Celebrate the languages and cultures of Manchester’s local communities. Enjoy live performances, and try your hand at traditional crafts. Suitable for all ages, everyone is welcome. ] Part of Super Duper Family Festival. Discover the full programme at https://www.visitmanchester.com/super-duper-family-festival/ Free - just drop in. Please consider making a donation to support our cultural programme if […]
Come along to Talk English Circles at Manchester Central Library to practise speaking English and meet other people. Learn English, build skills and step into ESOL with this programme funded by Economic Activity Trailblazer and Manchester Adult Education. Open to all levels. Every Tuesday, 12.30-2.30pm Free – just drop in. Please make a donation to […]
Join our free weekly boardgames sessions! Try new games, rediscover old favourites and make new friends. Open to all ages and abilities. Boardgames provided - just bring yourself. Free, no need to book – just drop in Please make a donation to support our Library Live cultural programme at one of our cash or contactless […]
Voiced, the UK’s first creative festival for endangered languages, presents an unmissable evening of Queer poetry and performance. Presenting Polari, a hidden language of Queer experience, which will come to life in performance with Jez Dolan. Rosie Garland performs poems from Polari Prize-shortlisted What Girls do in the Dark and her recently published This Is How I Fight, an Observer Poetry […]
Would you like to improve your English conversation skills? Join our friendly group to practice your English and meet new friends. Suitable for adults. Free – just drop in. Please consider making a donation if you can here or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library
What do George V, Gypsy Rose Lee and Bernard Bresslaw have in common? Which musician was once thrown out of the Language and Literature Library? What would you find now in the space where Patrick Stewart and Helen Mirren – amongst many others – played their first roles? All these questions – and many more […]
Join our fun and interactive storytelling session in Polish! We will listen to stories in Polish and English. Suitable for children aged 4–7. Free – drop in. Please consider making a donation if you can here or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library
Hola! Come and join María at the Spanish Story Time monthly sessions, where you can listen to a story in Spanish and learn phrases and vocabulary, whilst having fun. We end each session making a simple craft related to the story. Suitable for children aged 4-7 Free - just drop in. Please consider making a […]
Take a poetry journey from loss to hope, from home to infinity, to find your own personal True North. 100 people from Cornerstone Day Centre in Hulme, many affected by homelessness and other issues, have made poetic paths for all to follow, opening eyes to a wider world. These restless poems leap from the page into […]
In celebration of St Patrick’s Day 2026, Central Library will be hosting a special Irish dancing display and interactive teaching experience in its Henry Watson Music Library on the First Floor. Teaming up with the highly acclaimed The Ward-Mallinson School of Irish dancing, the school will be sending two of their finest dancers who have […]
It wouldn’t be St Patrick’s Day without a ceili would it? So, on the weekend before the world goes green for Ireland’s patron saint, Central Library are hosting a special ceili band and dancing experience in the Henry Watson Music Library. Come down on Saturday 14 March, where local legends, Mouses Nest, will perform live […]
What do George V, Gypsy Rose Lee and Bernard Bresslaw have in common? Which musician was once thrown out of the Language and Literature Library? What would you find now in the space where Patrick Stewart and Helen Mirren – amongst many others – played their first roles? All these questions – and many more […]
From dedicated performance spaces to stairwells, screens, nooks and domes, Central Library might directly inspire your next event or intervention. Contact us to arrange a tour.
