If we're honest, this would be worth travelling across the country for.
The world's biggest chicken wings festival is returning to the UK for another year- and it's only an hour away from Leeds.
This summer, the world’s biggest wing festival will return to Manchester, bringing together the UK’s very best to serve a whopping 200,000 wings over a two-day period.
Here, you’ll find 20 different street food traders, restaurants, BBQ teams and pop-ups from across the country serving up their signature bites – be they deep-fried, spicy, baked, sweet or sticky as all hell.
Image: Wing Fest UK
There’ll also be a number of bars selling different bourbons and beers, axe-throwing stations, fairground rides and live music to set the party atmosphere across the weekend.
In fact, Manchester Wing Fest-goers can dance along to killer DJs, live blues and brass bands, with a chicken wing in each hand, as the festival stretches late into the night.
Taking place this year at The Trafford Centre, the UK’s finest chicken experts will be showcasing their culinary skills by means of cooking demos and a festival-wide competition – all bidding to be crowned the Wing King or Queen.
This year’s competition is split into two categories: The Best Buffalo Wing and The Best Wild Wing.
The first, rather self-explanatorily, will see food traders battle to have their spicy sauce crowned the best, whilst the wild category will encourage chefs to let their creativity run wild with different flavours and toppings.
2021 champions Chicken George ft The Rib Man, The Bok Shop and Poor Boys, and local favourites Kong’s Chicken Shop and Yard and Coop, will be amongst those competing to win your vote.
In total, 8,000 lucky chicken wing fans will have the opportunity to cast their vote for their favourite wings across the weekend.
True wing aficionados should also consider taking part in the very saucy wing eating competition, where brave and hungry individuals compete against one another on the main stage to see who can eat the messiest wings.
The ‘Get Heated’ lava wing challenge hosted by, The Food Review Club and Clifton Chilli Club will be causing carnage, with only the brave entering the UK’s hottest wing challenge.
Taking place across Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 September 2022, those heading down can expect a day full of chicken-eating, as well as plenty of music and entertainment.
To get your tickets for the giant Wing Fest, click here.
Feature image – Wing Fest UK
News
Leeds speakeasy crowned one of the best cocktail bars in the world by industry experts
The beloved Domino Club is receiving its flowers, and rightly so.
Rapidly becoming one of the industry’s most respected accolade of excellence, The Pinnacle Guide is a worldwide ranking of the best bars across the globe.
Based on a thorough self-application process, rigorous assessment modules, followed by a series of spot check interviews and anonymous in-bar reviews, it's no easy feat to get a spot on this list.
Which is why it makes The Domino Club's achievement all that more impressive.
Known amongst locals and visitors alike as basically one of the coolest bars in town, the hidden speakeasy invites you through a barbershop in the Grand Arcade where downstairs you'll find a dimly lit jazz and cocktail bar oozing sex appeal.
Not only are the cocktails exceptional, but their live music listings is something to behold playing everything from jazz and funk to cabaret and disco every Wednesday - Sunday.
Announcing the news to Instagram, The Domino said: "Listed by The Pinnacle Guide. The Domino Club has been recognised on the global list of the world’s best bars.
"What began as a hidden basement bar in Leeds, built around live music, cocktails and atmosphere, is now being recognised alongside some of the finest bars in the world.
"A huge thank you to our team, musicians, suppliers and every single guest who has supported us over the years. This means a lot. Leeds belongs on the world cocktail map."
We absolutely could not agree more and if you haven't ventured behind the barbershop and discovered the magical Domino Club, then we very much recommend you do.
2:22 A Ghost Story at Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House: When silence becomes the scare
Declan Kelly
The supernatural thriller 2:22 A Ghost Story arrived at Leeds Grand Theatre as part of its UK tour, bringing Danny Robins’s hit production to a packed audience.
Since its West End debut in 2021, the play has become known less as a straight horror and more as a gripping psychological debate wrapped in a ghost story.
At the centre of the story is one key question: do ghosts actually exist? Set during a dinner party between two couples, the drama unfolds as Jenny becomes increasingly convinced their home is haunted, claiming she hears strange noises every night at exactly 2:22am.
Her husband Sam dismisses her fears as irrational, while friends Lauren and Ben challenge both sides, turning the evening into a lively clash of belief and scepticism. What begins as a conversation gradually becomes something far more tense, as personal fears and buried tensions rise to the surface.
Image: Supplied
Rather than relying on traditional horror, the production focuses on atmosphere and psychological tension. The script builds unease through sharp dialogue, awkward silences and shifting power dynamics between the characters. Instead of delivering constant shocks, it keeps the audience questioning what is real and what might simply be a coincidence or imagination.
That said, the play does use theatrical jump scares effectively. Sudden loud noises, abrupt lighting changes and eerie sound cues interrupt the dialogue at key moments, creating jolts of tension without ever fully tipping into outright horror. These moments are brief but impactful, designed more to unsettle than to terrify.
Image: Supplied
The cast works strongly together to maintain this balance. Shvorne Marks brings emotional intensity to Jenny’s growing fear, while James Bye plays Sam with grounded scepticism that slowly begins to crack. Natalie Casey adds sharp humour and bite as Lauren, and Grant Kilburn provides openness and curiosity as Ben, keeping the debate lively and unpredictable.
The production design is another standout element. The modern, stylish home feels realistic and lived-in, but subtly shifts in tone as the story progresses. Careful lighting and precise sound design ensure the space never feels entirely safe, even in silence, reinforcing the idea that something might be just out of sight.
Image: Supplied
As the final moments unfold, the play returns to its central idea: the waiting. The quiet anticipation of night, the smallest unexplained sounds, and the creeping awareness of time passing.
Ultimately, 2:22 A Ghost Story succeeds because it is not really trying to scare its audience traditionally. Instead, it plays with uncertainty, asking viewers to decide what they believe and how far they trust their own senses. And let’s be honest, you might find yourself thinking what might happen if you were still awake when the clock strikes 2:22.
Running until 16 May at the Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House - tickets available here.
The Hoot -
8th April 2022 
