On the first Wednesday monthly we meet in the Chief Librarian’s Office, Manchester Central Library, St Peter’s Square, Manchester M2 5PD from 2.00pm to 4.00pm. Take the lift to the third floor and turn left through the doors signed “Meeting Rooms”.

For the rest of the month we meet weekly at Cross Street Chapel, 29 Cross Street, Manchester M2 1NL on Thursdays from 2.00pm to 4.00pm.

Monthly Women’s Meetings held on last Thursday of the month at Cross Street Chapel, 29 Cross Street, Manchester M2 1NL from 2.00pm to 4.00pm.

Meetings are “drop-ins”. There is no need to book, just turn up.

On Wednesdays (and occasionally other days), there are different activities, but you do need to book. Please contact us here. You are welcome to attend on one or both days.

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Next activities:

Trips need to be booked. Please note that some trips have a limited number of places and are available on a first come basis. If a trip is “Fully Booked Up”, please ask to go on the reserve list as there are often late cancellations.

Please contact us here

Wednesday, 29 April – Saltaire – Visit to Salts Mill

Meet at Manchester Victoria at 10.30am. Train to Leeds (via Hebden Bridge) at 10.57am. Change to Platform 2C. Train to Saltaire at 12.26pm, arrives 12.40pm

Lunch at The Boathouse Inn, then visit to Salts Mill.

Thursday, 30 April – 2.00pm – 4.00pm – Meeting in Cross Street Chapel

Thursday, 30 April – 2.00pm – 4.00pm – Women’s Meeting in Cross Street Chapel

Tuesday, 5 May – Out On The Radio – Show 6 on 96.9fm

2.00pm – 3.00pm Live and available on Mixcloud to listen again. Norman and Tony are chatting and playing tunes.

Wednesday, 6 May – 2.00pm – 4.00pm – Meeting at Manchester Central Library.

We are meeting in the Chief Librarian’s Office, Manchester Central Library, St Peter’s Square, Manchester M2 5PD from 2.00pm to 4.00pm. Take the lift to the third floor and turn left through the doors signed “Meeting Rooms”.

Thursday, 7 May – 12.00 noon – 1853 Restaurant – 36 places – (Fully Booked Up)

Meet at Victoria Train Station (near Starbucks) at 11.45am, and we will walk round together, or go directly to the venue.

The lunch time menu is £20. Out In The City will contribute £10 to each diner. Please note that this is now a cashless venue.

Tuesday, 12 May – 7.30pm – Sir Stephen Hough, piano – Free

Bridgewater Hall, Lower Mosley Street, Manchester, M2 3WS

Schubert Klavierstück D946, No.2
Brahms Klavierstück Op.118, No.6
Schoenberg 6 Kleine Klavierstücke
Stockhausen Klavierstück III
Beethoven Bagatelle Op.119, No.10
Beethoven Piano Sonata No.21, ‘Waldstein’
R Schumann Carnaval
Sherman and Sherman, arr. Hough Mary Poppins Suite 

Sir Stephen Hough, arguably Britain’s finest living pianist, returns to close the International Concert Series with a dazzling programme. 

Only Stephen Hough could shape a concert like this. We begin with Klavierstücke – literally, ‘Piano Pieces’ – from two romantic giants, Schubert and Brahms, and two towering 20th-century composers, Schoenberg and Stockhausen. From Beethoven’s majestic ‘Waldstein’ Sonata, Robert Schumann’s vivid suite transports us to the heart of carnival. And we end – where else? – on the streets of Edwardian London, with Hough’s own bravura arrangements of songs from Mary Poppins. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! 

Wednesday, 13 May – 11.30am – Sale Waterside (Three Exhibitions) – Free

Meet at Deansgate / Castlefield Tram Stop at 11.30am. Tram to Sale and lunch before visiting not one, not two but three exhibitions!

Thursday, 14 May – 2.00pm – 4.00pm – Meeting in Cross Street Chapel

Thursday, 14 May – 7.30pm – The Hallé – Dvořák’s Symphony No 8 (1) – Free

Sunday, 17 May – 4.00pm – The Hallé – Dvořák’s Symphony No 8 (2) – Free

Bridgewater Hall, Lower Mosley Street, Manchester, M2 3WS

Ariane Matiakh conductor
Alexander Gadjiev piano

Unsuk Chin Operascope (UK premiere)
Chopin Piano Concerto No.2
Dvořák Symphony No 8

Alexander Gadjiev, winner of the 2022 Terence Judd-Hallé Award, joins forces with Grammy-nominated Ariane Matiakh for a performance of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No.2, is one of the finest virtuosic showpieces for piano, requiring both technical ability and deep musicality from its soloist. As one of the prize winners in the 2021 Chopin Competition, Alexander Gadjiev has both in spades. Before we dive into Dvořák’s lively and lyrical Eighth Symphony, audiences will also be the first in the UK to hear Hallé Featured Composer, Unsuk Chin’s Operascope, a musical walk through the history of opera with several nods to operatic giants like Verdi and Puccini.

