Discover the best North West events taking place this March with our bumper guide. There’s loads of family friendly North West activities taking place throughout the month.
We will be sharing our ultimate guides to Mother’s Day events in the North West very soon too, so a really busy month ahead.
We’ve tried to include as many North West activities as possible, including theatre, workshops and north west days out. If you know of any more March events, please let us know and we will update the post.
You are welcome to join our North West Events & Days Out: Your Recommendations Facebook Group too to share any events that you come across.
ALWAYS check details with venues direct by clicking the blue links before heading out, especially opening hours and booking details. Information can change. Many events have indoor contingency plans in case of severe weather etc but always best to check beforehand.
Featured North West Events this March
Fri 7th – Mon 17th/3 – Lancaster LitFest FREE Children’s Literature Festival.
- Sat 8th/3 3.30pm- The LitFest Big Read Age 10+ – Phil Earle, When the sky falls.
- Sat 8th/3 5pm – Nathan Parker, Words for Whatever – A selection of poems and verse for teens Age 13+.
- Sun 9th/3 10.30am – Lancaster Lore Story Hunt Age 5+.
- Sun 9th/3 11am – Katherine Woodfine, Secrets on the Shore Ages 8-12. The best selling author of the Sinclair Mysteries.
- Sun 9th/3 12.30pm – Nathan Parker, The Crossover by the author of the Granville Trilogy. Ages 10-14.
- Sun 9th/3 2pm – Natasha DevonBabushka & Toxic. Ages 14+.
- Sun 9th/3 3.30pm – Storytelling Finale – The Ramayana Age 10+.
All Litfest events are FREE but must be booked in advance. Find out more on the LitFest Facebook Page.
Elsewhere in the North West sees the 30th being Cheshire Day with a range of activities going on in the area:
Many food and drink establishments have special offers on to celebrate Cheshire Day.
WEEK ONE MARCH
Until Sun9th/3 – Joseph and The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, featuring Joe McElderry – The Opera House, Manchester. Tickets start from £18.95.
Until Sun 16th/3 – Poo in the Zoo at Chester Zoo. Find out which animal’s poo sparkles, discover the tiny world of bumblebee droppings & explore the surprising ways poo helps wildlife survive and thrive.
Mon 3rd – Sun 16th March – World Book Day Events at Cockfield Farm
Tues 4th/3 – Sat 22nd/3 – Love Labour’s Lost – The Shakespeare North Playhouse, Prescot.
Wed 5th – Sat 29th/3 – FREE Painting in Light by Zoe Partington – Williamson Art Gallery. part of DADaFest25. Light sculptures featuring slogans which have relevance to disability activism.
Thurs 6th/3Sun 9th/3 – Keswick Film Festival
Fri 7th/3 7.30pm – TaylorMania Kids (Taylor Swift Tribute Act) – St Helens Theatre Royal. Tickets £27.00.
Sat 8th/3 – Lucem Cinema, St Helens – Paddington in Peru 11am
Sun 9th/3 – Angelica Sprockets Pockets – Waterside Arts, Sale. Presented by Folksy Theatre. Fun filled show of live music, puppetry, audience interaction and madness, based on the book y Quentin Blake. 2pm. Tickets from £7.50.
Sun 9th/3 – The Littlest Yak – The Guild Lounge at Preston Guild Hall £14.50 Age 3+. A musical adaptation of the award-winning children’s book by Barra Collins.
WEEK TWO MARCH
Tues 11th/3 – Sun 16th/3 – Chitty Chatty Bang Bang – The Palace Theatre, Manchester. Tickets from £18.95. Age 5+ (No u3’s).
Wed 12th/3 – Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (inclusive film showing)- Waterside Arts, Sale. 2pm. Tickets £6. Refreshments available.
Wed 12th/3 – Sun 16th/3 – Words by the Water 2025: Festival of Words and Ideas – Theatre by the Lake, Keswick
Wed 12th/3 – Thur 13th/3 – The Smartest Giant in Town – St Helens Theatre Royal – Based onthebestselling book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.
Thurs 13th/3 – 31st/3 – Mischief in Miniature FREE event – Hill Top, Beatrix Potter, Cumbria – A National Trust venue, Near Sawrey, Cumbria, LA22 0LF.
Fri 14th/3 – Sun 23rd/3 – Manchester Film Festival, Home, Manchester.
