Park Life
If you think the best thing to come out of Manchester is Coronation Street then you would be mistaken, although who doesn’t love a bit of Ken and Deirdre on a Thursday night. So what’s better than Betty`s hotpot you may be asking? It’s only the best blooming dance festival the North has ever seen and you are all invited!
Park Life takes place over the 6th and 7th of June (end of exams = perfect excuse) located in Heaton Park in Manchester, one of Britain’s finest party hard cities. Heaton Park is close to the M60 motorway so can easily be reached by car and the number 135 bus from Manchester City Centre can take you directly to the park so no excuses if you get lost! The festival is still relatively new in comparison with the big daddy’s such as Glasto and V, it’s been going since 2010 and has since grown into a huge 2 day event, coming back each year bigger and better than the last. With over 70 000 of you set to hit Heaton Park this year it looks like 2015 won’t be any exception.
Who`s playing?
There are a total of 8 different stages at this year’s Park Life, that’s a lot to choose from! This festival is all about the music and rightly so too, have you seen the line-up! There’s more variety in there than the final of Britain’s Got Talent and you haven’t got put up with looking at Simons disapproving face every 10 seconds. Saturday’s main stage will be graced with the presence of Disclosure, Annie Mac, Ella Eyre and Karen Harding just to name a few and Sunday will see the likes of Rudimental, Jessie Ware and Fuse ODG. As well as an impressive main stage to get you weak at the knees there’s also 7 other stages to get your teeth stuck into, including Saturdays ‘The Park Life Big Top Stage` which has performances from Ben Howard, James Bay, Everything Everything and Ghost Poet. Sundays brilliantly named stage `Drop the Mustard` (I don’t have a clue either) will see performances from chart toppers Hannah Wants, Duke Dumont, blonde and Oliver Heldens. Plus a whole load of others including Mark Ronson, Fatboy Slim, Bondax and Wilkinson, seriously spoilt for choice!
Where to Stay?
Seeing as Heaton Park is a public park camping is not allowed and don’t even think about hiding out in the bushes, someone will find you and you will most probably be thrown out. There are however plenty of options so sleeping on the street won’t be necessary, unless that’s your kind of thing. If you’re looking to save on accommodation to provide yourself with more precious beer money then Travelodge and Premier Inn have rooms available starting from around £70 per night located in the centre of Manchester. If money isn’t a problem then the super swanky and rather luxurious Hotel Gotham costs around £130 per night and is located on King Street in Manchester.
Afterlife
The festival wraps up at around 11pm on both Saturday and Sunday but that doesn’t mean the party has to end there. Afterlife offers a whole host of Festival after parties held at 
several different venues in and around Manchester that allow you to carry on partying hard into the early hours, just don’t forget to be on top form for the next day of jam packed headlining acts. More information on venues will be released nearer the time so keep your eyes and ears peeled!
Very Important Portaloos
If you’re ever going to feel extra special then now is the time, a VIP ticket may be a tad more costly than a bog standard weekend ticket but it is most definitely worth it. With a VIP pass you can enjoy luxury toilets, cocktail bars, a street food market, fast track entry, viewing platforms, craft beer bar and special guest DJ sets.... Need I say anymore!
Day tickets are still on Sale although they are selling out fast so don’t waste any time!
By Sophie Black