Oink Oink! Longton's Pig Carnival is Back

Plus celebrating Staffs women on International Women's Day, free Google workshops at Keele, laughs with Russell Kane and an Industrial Middleport Walking Tour…

WHAT’S ON/THINGS TO DO ✅

HIGHLIGHTED ⬇️ (FULL EVENTS LISTINGS BELOW)

🐷 Popular Carnival Returns. 06/04, 11am-4pm, Longton High Street. Longton’s Carnival and Pig Walk will feature live music, a funfair, street food and artisan market. Led by local contemporary marching band KiLNE, the parade highlight will be a giant pig puppet called Jolly. The event celebrates a true story from the 1880s when the former Mayor of Longton, John Aynsley, successfully drove a pig from Trentham to Longton to win a bet with the Duke of Sutherland. To get involved making foam flowers and bunting for the event, or for more info, contact Urban Wilderness here.

Last year’s event attracted more than 20,000 revellers. Pic: Andrew Billington

👩‍🦰 Celebrating Staffs Women. 08/03, 10.30am-2.30pm, Guild Hall. To mark International Women's Day this year, the Soroptimists of North Staffordshire are holding an exhibition of local women who’ve made notable contributions to the nation and their communities. Among those they’re paying tribute to are abolitionist Sarah Wedgwood; spitfire pilot Rita Baines; novelist and suffragette Ada Nield Chew; astronomer Mary Blagg; and world squash champion Angela Smith. Free admission.

🛜 Google is Coming to Keele. 28/02, 10am, Keele University. Google UK will be in Staffordshire to deliver a Google Digital Garage training event to help attendees develop new digital skills. Sessions include boosting productivity with AI and getting your business visible on its search engine. Find out more here. Free admission.

🌌 Good Heavens! A Tribute to the Night Sky. 06/04, 5pm, Regent Theatre. Bringing his successful sell-out show to a UK tour, astronomer and author Adrian West (aka VirtualAstro) is set to present a thought-provoking celestial experience for everyone that gazes up at night and wonders what’s out there. Tickets from £28.50.

Astronomer Adrian West will be uncovering celestial secrets at The Regent

🤪 Laughs with Russell Kane. 08/03, 8pm, Victoria Hall. There’s still tickets left to see the popular comic in his new show, HyperActive - catch a recent clip of him here riffing on the British transport system. Tickets from £35.18, over 14’s only.

🏭 Industrial Middleport Walking Tour. 06/04, 10am. Explore the rich industrial heritage of the Middleport canal with a relaxed stroll (it’ll take approximately three hours) along the waterways where you’ll discover how this area became a hub of manufacturing and trade. Tickets £6; meet at The Lodge at Middleport Pottery.

This tour is perfect for history enthusiasts and curious explorers alike....

🖌️ Celebrating Diversity. 28/02-02/03, 10.30am-4.30pm, Potteries Museum & Art Gallery. Showcasing UK d/DEAF, disabled and neurodivergent artists, the Frontline Arts Festival, or FAF 2025 weekend will include performances by Kris Halpin, Dave Steel and Cat McGill. More info here. Free admission, pay as you can.

👮‍♀️ Catch The Magnificent Seven. 08/04-12/04, 7.30pm, Stoke Repertory Theatre. It’s 1994 and a group of spirited D-Day veterans at a Brighton nursing home are determined to break free and return to Normandy to mark the event’s 50th anniversary in this play about resilience. Tickets £15.50, £11 concessions.

EVENTS LISTINGS

• Parkrun, every Saturday at 9am at Hanley Park; Trentham Gardens; Cannock Chase; Lower Milehouse Lane, Newcastle; Birchall Playing Fields; Isabel Trail, Stafford

• Heritage Walks with the Red Haired Stokie, various dates

• Potteries Centre Events Series, ongoing, Potteries Centre

• Throw a Pot and Pottery Painting, ongoing, Kiln at Number 12

• Throw a Pot Sessions, ongoing, LoveClay

• Guided Walks in the Peak District, Various, Multiple (Peak District)

