Author: Clare Deane

As the spooky season returns we take a look at the Halloween events happening in Liverpool from crafty classes to family days out.

Otterspool Adventure’s Ottersghoul 

Otterspool Adventure will be hosting their Ottersghoul event this Halloween, featuring Pumpkins Passage Maze, Monster Motel – A live action Scare Maze for the whole family, a full live production spooky show, Halloween Parade, Pumpkin Patch, breath-taking illusions, fire and spooky songs, plus more.

Saturday 23 – Sunday 31 October
Price: Children £15, 12 to 23 months £6, adults £7, concession £6. Buy tickets here.

Drag Halloween

Enjoy cabaret, bingo, popcorn and fizz with FunnyBoyz Liverpool who present Drag Halloween (ages 14+) at Blundell Supper Club.

Saturday 30 October
Price: From £21.79. Book your tickets here.

Wing It

‘Wing It’ theatre company is telling six original horror stories with live music in the intimate setting of The Bunker, located deep below the Liverpool Arts Bar based on Hope Street.

Friday 29 October
Price: £10. Book tickets

Little Shop Of Horrors Film Screening

Whether you’ve never seen this classic spooky film from 1986 or if it’s your firm favourite, the British Music Experience screening is a must for film fans. 

Little Shop Of Horrors is about orphan Seymour Krelborn (Rick Moranis) who works at Mushnik’s, a flower shop in urban Skid Row. When he finds a mysterious unidentified plant, he calls it Audrey II after his co-worker who he has a crush on. It’s not long before Seymour realises the odd plant has a craving for blood, and so he feeds it Audrey’s boyfriend.

Thursday 28 October, 7pm
Price: £8 adults, £6 child/concession. Buy tickets here.

 

Paint and Sip – Halloween Starry Night

Join Liverpool Arts Bar for a creative afternoon of drinking and painting in the heart of Liverpool. You don’t need any previous painting experience as this two hour step-by-step painting session is led by their experienced artist and assistants. All painting materials will be provided and you’ll get to go home with your completed masterpiece.

Saturday 30 October
Price: £30.81 Book tickets

Make North Docks Crafty Classes

Make have a variety of half term Halloween themed classes that kids will love, including Decorate Your Own Pumpkin Piñata, Make A Golden Snitch, Make A Magic Wand. All children must be accompanied by an adult at these classes.

Various dates
Price: £16.76 (1 ticket= 1x child and accompanied adult).

Halloween Flower School Class

Join Booker Flowers for an evening of Autumnal flower arranging. This flower arranging evening class will cover a selection of different floral techniques and you will create your own Halloween-themed floral arrangement, which you can take home to enjoy.

Wednesday 27 October from 6pm till 8pm
Price: £45 which includes all materials to make your bespoke arrangement with fresh flowers. Book tickets.
Booker Flowers and Gifts, Booker Avenue, Liverpool, L18 4QY

 

Katumba Halloween Parade

Every Halloween, Katumba transforms Liverpool City Centre into a playground of imagination, inspiring and engaging audiences with big, bold, visual outdoor shows and performances; an immersive spectacle of drums, fire, lights, dance, theatre and more.

Traffic free Croxteth Park Family Halloween Bike Ride

This is a traffic free 2 mile cycle ride within Croxteth Hall & Country Park. Get dressed up in your best Halloween costumes and there will be a treat for all children who participate. For more info visit their Facebook event page.

Halloween At The Florrie Community Cinema

After the success of their summer movie screenings The Florrie Community Cinema is re-opening for a spooktacular day of Halloween films.

Join them in their Grand Hall to watch some Halloween classics on their huge 20ft screen. There will be three screenings; two family friendly films (The Addams Family 2019 & Hocus Pocus 1993) and a 15+ screening in the evening (The Rocky Horror Picture Show 1975). All children must be accompanied by an adult. Fancy dress is encouraged.

Sunday 31 October
Price: Tickets are just £1 for children & £5 for adults & are available in person from The Florrie or online here. 

