Something different - Englands North West including Elizabeth Gaskell Bicentenary Celebrations, Blackpool Pride, Queer Up North, Blackpool Air Show, Cartmel Races, Blackpool Illuminations, World Fireworks Championship
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Elizabeth Gaskell Bicentenary Celebrations

31 Mar 2010 - 28 Nov 2010

The series of events celebrating the live of this acclaimed British novelist and short story writer

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Chester Races Weekend

25 - 26 Jun 2010 / The Roodee, Chester

Everything a race event should be – top-flight gee-gees, fabulous outfits and lots of bubbly. Fancy a flutter?

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Blackpool Air Show

08 Aug 2010 / South Promenade, Blackpool

The seafront at Blackpool provides a great backdrop for this festival of the air, with The Red Arrows the star attraction.

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Cartmel Races

28 - 30 Aug 2010 / Cartmel Racecourse, Cumbria

Horse racing in the home of sticky toffee pudding in this traditional bank holiday racing bonanza in one of Cumbria’s gastro hot spots.

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Blackpool Illuminations

03 Sep 2010 - 11 Nov 2010 / Blackpool Promenade

The biggest free light show on earth has been pulling crowds since 1879, but you’ll be pleased to hear it’s had a makeover since then. Best way to enjoy the spectacle is to grab a bag of chips and hop on an open top tram along the promenade.

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World Fireworks Championship

10 - 12 Sep 2010 / Blackpool Promenade

Spectacular pyrotechnic displays from the winners from previous years’ contests in a ‘Champion of Champions’ extravaganza.

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Cockermouth Midsummer Festival

19 Jun 2010 - 13 Jul 2010 / Various venues, Cockermouth

Busy getting back on its feet after a bit too much water under the bridge last winter, the Georgian market town of Cockermouth is back with a bang with this two week midsummer festival of dance, music, stree theatre and more. The festival kicks off with an appearance by the celebrated London Community Gospel Choir and encompasses everything from African, Cuban and Indonesian music performances to parkour demonstrations and a massive hog roast.

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Elizabeth Gaskell Bicentenary Celebrations

19 Aug 2010 - 28 Nov 2010 / Various venues, Cheshire and Manchester

The 200th anniversary of the birth of the author of Cranford is the excuse for this year-long celebration of all things Gaskell. There are walking tours around her home town of Knutsford (the ‘real Cranford’) plus exhibitions, talks and performances around the fashion, music and politics of her times.

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Blackpool Illuminations

03 Sep 2010 - 07 Nov 2010 / Promenade, Blackpool

The biggest free light show on earth has been pulling the crowds since 1879, but you’ll be pleased to hear it’s had a serious makeover since then. Best way to enjoy the spectacle is to grab a bag of chips and hop on an open top tram along the promenade.

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Heritage Open Days

09 - 12 Sep 2010 / Various venues across the Northwest

National festival celebrating architecture and culture that, for one weekend only, opens the doors of fascinating places that are normally closed to the public. Venues include the Salford Lads Club (take note Mozzer fans), the Port of Liverpool Building, Lancaster Castle and many more.

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World Fireworks Championship

10 - 12 Sep 2010 / Blackpool Promenade

The crème de la crème of the world’s firework elite gather in Blackpool every year to see who can elicit the biggest ‘wow’ from the spectators with their astonishing pyrotechnic displays. This year’s event features winners from previous years’ contests in a ‘Champion of Champions’ extravaganza.

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Chester Races Summer Finale

25 - 26 Sep 2010 / The Roodee, Chester

Chester finishes off the summer with a race event that has everything a race event should have – top-flight gee-gees, fabulous outfits and lots of bubbly. Fancy a flutter?

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Farmageddon

08 - 01 Oct 2010 / Farmer Ted’s Farm Park, Flatman’s Lane, Ormskirk, Lancashire L39 7HW

Farmer Ted has shown an award-winning bit of innovation in turning his bit of rural Lancashire into a full-on spookfest for the witching month of October. Two huge walk-through houses of horror called Terror on the Farm and Insanity promise to prey on your senses and embody all your worst nightmares in what was voted Lancashire’s best tourism experience last year. Shows a wonderfully self-deprecating touch, describing itself as ‘forged in Hell but conveniently located just off the Formby bypass’.

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Kiteival

14 - 17 Oct 2010 / North Shore Promenade, Blackpool

Blackpool’s North Shore is the location for this year’s finals of the British Kite Surfing Association’s Championship competition. Categories include kite landboarding, kite surfing and kite buggy racing, with over 100 competitors taking to the sands and seas.

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Bollington Walking Festival:

15 - 31 Oct 2010 / Various locations, Bollington, Cheshire

Two-week festival of enjoyable walks (many of which are very fortuitously focussed around public houses) exploring the scenery, heritage and wildlife of this glorious part of Cheshire’s Peak District, known locally as Happy Valley. Art, music and food events are thrown in for good measure.

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Homotopia

01 - 30 Nov 2010 / Various venues, Liverpool

Liverpool’s annual festival of lesbian and gay art and culture has grown to cover a month of art, film, theatre, dance, debate and cabaret.

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Christmas Markets

18 Nov 2010 - 21 Dec 2010 / Various locations, Manchester city centre

Don your Santa hat, dust off the mulled wine glass and get into the festive spirit as Manchester’s streets and squares get lined with chalets selling mulled wine, bratwurst and an eclectic international selection of Christmas goodies. European-style markets happen all over the UK now, but Manchester’s really is one of the biggest and best.

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Showzam

18 - 27 Feb 2011 / Various venues, Blackpool

There’s no better place for a festival of circus, magic and the interestingly-named ‘new variety’ than Blackpool. The popularity of contemporary performance troupes such as Cirque Du Soleil have opened the eyes of a new generation to the world of greasepaint and trapezes. Showzam showcases the best international performers across a range of venues including the iconic Blackpool Tower and Ballroom.

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