Things to do in Greater Manchester this weekend with Manchester Marathon and Record Store Day

Music Need to know

There’s free pints, pop-up football, music takeovers and a very impressive 26.2m route

Five things to do in Greater Manchester this weekend (April 18-19)

1. Saturday (April 18) marks Record Store Day, a chance to celebrate our many beloved independent vinyl shops and buy some limited-edition runs. Northern Quarter spots Piccadilly Records and Vinyl Exchange will be expecting big queues, whilst Pollen Yard (M40 7QX) will be hosting an Open Studio Day from 8am to 5pm featuring lots of live music, live murals, food and drink stalls, and plenty more. Vinylfetishes will be there to help you with your RSD purchases, whilst you can also check out the likes of Wrap Scallion, Palms Coffee, Marleo Street Food and Ancoats Guitars! More info on Instagram.
2. In Castlefield, the first ever ‘Campfield Market at St John’s’ will take place – hailed as one of the biggest weekly artisan markets in the country. The Saturday event will be set out across Castlefield House, Campfield and Grape Street (near Aviva studios) featuring a 1km loop of stalls, food traders and independent goodies. Expect the likes of Dasilva’s Kitchen, Land O The Pretty, Baby Mayhem, Studio Black Coffee, The Plantisserie, Yee Kwan, Bueno Bites, and Rainy Studio. Runs from 10am to 4pm (M3 4FP). Details here.
3. On Saturday night (April 18) in Altrincham (which has just been named by The Sunday Times as one of the best places to live in the North), Sofar Sounds will be taking over the Rhode Island Coffee shop on George Street in the Stamford Quarter. The first-of-its-kind Uncorked & Unplugged event will feature three emerging artists, to be revealed on the night, and will then be shown later on Sofar Sounds’ YouTube account with over 1.5m subscribers. Doors open at 7.30pm, tickets can be bought here.
4. There will be a free-to-attend Tokyo-inspired football pop-up taking place at The New Cross on Saturday and Sunday. Organised by Asahi Super Dry, the space will celebrate football, fashion and fan culture, with panel appearances from the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City midfielder Patrick Vieira and Manchester City Women’s icon Steph Houghton. There will be jersey customisation stations, live graffiti, and a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Tickets are free but need to be booked in advance here.
5. The Manchester Marathon will be taking place this Sunday, with more than 42,000 runners taking on the mighty 26.2 mile route across the city and 140,000 more cheering them on from the sidelines. To continue the celebrations past the finish line, there are loads of freebies and discounts on offer during the day for those who have taken part. There’s also a fan zone right by the finish line. READ THE FULL STORY: Manchester Marathon guide with free drinks, fan zone and discounts across city