oct, times vary
Fittingly held in the grounds of Leeds' most famous former brewery, Oktoberfest will take over a 2000-capacity tent at The Tetley and fill it with steins of beer, bratwurst, brezel, schnitzel, hendl and oompah bands so that we can do as our Bavarian brethren do. Ja bitte! Photo: Patrik Kristian
Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair
Old Granada Studios, Manchester. Thu 6-Sun 9 Oct, times vary
From emerging graduates to established types, GNCCF pulls us away from Ikea and, we dunno, Home Sense or whatever, and towards ace contemporary makers in craft and design. We'll be busy looking out for Rhian Malin's cobalt blue porcelain vessels (pictured), Theo Wright's cosy handwoven scarves... And all of it, let's face it.
Looking ahead: Manchester Moleskine closing party
After a two-year labour of love, the Manchester Moleskine sketchbook project comes to an end, bowing out with a closing party at Old Granada Studios.
10 great late-night spots in Liverpool
As the days grow shorter, we've named the best places to make the most of all that excess nighttime in our roundup of favourite late-night dens.
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