FACT Halloween Film Screenings

FACT will be showing Richard O’Brien’s legendary rock ‘n’ roll musical, The Rocky Horror Show on the big screen this Halloween, along with a Kids Club screening of Hocus Pocus and a special 25th Anniversary screening of Scream.

 

Check out our What’s On section for all the latest arts and cultural events.

Find out more about the eclectic calendar of events taking place in Liverpool to celebrate Black History Month.

Black to the Future: Saturday 16 October 2021

 

Black to The Future is an exciting two part event will focus on a debut Documentary facilitated by Go Off Sis, Elev8 and Julian Gilly focussing on L8 and their impactful work deriving straight from the local Black community.

7pm-10pm
24 Kitchen Street, Liverpool
Entry/Tickets: Free

Routes & Roots-Festival of the African Diaspora: Saturday 16 – 30 October 2021

Routes & Roots Festival Opening
Saturday 16 October 2021, 12 noon – 5pm
St Luke’s Bombed Out Church, Leece Street, Liverpool, L1 2TR

A day of workshops for all ages, introducing the public to different art forms and activities including African and Brazilian dance, drumming, capoeira, slavery tours on bikes and more.

Community Workshops
Sunday 17 – Saturday 30 October 2021, Various Times
Kuumba Imani Millennium Centre, 4 Princes Road, Liverpool, L8 1TH
Caribbean Centre, Merseyside Caribbean Centre, 1 Amberley Street, Liverpool, L8 1YJ
Pal Multicultural Centre, 68A Mulgrave Street, Liverpool, L8 2TF
Katumba Culture Hub, #1 John Archer Hall, 68 Upper Hill Street, Liverpool, L8 1YR
Asylum Link Merseyside, St Anne’s Centre, 7 Overbury Street, Liverpool, L7 3HJ

A range of workshops that will give participants the chance to learn skills and build props they can showcase at the Katumba Halloween Carnival performances on Sunday 31 October.

This will also include online workshops with international guest artists as well as a creative exchange day with all facilitators to inform and bring together the collaborative aspect of the 31 October activities.

Saturday 16 – Sunday 31 October, Various Times
Various Locations
Entry/Tickets: Free

BlackFest Hip-Hop Dance For All: Tuesday 19 October 2021

BlackFest’s Borderline Funk group are proud to present a verbatim piece of Theatre for Social Change based on the theme of ‘Protest’. BlackFest are passionate about people having a voice, the right to use that voice, be heard and listened to in a peaceful way. Everyone has the right to express themselves and be respected. We’ve all experienced times in our life when it has been hard to have our voices heard. The arts are a powerful medium for expression and here you will be presented with a dynamic, political performance combining multiple art forms to express the passion of this ethos.

By Unity Theatre in partnership with BlackFest
7.30pm
Unity Theatre, 1 Hope Place, Liverpool, L1 9BG
Tickets: £12 per person / £10.50 Concession /£6 Creative Membership / Carers FREE

Roni Size x LTJ Bukem:  Saturday 23 October 2021

Coming together for this headline show are LTJ Bukem and English DJ and record producer Roni Size. An event for the night owls that will keep you moving right through to the earlier hours of the morning.

11:00pm – 4:00am  Ages 18+
Invisible Wind Factory, 3 Regent Road, Liverpool L3 7DS
Tickets: £10.45

1981 Liverpool 8 Uprisings 40th Anniversary Exhibition: Friday 22 October – Wednesday 22 December 2021

Writing on the Wall and Liverpool Record Office present an original exhibition remembering the 1981 Liverpool 8 Uprisings. ‘The Toxteth Riots’, as they were dubbed by the media were a reaction and response by the L8 community to many years of racists policing, brutality and racism, aimed at the community and individuals. This exhibition displays many of the news material from 1981 and reveals the extensive L8 Law Centre collection.

Time TBC
Liverpool Central Library, William Brown Street, Liverpool L3 8EW
Free. No booking necessary

On Record Merseyside: Saturday 23 October – Sunday 7 November 2021

On Record Merseyside is a curated celebration and exploration of Black music in Liverpool and the role it has played in the city and in communities over the past 70 years.

