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What’s on in August?

31 Jul 2025

Welcome to August’s edition of ‘What’s on?’. Here you will find everything you can get involved in for free each month, ranging from cultural, extracurricular and celebratory events and activities.

What's on August edition

Events

Reclaiming Joy: A Legacy of Third Spaces

A day of discussion, performance and food, exploring cultural spaces for South Asian communities, from Bhangra day raves to Bengali folk.

Parents, Carers and Guardians Network Family Fun Event 

A fantastic day filled with fun activities, games, and opportunities to connect with other families across the University community in the Roscoe Building.

LGBT Foundation events this August

Open all August, the 50 Years of Queer Hope & Joy Exhibition at Manchester Central Library invites the public into a powerful, moving, and often joyful journey through the stories that shaped five decades of LGBTQ+ life in Greater Manchester and beyond.

Our cultural institutions

Jodrell Bank

All August: 80 Years of Jodrell Bank: Get Involved At Home!

Manchester Museum

All August: Anindilyakwa Arts: Stories from our Country

All August: Silent Skies

All August: Khawaab Mahal and Absent Presence

All August: The Cat That Slept for a Thousand Years

Saturday, 2 August (2pm to 4pm): A Screening of ‘Love Bound’

Monday, 4, 11 and 18 August (1pm to 4pm): Claymation

Monday, 4 to Friday, 15 August (2pm to 4pm): Shadow Play

Wednesday, 6 August (1.15pm to 1.45pm): Collection Bites: A radical history of Manchester Museum

Wednesday, 6 August (11.30am to 12.30pm): Hiroshima & Nagasaki Atomic Bombings: 80th Anniversary Civic Commemorative Event

Friday, 8 August (10.30am to 3pm): Finds ID

Friday, 8 August (11am to 1pm): If Objects Could Speak

Wednesday, 13 August (11am to 12.30pm): Age Friendly Climate Café

Monday, 18 to Friday, 29 August (2pm to 4pm): Magical Mobiles

Tuesday, 19 August (11am to 12.30pm): Shared Reading

Wednesday, 20 August: Critical Conversations

Saturday, 23 August (10.30am to 3.30pm): Variety of Life Festival

Whitworth Art Gallery

Various dates: PLAYTIME

Thursday, 21 August (6pm to 8pm): Reading Circle: Talking Beasts and Trickster Tongues

Saturday, 23 August (From 12pm): Support GLAM at Manchester Pride

Thursday, 28 August (6.30pmm to 8.30pm): The Grey Area Writing Group & Book Club

John Rylands Research Institute and Library

Thursday, 7 August (3pm to 3.30pm): Curator tour: The Secret Public LGBTQ Pop 1955-1985

Friday, 15 August (2.10pm to 2.50pm): Rare Reads: Peterloo

Our community

Religious celebrations and traditions

Lammas (Wheel of the Year) Friday, 1 August

Fast of Tisha B’Av (Judaism) Saturday, 2 to Sunday, 3 August

Raksha Bandhan (Hinduism) Saturday, 9 August

Obon (Buddhism) Wednesday, 13 August  

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Christianity) Friday, 15 August

Krishna Janmashtami (Hinduism) Saturday, 16 August

  • Read more about religious celebrations our colleagues take part in this August

Awareness days

International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade & its Abolition – Saturday, 23 August

Groups and societies

Book club

This month’s book is Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. We will also recap Prophet Song by Paul Lynch.

You don't even need to have finished the book (although there will be spoilers!).

Why not head over to our Viva Engage (yammer) group for more reading inspiration!

Want to feature your event next month?

If your event is free and open to all colleagues at the University, you can advertise it here next month!

Submit your suggestion to uninews@manchester.ac.uk by 25 of each month to feature in the following month. Please send us a short description (max 30 words) and any relevant links you may have too.

Please note that we unfortunately cannot guarantee your submission will feature, but we will do our best to feature as many as we can.

The deadline to feature in September’s ‘What’s on?’ is 25 August. Any questions, just drop us an email!