Adding to all the sparkle currently in the city, Deansgate Square is also bringing some festive magic during the Christmas period in the form of an Enchanted Forest installation. With a centrepiece of a 20ft Nordmann Fir tree soaring above 250 real Christmas trees, fairy trails, snow projections, tipis festooned with twinkling lights, festive pizza, mulled cocktails and more; the Enchanted Forest is sure to light up Christmas for many Mancs.
The Enchanted Forest, located on the riverside square at the Deansgate Square development, will be open from 6.30pm tonight (December 8) for a two week run. Opening between Wednesday – Friday 4pm-10pm, and weekends 12pm-10pm, and suitable for all, including families and those with additional mobility needs, The Enchanted Forest will host a wide range of festive activities for children and adults alike, such as forest fairies and gonks hide and seek, a decoration making workshop and a lantern parade.
Plus, Deansgate Square’s restaurants have pulled out all the stops, offering festive treats to take away into the forest’s wooden tipis and stretch tents where they can sit back, relax and enjoy the incredible snowfall projections. These include:
● General Store offering a selection of treats from their Winter Drinks Menu, which will be available to takeaway. From gingerbread lattes and flavoured hot chocolate to tasty Christmas delights – there are plenty of options to get you in the Christmas spirit.
● Atomeca whipping up delicious Irish Coffee and offering takeaway drinks.
● Kitten preparing your favourites dishes, such as Kentucky fried calamari with matcha aioli, chilli, and coriander cress, robata grilled sweetcorn with white miso foam and black sesame, or their sumptuous sushi – all available to dine-in or takeaway.
● Nonna’s Pasta, who will be serving up mulled wine pots, beer, wine and hot chocolate alongside a takeaway food menu that includes mac and cheese with a variety of toppings, brie and cranberry bites and a special festive sandwich all from the specially built Dirty Mac Shack in The Forest.
● Salvi’s at their Poretti Piaggio this Christmas, complete with cosy wooden huts with blankets to keep you warm while you enjoy a mulled wine, hot negronis or Poretti on draft. Visitors can also try some of their Christmas specials including a selection of hearty pasta dishes like pasta e fagioli, which is perfect for sharing, and the delicious pasta patate e provola, as well as Rum Baba in a cup or the quintessentially Italian pandoro by the slice, served with Nutella and pistachio cream.
Family friendly activities in collaboration with Our Kids Social, will include a hide and seek trail with mischievous fairies and gonks of the forest, as well as a paper lantern parade led by a Christmas elf, bringing the enchanted forest to life for those of all ages. Decoration making workshops will also run, not to mention a visit from Father Christmas himself!
The attraction is free and tickets are not required. More information on events and to book fairy tours and workshops head to the Deansgate Square website here.
The Enchanted Forest can be found at Deansgate Square, Owen St,M15 4TQ and runs until December 22 and is open from, Wednesday – Friday 4pm -10pm, and Saturdays / Sundays 12pm-10pm.