• Titanic Brewery Tour, multiple dates, Titanic Brewery

• Spitfire Comedy Open Mic, multiple dates, Old Post Office, Burslem

• Electric Tentacle Electronic Music Open Mic, multiple dates, Captain’s Bar

• Daytime & Evening Beginner Pottery Courses, 10/02 for 5 weeks, LoveClay

• Gandey’s Circus, until 03/03, Trentham Estate

• Winter Tree Walks, 26/02, 05/03, 12/03, Trentham Estate

• Adult Beginners Tap Workshop, 28/02, Regent Theatre

• FAF2025, 28/02-02/03, Potteries Museum & Art Gallery

• Google Digital Garage Training, 28/02, Keele University

• Johnny Cash Roadshow, 01/03, Mitchell Arts Centre

• Strange 80s, 01/03, Artisan Tap

• The Toys Strike Back, 01/03-01/06, Potteries Museum & Art Gallery

• Tactile Textiles: Woolly Embroidery, 04/03, Mitchell Arts Centre

• War Horse, 04/03-08/03, Regent Theatre

• Russell Kane, 08/03, Victoria Hall

• The Miner Birds, 06/03, New Vic

• Donaheys Dancing with the Stars Weekend, 07/03-09/03, Alton Towers Resort Hotel

• Women of Wedgwood Tour, 08/03, World of Wedgwood

• 10CC’s Graham Gouldman & Heart Full of Songs, 08/03, New Vic

• Artisan Spring Market, 08/03 & 09/03, Middleport Pottery

• Relaxed Classical Performance, 14/03, University of Staffordshire

• Jason Manford, 15/03, Regent Theatre

• Castle Classics Classic & Retro Show, 15/03, Ironmarket

• Connoisseur Guided Tour at Gladstone, 15/03, Gladstone Pottery Museum

• Bernadette and Other Teenage Folk Tales, 20/03-23/03, Fenton Town Hall

• Community Lanterns Procession, 21/03, Stoke Event Square

• Revision on Tour: Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, 26/03, Regent Theatre

• Burton & South Derbyshire Beer & Cider Festival, 27/03-29/03, Burton Town Hall

• Staffordshire Archaeology Day, 29/03, Potteries Museum & Art Gallery

• Ceramic Planter Pocket Workshop, 29/03, Middleport Pottery

• Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea & Mother’s Day Mimosa Brunch, 30/03, World of Wedgwood

• Mother’s Day Ceramic Flower Making, 30/03, LoveClay

• Soul-on-Trent, 06/04, King’s Hall

• The Night Sky Show, 06/04, Regent Theatre

• Industrial Middleport Walking Tour, 06/04, Middleport

• Longton Carnival & Pig Walk, 06/04, Longton town centre

• The Magnificent Seven, 08/04-12/04, Stoke Repertory Theatre

• Arthur Berry - Theatremaker, 27/05-28/06, New Vic

• The Wombats, 29/05, Trentham Estate

• Ocean Colour Scene, 30/05, Trentham Estate

• Whatever Happened to Phoebe Salt, 31/05, New Vic

• Bat out of Hell, 30/06-05/07, Regent Theatre

• The City Music Service Stoke-on-Trent 100 Big Sing, 04/06

• Stoke-on-Trent Day, various locations, 05/06

• The City Music Service Stoke-on-Trent 100 Big Play, 11/06

• North Staffs Symphony Orchestra Centenary Concert, King’s Hall, 25/06

• Stoke-on-Trent Centenary Celebration Concert, King’s Hall, 28/06

• Three Counties Open Art, 26/07-23/08, Burslem School of Art

• Russell Watson, 24/10, Victoria Hall

---

Want to support The Knot? 👋 Consider upgrading to become a paid member and supporting the local writers who bring you good news and information.

Want to sponsor The Knot? 🎯 Your business could reach our audience. Find out more.

Looking for great stuff to do and places to go? 📍Yes of course you are. Check out The Knot Life, our new directory of places, events and things to do across Stoke-on-Trent & North Staffordshire.

Do you know something we don’t? 🤫 Got a story idea? Email and tell us your secret.