Following the success of 2020’s On Record: Untold & Retold, the 2021 edition will include:

• A collaborative music making project entitled the Liverpool ONE Project – Take Two, artistically directed by L100’s DJ 2Kind in association with Go Play Studios.
• GRIME > PUNK, in partnership with TATE and University of Liverpool. The day event will reflect how Grime is Punk for this new generation and will include a debate, live performances, workshops and an exhibition of art and fashion
• A Black music on Merseyside seminar at the British Music Experience. The event will include the launch of the Liverpool City Region Music Board’s Black music manifesto, a series of roundtables and a number of guest speakers.
• The premiere of the BEATS OF HEART Black music trail, presented by poet and performer, Curtis Watt.
• A DJ clash club night presented by 24 Kitchen Street featuring an assortment of the best Black music DJs in the region.
• A series of exclusive podcasts including 4 new Untold Stories and a live recording of a special episode of Mellowtone’s Beneath The Merseybeat.

Black Market: Sunday 24 October 2021

Black Market brings together a wide range of locally produced products  – art, film, photography, fashion, food and tunes, plus much more. Interactive workshops will unfold throughout the day at this progressive event. The aim of this market is to champion Black talent and the organisers envision a year-round regular event in the future.

24 Kitchen Street, 24 Kitchen Street, Liverpool
Entry/Tickets: Free

Sessions: Monday 25 October 2021

Sessions is a discussion with Ifeyinwa Frederick, a 30 year old back man who engages his audience in a raw and honest look into the complexities associated with masculinity, depression and therapy. The Esmée Fairburn Foundation and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation are supporting this event.

Unity Theatre, 1 Hope Place, Liverpool L1 9BG
Book Tickets: www.unitytheatreliverpool.co.uk
Tickets: £10 – £12

Katumba Halloween Carnival: Sunday 31 October

Join the Katumba Halloween Carnival, part of the new ‘Routes & Roots-Festival of the African Diaspora’, which is a partnership with the newly formed Black & Brown Social Traders Network (BlaST).

Be ready to have your senses bewitched with an all-immersive spectacle, a hybrid of visual performance, theatre and music this Halloween. Stay tuned for highlights on the artists taking part and the revealing of the devious characters, as well as how YOU can take part!

5pm – 9pm
St Luke’s Bombed Out Church, Leece Street, Liverpool, L1 2TR
Church Street, Liverpool, L1 3AP
Liverpool ONE, Sugar House Steps, 2 Thomas Steers Way, Liverpool, L1 8LW
Free. No booking necessary

Since the ‘90s Clinic have stood out from the crowd. Never once wanting to follow the conventional path, their ever-evolving, post-punk psychedelia sounds has enraptured fans across the world.

From their debut 2000 album Internal Wrangler, Clinic released stellar albums every two years up until 2012’s Free Reign. Then, after a seven year absence they returned with the stand out Wheeltappers and Shunters, confirming that they’d lost none of their unique quality during that break.

In October, they return with their 9th album, Fantasy Island, so we caught up with frontman Ade Blackburn to find out more about their latest record, the band’s influences, favourite gigs and more.

Uncover Liverpool: You’re back with the new album Fantasy Island on 22nd October, what can you tell us about it?

Ade Blackburn: It’s a fun and exotic sounding album, in keeping with the tropical title. We thought it’d be good to make something colourful at the moment to combat the darker side of things.

Uncover: How did making this album compare with previous ones?

Ade: We went down a more pop and electronic route than before, which really opened things up to fresh ideas. It felt a lot easier and more enjoyable to make.

Uncover Liverpool: Each of your albums has been completely distinct from any of your other releases. Does that come easily to you or do you feel a pressure to make a completely unique record?

Ade: It doesn’t always come easy, we have to work at it. With each record we try and use different and unusual/vintage instruments (whether we can play them or not!), that approach usually means you get a different end result.

Uncover: Is there a favourite/standout track on the new album for you?

Ade: My favourite is ‘Refractions (in the rain) it’s our semi-serious take on eurodisco and quite a demented dancefloor number. It’s probably the most out-there song on the Lp.

Uncover: You’ve had to postpone your planned gigs for now, but are you excited about playing live again?

