Events that cost nothing to turn up to across the North West. Library sessions, park activities, museum trails and town centre days. Some venues still charge for parking.
Decorated pianos dotted around Liverpool ONE all summer, free for anyone to play. Five minutes of chopsticks between shops, or stay for whoever sits down next.
The libraries' free summer challenge - read six books, collect the stickers, finish with a certificate. This year's theme is music. The single cheapest way to fill the quiet days between days out.
Free arts and crafts on the floating village through the holidays, with a Saturday LEGO club until 22 August.
An urban beach on the park above Liverpool ONE with family rides and six weeks of entertainment. Sand in the city centre; bring a bucket.
Lifelike dinosaur puppets roam the museum with storytelling, crafts and sensory play on Wednesdays and Thursdays through the holidays.
Inflatables set up in the town centre square every day through the holidays. No tickets, no booking, and it is right next to the shops and cafes if you need a sit down.
Guided family nature sessions across two St Helens parks, aimed squarely at primary-age children and under-fives.
Starts at 10am to 12pm. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Visiting main reserve, then landscape strip to the sea wall for botany, butterflies, dragonflies, bush-crickets & other insects & sea birds
Starts at 11am. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Meet DJ Mu-Mu who will demonstrate the art of turntables and vinyl at our Read & Rave activity!
Join us for a family craft session at Chadderton Library.
Songs and stories for children under 5 and parents/carers.
Relaxed and informal Stay and Play at Wigan Library.
Join us at our weekly bounce and rhyme event.
Take part in a musical adventure and join the summer reading challenge too.
Join Jim Wallace for a fun and relaxed beginner ukulele session for children.
School holiday nature-based outdoor sessions for your little ones.
Join us for family crafts at Greenfield Library.
Baby Bubbles and Rhymes is a free interactive children's event aimed at children aged 0-5 years with the use of musical instruments and play activities such as parachute play and ball pool.
Perfect for 0, 4’s explore songs, rhymes, stories and sensory play in our Bounce and Rhyme sessions.
At baby clinic, families can discuss any health issues and have their child weighed and measured.
Join us for this fun and interactive performance Betty is a beekeeper-in-training and is very excited to get started… but her bees have all disappeared!
Join us for this fun and interactive performance Betty is a beekeeper-in-training and is very excited to get started… but her bees have all disappeared!
Starts at 10am. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Drop in, pick your favourite bricks and build anything that takes your fancy.
This is a free, dop-in session with no booking required.
Join our playful sessions and meet new friends, explore the library spaces, learn new rhymes and songs and enjoy some sensory play in our Bounce and Rhyme Sessions.
Come and join the fun at Limehurst Library’s Lego Club.
Come and join the fun at Northmoor Library’s Lego Club.
Join us at Central Library for a fun and interactive craft workshop where we will be making princess hats.
Come and join the fun at Limehurst Library for our monthly craft activity.
The opening event of Warrington's Wednesday programme, with sports, creative workshops, live music and games across the park.
Join us for a family craft session at Lees Library.
Join us for a family craft session at Northmoor Library.
Traditional rides, face painting, bike stunt shows, sports sessions and crazy golf, all free. The busiest of the town centre sessions and the one with most for older children.
Children's Sewing Club - Exploring sewing through simple projects - all resources and guidance provided This group is FREE.
For children 5 years and up, free session, no need to book.
Join us for a free fun story time session.
This is a FREE drop-in session with no booking required.
Parents, carers and children under 5 are invited to join us for a free play session (term-time only) Oldham Libraries
Join us for a family craft session at Uppermill Library.
Unleash the musical theatre kid in you with this programme of music-themed films!
Join us for our free craft activity sessions.
Children's Lego Club - Encouraging children to use their imaginations to create, using Lego.
Runs on 6 dates. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Join our playful sessions and meet new friends, explore the library spaces, learn new rhymes and songs and enjoy some sensory play in our Bounce and Rhyme Sessions.
Join us at our weekly bounce and rhyme event.
Runs on 17 dates. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
This is a FREE drop-in session with no booking required.
Join us in Central Library’s Children Library to hear stories and sing songs in Arabic and English.
Join us on this family walk at Heysham Nature Reserve to find butterflies and take part in the Big Butterfly Count!
Can’t make our regular Bounce and Rhyme sessions?
An important site for moths & bats (using bat detectors).
Join our monthly Ukrainian storytelling sessions!
Lego Club 10:00pm - 1:00pm Free weekly drop in sessions, no booking required.
Free Lego and Duplo drop in session in the main library- no need to book.
Join us for some family fun at Wigan Library.
Come and join the fun at Failsworth Library’s Lego Club.
Get ready to move, groove, and feel the rhythm!
Come along to to our crafts & music activities and join the summer reading challenge too Oldham Libraries
A relaxed, drop-in creative session inspired by music.
Drop in and dive into a world of K‑pop, creativity, and fun!
Join us for a family craft session at Crompton Library.
Join us for a family craft session at Fitton Hill Library.
Splatter and Stick is an inclusive environment that aids a child's development through the exploration of arts and crafts with Sensory Play.
Join us for a family craft session at Royton Library.
Add your favourite places and personal connections to a community doodle map with Dave Draws.
The Wednesday programme moves into the town centre, turning Market Gate and Time Square into one big play space.
Discover the wildflowers of the Fylde sand dunes and learn how they adapt and thrive in this dynamic coastal habitat.
Create your own comics In this workshop we’ll be looking at “Read to the beat” by drawing the noisiest, most action packed comic book panel we can imagine, full of Zaps, Pows, speech, thinks…
Create your own comics In this workshop we’ll be looking at “Read to the beat” by drawing the noisiest, most action packed comic book panel we can imagine, full of Zaps, Pows, speech, thinks…
Put your lab coat and goggles on and join us for an interactive session that will get you excited about science!
Add your favourite places and personal connections to a community doodle map with Dave Draws.
Live music, family activities and the Library on the Lawn from The Reader - bring a picnic and make an afternoon of it.
Read a Story with Ziggy the Therapy Dog Come and meet Ziggy the Therapy dog.
Join us for a relaxed colouring session in the children’s library.
Join us for this accessible and inclusive cosplay event for teens that has been co-created with young people.
Create your own design using printmaking techniques and join the summer reading challenge too.
Join us for an interactive family musical workshop Oldham Libraries
Join us for Britannica Education’s “Can You Dig It?
Sports, workshops, music and games in Victoria Park. Plenty of grass if you want to take a picnic and let them run.
We love looking for, identifying and recording shark and ray egg cases that we find on the beach - come and join us as we look for them.
Join us for a family craft session at Uppermill Library.
Come along to to our crafts & music activities and join the summer reading challenge too Oldham Libraries
Join artist Caroline for a fun, free Summer Reading Challenge activity!
Explore what music might look like in the future with a space-y playlist and futuristic crafts!
Read a Story with Ziggy the Therapy Dog Come and meet Ziggy the Therapy dog.
The last of the Wednesday sessions, and the one that works if the weather turns, since a good chunk of it is inside.
Kick off your Pride weekend early with a special family story and craft session at Manchester Central Library.
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Every town with something dated coming up, busiest first.