Saturday, 16 May – 7.30pm – BBC Philharmonic – Northern Lights – Free

Bridgewater Hall, Lower Mosley Street, Manchester, M2 3WS

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
John Storgårds conductor
Simone Lamsma violin

Rautavaara Cantus Arcticus
Sibelius Violin Concerto
Nielsen Symphony No 5

In this striking exploration of Nordic soundscapes, Chief Conductor John Storgårds will flex every Finnish musical muscle as he leads the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra from the icy beauty of the Arctic to a Danish climax that revels in the raw power of human resilience.

Rautavaara’s Cantus Arcticus blends cinematic orchestral textures with otherworldly field-recordings of birdsong from the far north. The result is an evocative, dreamlike meditation on nature, where sweeping strings merge with the calls of Arctic birds in an unforgettable soundscape.

Sibelius’s Violin Concerto offers a different kind of wildness – virtuosic, passionate, and deeply expressive. Renowned violinist Simone Lamsma, celebrated for her thrilling performances and sparkling technique, returns to the Orchestra.

Nielsen’s Symphony No. 5 is a gripping musical battle between chaos and order. Pulsing rhythms, fierce percussion, and surging orchestral lines create an intense drama, with a defiant energy that combines beauty, struggle, and exhilarating power.

Wednesday, 20 May – 2.00pm – 4.00pm – Collage and Badge Making at Mayes Gardens

Meet at Piccadilly Tavern, 71-75 London Road, Piccadilly, Manchester M1 2BS at 12.00 noon for lunch.

Tram to New Islington for a crafty afternoon!

Thursday, 21 May – 2.00pm – 4.00pm – Meeting in Cross Street Chapel

Thursday, 21 May – 6.00pm – The Hallé – Rush Hour: West Side Story Symphonic Dances

Bridgewater Hall, Lower Mosley Street, Manchester, M2 3WS

Emilia Hoving conductor
Anna Lapwood organ

Poulenc Organ Concerto
Kristina Arakelyan Toccata for Organ and Orchestra
Bernstein West Side Story: Symphonic Dances

Kristina Arakelyan, dubbed internationally as ‘one to watch’ (Scala Radio), is one of today’s most exciting composers, celebrated by audiences and critics alike for her music’s serene and compelling honesty. What a treat we have in store to hear Anna Lapwood perform her Toccata for Organ and Orchestra as her closing performance as Hallé Featured Artist. In this, her Hallé debut, Emilia Hoving guides us through some of the best-loved tunes and interludes from Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story: from the poignant hopefulness of ‘Somewhere’, through the percussive fire of ‘Mambo’, to the tragic finale, rounding off what is sure to be an electrifying Rush Hour concert.

Saturday, 23 May – 7.30pm – Manchester Proud Chorus Jubilee Concert

Contact Theatre, Oxford Road, Manchester M15 6JA – Price £19.50

LEGENDS, DIVAS & DREAMERS

We’re so excited to announce our very own concert, celebrating more than 25 years of Manchester Proud Chorus!

We will be singing a varied playlist of the LGBTQ+ icons who move us. We’re sharing decades of music at the heart of our community.

But tickets here.

Monday, 25 May – Friday, 29 May – Sexuality Summer School 2026: On The Biological

The Sexuality Summer School (SSS) is a postgraduate summer school held annually in May at the University of Manchester. It explores current political and intellectual debates about how the ‘biological’ shapes current and historical understandings of sex, gender, sexuality and race.

During the same week the Summer School also hosts a series of public events including lectures, films and performances.

Public Events Programme:

Changes to the schedule may be unavoidable; please check the website for updates – https://sexualitysummerschool.wordpress.com/

Monday, 25 May, 4.30pm – 6.00pm
Plenary Lecture: Professor C Riley Snorton: ‘An Ambiguous Heterotopia, Or Some Informal Remarks on “Biology” After Samuel Delany, Judith Butler and Sylvia Wynter’
Venue: Anthony Burgess Centre, M1 5BY
No booking required, all welcome.

Tuesday, 26 May, 3.00pm – 4.30pm 
Plenary Lecture: Professor Sarah Richardson: ‘A Sceptical Empiricist’s Guide to Sex Difference Science’
Venue: John Casken Lecture Theatre, Martin Harris Centre, M13 9PL 
No booking required, all welcome.

Tuesday, 26 May, 5.45pm – 8.30pm
Film Screenings programmed with Club Des Femmes and introduced by So Mayer:
Laws of Love / Gesetze de Liebe (Magnus Hirschfeld, 1927); Sanctus (Barbara Hammer, 1990)
Venue: HOME Cinema, M15 4FN
Tickets required (booking link coming soon)

Wednesday, 27 May, 4.00pm – 5.30pm
Plenary Lecture: Professor Kane Race: ‘Hijacking Neuroscience: Psychoactive Performatives’
Venue: C1.18, Ellen Wilkinson Building, M15 6JA
No booking required, all welcome.