Fri 14th/3 -Speechly’s Sensory Garden Walk, Dunham Massey – A National Trust property. 10am – 4pm.
Sat 15th/3 – 21st/3 – South Cumbria Music Festival. This event finishes with The Festival Gala on 28th/3 at St Mary’s Church, Dalton-in-Furness, Cumbria 7.30pm.
Sat 15th/3 – Dairy Day – Find out where your dairy comes from FREE event. Tatton Park – A National Trust property. 12pm-1pm or 2pm-3pm.
Sat 15th/3 – Family Saturday, The Octagon Theatre, Manchester. 11.30am. Age 5-10 & their grown ups. FREE.
Sat 15th March – Make a Bird Box FREE – Gregson Arts & Community Centre 11.30am, 1.45pm, 3.15pm c/o Lancashire Wildlife Trust & Lancashire County Council.
Sun 16th/3 – Karen Hauer & Gorka Marquez – Speakeasy, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester. 5pm. Tickets from £42.25.
Sun 16th/3 – The Spice Girls Experience: The Party – St Helens Theatre Royal. 7.30pm. Tickets £35.
WEEK THREE MARCH
Tues 18th/3 – Sat 22nd/3 – Pride & Prejudice (Sort of) – The Lowry, Salford
Tues 18th/3 – Sat 22nd/3 – The Storyhouse, Chester – Dear Evan Hansen
Thurs 20th/3 – Movicals – The Brindley Theatre, Runcorn. 7.30pm – £30.50 per ticket. Go on a journey through some of the most iconic movie musicals of the last 50 years.
Thurs 20th/3 – 31st/3 – Spring into Crafting, Festival of Blossom – Castlefield Viaduct – A National Trust venue 10am-5pm each day.
Fri 21st /3 – World Poetry Day, Poetry Writing Workshop at Castlefield Viaduct, Manchester. 2pm-4pm. Email tom.branfoot@manchestercathedral.org to book
Fri 21st/3 – A Tribute to Freddie Mercury – The Brindley Theatre, Runcorn. 7.30pm £30.
Fri 21st/3 – 3rd April – Chester International Film Festival. The opening weekend includes:
- A preview of Alonso Ruizpalacios’s gripping kitchen drama La Cocina
A remarkable Berlin biopic based on true events with From Hilde, With Love
A French coming-of-age ode to cheese-making in Holy Cow
A spotlight on films showcased by students at the University of Chester
A compilation of One Minute shorts curated by artist Kerry Baldry
Jacques Tati’s 1967 masterpiece PlayTime, selected by the Storyhouse Young Film Programmers- Find out more at The Storyhouse, Chester Facebook Page.
Sat 22nd/3 – Jason Donovan – Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. 7.30pm. Tickets from £33.
Sat 22nd March – The Ultraloop – Heaton Park, Manchester – Inclusive and flexible running event with no distance limit.
Sun 23rd/3 – The Art Walk, Clitheroe 11am-4pm. Enjoy a gentle stroll round five amazing galleries including The Platform, Atelier Arts, Knowle Top Studios, Trinity Gallery Hub and the Steward’s Gallery at Clitheroe Castle.
Sun 23rd/3 – The Dinosaur that Pooped – The Opera House, Manchester. Tickets from £18.75. 12.30 & 3.30pm. Ages 2+.
WEEK FOUR MARCH
Tues 25th/3 – Sat 29th/3 – Six, The Musical – The Storyhouse, Chester
Wed 26th/3 – Sat 12th/4 – Of Mice and Men, The Octagon Theatre, Bolton. Age 13+. Tickets from £15.
Fri 28th/3 – Amy Dowden & Carlos Gu: Reborn, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, 7.30pm. Tickets from £44.25.
Fri 28th/3 – Relax with Art 2pm – Salford Museum. Suitable for all ages. FREE. No booking required.
Sat 29th/3 – Spring Safari Discovery Day at Heaton Park, Manchester c/o RSPB
Sat 29th/3 – Easter Extravaganza at Firs Forest Adventures, Crafts, Games, Music, Easter Bunny, Minecraft Education workshops (Y3-4)
FREE Family Event – Book online.
Mon 31st/3 – Sun 13th/4 – Hedgehog Walk c/o Lancashire Wildlife Trust Sign up for a pack to walk 3km whilst fundraising with your little one.
