What's on Northwest 3-10 Dec: John Kearns

Each week The Skinny team hand pick a selection of the best events from the Northwest 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 beyond every Thursday morning.

Winter Arts Market
St. George's Hall, Liverpool. Sat 5-Sun 6 Dec, 10am

If you're in doubt that the festive season has begun, then the Winter Arts Market is always a handy indicator that it's time to get merry. Typically attracting hundreds of people over its two days, the Market hosts more than 200 regional artists, who'll be selling their wares at St. George's Hall. In addition to that there'll be carols, live performances curated by Mellowtone, workshops and more all going on across the weekend.

GRUB Christmas Food Fair
Sadler's Yard, Manchester. Sat 5 Dec, 12pm

Street food lovers GRUB return to Sadler's Yard in the Green Quarter with a Christmas special that's set to leave you fit for bursting. Bringing together some of the finest independent food and drink merchants of the past year, the Christmas Fair promises beer from Blackjack Beers, The Runaway Brewery, the Marble Brewery and many more, while food is provided by Mei Mei's Street Cart, Caribou Poutine, Fritto Italian Street Food and BakeOrama. Other festive food suggestions here!

Dialect and Vitalija Glovackyte
Everyman Bistro, Liverpool. Thu 3 Dec, 8pm

Two gifted composers come to the Everyman Bistro as the Deep Hedonia collective continue their residency. Dialect, better known as Andrew Hunt from Outfit – more on whom you can read here – has released two wildly contrasting and equally arresting LPs this year, and will be accompanied by visuals from Thom Isom (pictured), while Vitalija Glovackyte is a Lithuania-born composer whose composition work ranges from solo pieces to opera scores.

---

Sign up to our Zap e-newsletter to get our events guide in your inbox every week

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

---

Sex Swing
Soup Kitchen, Manchester. Sat 5 Dec, 7.30pm

If you're not familiar with the bands that the component parts of Sex Swing come from – Dethscalator, Part Chimp, Mugstar – then first of all get them listened to in order to understand the giddy anticipation we have about Sex Swing. Formed last year, they take the bristling noise and thunderous percussion of the first two acts, and the mind-expanding psychedelia of the latter, to dizzying extremes. They're not for the beard-scratchers, though. Sex Swing bring nowt but a party.

As We Are Away Festival
Various venues, Manchester. Thu 3 Dec-Thu 10 Dec, times vary

Based around the theme 'Worlds Apart', As We Are Away Festival returns for its third year, taking over Manchester city centre's bars, pubs and creative spaces to look at how we're connected through time, space and societies. Among the highlights of a week-long bill are the opening night, which sees DJs Teaser Pleasers help celebrate the new issue launch of mental health conscious magazine NOUS. Other performers over the week include Irma Vep and Blood Sport (pictured).

---

Advertisement | Nowhere does Christmas like Manchester

From the glamour of high-end luxury on The Avenue at Spinningfields, to the vintage chic of the Northern Quarter – even the most difficult to buy for will be happy come the big day.

For designer brands and high street labels visit King Street, St Ann’s Square, Deansgate, New Cathedral Street or Exchange Square. Pop into the Manchester Arndale for all your favourites under one roof and take a quick jaunt to see Santa in his Christmas Grotto.

Luxury brands sit side by side with independents, so pay us a visit this winter and discover that nowhere does Christmas quite like Manchester.

---

Jimmy Edgar
24 Kitchen Street, Liverpool. Fri 4 Dec, 10pm

Finally, the good people of Liverpool have the chance to see Berlin-based techno mainstay Jimmy Edgar (this gig having previously been rescheduled). Having released work via everyone from Warp to !K7 and Hotflush, Edgar is one of the most respected producers in Europe and since 2012 has been releasing music through his own Ultramajic label, as well as designing most of the cover art. Read our interview with the man from last year.

Group Therapy's Christmas Ding Dong
Gorilla, Manchester. Sat 5 Dec, 7pm

After an incredible year that's seen them host everyone from David Cross to Josie Long, the folks at comedy night Group Therapy have every right to close their year with a right ol' party – and tonight they have another typically strong lineup to get boozy with. Headlined by John Kearns, the only act to have ever won the Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Award for best newcomer and best show consecutively, this evening also features super special guest Phill Jupitus – we caught up with him last year.

Industrialising Intimacy
The Bluecoat, Liverpool. Thu 3 Dec, 7.30pm

The project of vocal artist Elaine Mitchener, Industrialising Intimacy sees Mitchener collaborate with award-winning choreographer Dam Van Huynh for a performance that features the work of composer George Lewis and sound artist David Toop. The piece combines vocal improvisation, movement and sound, with the audience invited to share in Mitchener’s exploration of the loss of privacy in our society versus the strength of true intimacy.

Arkade
The Kazimier, Liverpool. Sun 6 Dec, 12pm

We're not going to apologise for banging on about The Kazimier closing its doors – it's going to be hugely missed, after all. This Sunday sees a break from the run of night-time events for Arkade, which will host a retrospective of the venue's artwork, artefacts and history from the last eight years plus stalls from a host of carefully picked collaborators. A chance to grab a small piece of Liverpool's recent cultural history.

The Portico Print Fair
The Portico Library, Manchester. Thu 3 Dec, 6pm

A chance to spend an evening in the Portico's resplendent but homely subscription library is always welcome, and tonight particularly so, as the Library warms up for winter with some mulled wine and mince pies – as well as new, affordable work from 13 UK artists, print makers and collectives. Among those presenting work across diverse media and techniques are locals Hot Bed Press, John Powell Jones and Tasha Whittle.