Wednesday, 27 May, 7.00pm – 9.00pm
Performance Reading: All the Devils (written by Jonathan Larkin; produced by Jayne Compton, Switchflicker; funded by The National Lottery Community Fund)
Venue: Anthony Burgess Centre, M1 5BY
No booking required, all welcome.

Thursday, 28 May, 5.00pm – 6.30pm
Public Plenary: ‘Experimenting with Hormones’: Professor Celia Roberts in conversation with Professor Jackie Stacey 
Venue: John Rylands Library, M3 3EH
No booking required, all welcome.

Thursday, 28 May, 8.00pm
Performance: Second Trimester by Krishna Istha 
Venue: Aldridge Studio, The Lowry, M50 3AZ 
Tickets required. Click here to book. 

For any queries, please email sexualitysummerschool@gmail.com

Wednesday, 27 May – 2.00pm – Salford Then & Now Photography Exhibition – Free

Height Library, King Street, Irlams O’ Th’ Height, Salford M6 7GY (Salford’s oldest public building)

Meet in The Waterhouse Pub, 67-71 Princess Street, Manchester M2 4EG for lunch at 12.00 noon. We will take the bus to Salford at 1.15pm.

Thursday, 28 May – 2.00pm – 4.00pm – Meeting in Cross Street Chapel

Thursday, 28 May – 2.00pm – 4.00pm – Women’s Meeting in Cross Street Chapel

Tuesday, 2 June – Out On The Radio – Show 7 on 96.9fm

2.00pm – 3.00pm Live and available on Mixcloud to listen again. Norman and Tony are chatting and playing tunes.

Wednesday, 3 June – 2.00pm – 4.00pm – Meeting at Manchester Central Library.

We are meeting in the Chief Librarian’s Office, Manchester Central Library, St Peter’s Square, Manchester M2 5PD from 2.00pm to 4.00pm. Take the lift to the third floor and turn left through the doors signed “Meeting Rooms”.

Thursday, 4 June – UK AIDS Memorial Quilt on display in Wakefield (first time ever outside of London)

Travel details to be arranged

Thursday, 4 June – Saturday 6 June – Northern Ballet – Gentleman Jack – Various Prices from £22

Lowry Theatre, Pier 8, Salford Quays, Salford M50 3AZ

Masters of storytelling Northern Ballet bring to the stage the extraordinary story of Anne Lister – better known as Gentleman Jack. 

Much like Anne Lister herself, this new Gentleman Jack ballet is a force to be reckoned with. With striking choreography by award-winning choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, bold costumes, creative storytelling, and new live music by Peter Salem, Gentleman Jack paints a modern portrait of a woman ahead of her time. 

Often described as ‘the first modern lesbian’, it was only after her death, when her secret diaries were decoded, that a truly unique (and somewhat scandalous) life was revealed. Anne lived and loved as she desired, not as 19th century society expected her to. 

Ambition without fear. Love without compromise.  

Gentleman Jack is a co-production with Finnish National Opera and Ballet.

Book here

Wednesday, 10 June – 12.00 noon – 3.00pm – Age Without Limits Day at Manchester Art Gallery

Meet in The Waterhouse Pub, 67-71 Princess Street, Manchester M2 4EG for lunch at 12.00 noon. We will walk to the Art Gallery at 1.00pm.

The Pride in Ageing group at LGBT Foundation are taking inspiration from Manchester Art Gallery’s WORN: the life within clothes exhibition, which showcases pieces of clothing that have lived fascinating and vibrant extended lives through mending, altering, customising and recycling. Don your glad rags or attire that feels most comfortable for an afternoon for over 50s to mark Age Without Limits Day.

Activities include:

• Drop into our mending, altering and customising workshop in the gallery atrium throughout the event – bring along an item of your own clothing to transform with stitching or patches
• Experience a 30-minute highlights tour of the WORN exhibition at 1.15pm or 2.15pm
• Soak up some nature with the summer blooms in the Derek Jarman Pocket Park just outside the Mosley Street Entrance, looked after by older LGBTQ+ volunteers from the Pride in Ageing programme and decorated especially for the day
• Plus an LGBT Foundation information stall and ‘Style Without Stopping’ photobooth.

The Art Gallery is an accessible venue – please contact prideinageing@lgbt.foundation if you have any accessibility needs for the day. The Cafe at the gallery will be open throughout the event selling drinks and cakes – please note that refreshments have to be consumed in the cafe or outside in the garden and cannot be taken into the exhibition tour.

A huge thanks to the Derek Jarman Pocket Park Volunteer Gardeners for helping with the planning for this event.

To book a place, please contact us here.

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Please contact us here if you are interested in attending the trips. There is no need to book to attend the meetings – just turn up. However, you may contact us if you wish.

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Also have a look at our other pages: Trips & Adventures, Photos, Resources, Audios & Videos, Timelines (Dropdown menu to see: LGBTQ+ Timeline, LGBT+ History Timeline, Significant Events Timeline and LGBT+ History in Manchester).