Ade: Unfortunately we had to postpone due to illness but hopefully we’ll be playing live soon. It has felt a really long time. 

Uncover: It feels like your on stage look will actually feel very relevant in the current climate, with the pandemic making masks commonplace! Can we still expect to see you in masks and surgical scrubs?

Ade: Yes such a strange turn of events, I never thought we’d see that. We’ll be back with masks and scrubs but with a different twist based around the totally tropical theme.

Uncover: Favourite gig/s you’ve ever played?

Ade: My favourite was playing a London gig for the DJ John Peel. I’d always been a regular listener so it was nice to be asked. He was very supportive of the band and I think everyone still misses him and the programme even now. 

Uncover: Favourite song/s to perform live?

Ade: I’d say Ferryboat of the Mind, a nice merseybeat instrumental and Shopping Bag, a full on demented punk song. It’s good to have a mixture of things live. 

Uncover: Is there somewhere in the world you’d really like to play that you haven’t yet?

Ade: I’d like to play in South America, I’ve never been, the audiences seem passionately into music and dancing, which would suit us down to the ground.

Uncover: What’s the music writing and production process like for Clinic?

Ade: We record everything ourselves so it’s fairly self-contained and DIY. With the writing, the songs are based around rhythms and then we let the ideas develop from there.

Uncover: Do you have any particular goals or ideals that you want to push forward with the music and have those changed over the years?

Ade: I think it’s essential that less mainstream music is still heard. Our ideals and goals are all wrapped up in that, to keep an alternative going. Not just with ourselves but other bands and artists.

Uncover: Who are your main influences, and have your influences changed over the years?

Ade: The influences have changed over the years, the new songs have quite an 80s pop influence, from things like Fun Boy Three and Kid Creole and The Coconuts. The main underlying influences though would be early rock ‘n’ roll and The Velvet Underground.

Uncover: Favourite review or feature someone’s ever written about you?

Ade: We were featured in Vanity Fair as an example of eccentric Liverpudlians, which I was quite chuffed about.

Uncover: Favourite current Liverpool bands?

Ade: I like Eyesore and The Jinx and also Prison Behaviour, they’ve both got a really good sense of humour to their music and visuals.

Uncover: What’s next for Clinic? Will there be another album on the way after Fantasy Island?

Ade: Yes all things being well, we’ll be back with more mayhem and eccentricity!

 

Clinic’s new album Fantasy Island, is out on 22nd October and you can pre-order the Limited Edition Colour Vinyl now via https://www.dominomusic.com/artists/clinic

If you’re looking for some lesser known places to explore in Liverpool, what about the UK’s last video shop, an electic museum or National Trust property you might not know of?

1. VideOdyssey

‘The UK’s last video shop’ is right here in Liverpool. VideOdyssey on Windsor Street, Toxteth will transport you back to the days of VHS. Not only does VideOdyssey have thousands of VHS tapes lined up in their 8 foot high video walls but you can also catch screenings of some classic films in their cinema room.  And as if that wasn’t enough there’s also an arcade room with 12 vintage games including Street Fighter, Space Invaders and Pac Man. The whole place is a thing of beauty.

2. Arts Hub 47

Arts Hub 47 is a community cooperative for artists, designers, makers and crafters. This open hub on Aigburth Road is a place for like minded people to come together and share skills and is a unique way to support local artists.

3. Hardman’s House

The Georgian Quarter is full of history and if you take a walk down to 59 Rodney Street you can get a real taste of the the 1950’s at the Hardman’s House. The National Trust property gives visitors the chance to explore the home and photography studio of Edward and Margaret Hardman.

4. Victoria Gallery

The University of Liverpool’s Victoria Gallery aims is to amaze and amuse their visitors with an incredible collection of curiosities from their 127 year history. A unique museum, in that where else would you find the world’s most important display of false teeth under the same roof as an exhibition of fine art?

5. Sudley House

The historic Sudley House was built in 1824 and is now a museum and art gallery, containing the collection of George Holt, a shipping-line owner and former resident. Since 1990 National Museums Liverpool have been gradually returning the downstairs rooms to the style in which they were decorated and furnished when the Holts lived in the house.