Enjoy a spectacular October half-term in Blackpool

Blackpool is gearing up for its biggest ever programme of family entertainment for the October half-term holidays.

The fun starts on the evening of Saturday 13 October with a free family fireworks event on the Tower Festival Headland. That will be followed by three weeks of shows, events and thrilling things to do culminating in the scariest of Halloween festivals. The programme includes:

Attractions Galore: October is a time of year when some places are bunkering down for the winter. Not here in Blackpool where we have the biggest portfolio of attractions outside London. Take your pick from the Pleasure Beach with its amazing new ICON rollercoaster; Sandcastle Waterpark; SEA LIFE; Blackpool Zoo; Coral Island; three piers; illuminated and heritage trams; the Blackpool Dungeon; The Blackpool Tower & Circus and Madame Tussauds with its all-new, interactive Marvel Super-Heroes exhibition.

Light Odyssey: Ninety musicians and 15 animators will create an incredible light and sound spectacle, the likes of which has never been seen before in the iconic Empress Ballroom in Blackpool’s Winter Gardens. This unique 90-minute collaboration with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra takes place on the evening of Thursday 18 October and will feature live performance of some classical favourites set to an astonishing light animation show. Prepare to be amazed! Tickets are priced from £20 and are available here.

SLIMEFEST: It’s green and it’s messy. Very messy. Yes, it’s the return of Nickelodeon’s SLIMEFEST with six sessions of music and mayhem at the Blackpool Pleasure Beach Arena on October 20, 21 and 22. The shows, which feature the likes of Diversity, Jo Jo Siwa, Busted, HRVY, Union J, Becky Hill and Jonas Blue are all sold out, but you can still be there by entering our exclusive competition to win tickets here: www.visitblackpool.com/competition

Stunning Art: An extraordinary exhibition by Turner Prize-winning artist Grayson Perry is showing at Blackpool’s Grundy Art Gallery from now until December 15. The Vanity Of Small Differences comprises six large-scale tapestries inspired by William Hogarth's moral tale, A Rake's Progress. Two further exhibitions celebrating the Blackpool Illuminations are also showing at the The Grundy over the same period. Entrance is free. More details, www.grundyartgallery.com

Lightpool Festival: A heady mix of art installations, parades and sensational light and fire-related live performances. It opens on Thursday 25 October with the return of the illuminated tram parade as part of a spectacular Carnival of Lights along the Promenade which will also feature illuminated vehicles, costume characters, Lumidogs and the famous Spark! by Worldbeaters drummers. The following day, Friday 26 October, will see RUSH, an epic dance and light production to be staged outdoors with a 100-strong cast on New Bonny Street Car Park just off the Golden Mile. Then, on Saturday 27 October, the festival finale will take place on St John’s Square with a UK premiere of Pyronix – a spectacular Belgian pyrotechnic show combining fire, martial arts, dance and acrobatics. All the events are free and throughout the three-days there will be a light-themed art trail throughout the town centre. For updates go to www.visitblackpool.com/lightpoolfestival

Illuminations & Lightpool Projection Shows: Autumn wouldn’t be the same without the world-famous Illuminations. The free display has a circus theme for 2018, marking the resort’s designation as one of six UK cities of circus. Watch out for a big top, new Promenade festoons and a specially-made 3D show that is being projected on to the front of the Blackpool Tower building. The projection shows are free and take place every night until the end of the Illuminations on November 4. Look out for the latest release, a brand new projection show, marking Sooty’s 70th birthday!

Halloween Frights: Blackpool doesn’t just do light – we also do dark pretty well, too! Watch out for a stack of spine-tingling events at various attractions including Blackpool Dungeon, Blackpool Zoo and Pleasure Beach which, for 11 scary days, will turn into Vampire Beach with zombies, horror movies and more ghouls than you can throw a stick at. There are also themed family parties at Blackpool Tower Ballroom, Viva and Central Pier, and on November 2, the Blackpool Grand Theatre stages The Meatloaf Story, a celebration of the record-breaking album, Bat Out Of Hell. Full Halloween details here:

Saturday Night Fever: It is 40 years since the ground-breaking John Travolta movie first dazzled cinema-goers, but this brand new stage production is the perfect showcase for some of the most iconic disco songs and dances of all time. It’s at the Opera House from October 30-November 3.

For the full list of everything that Blackpool has to offer go to www.visitblackpool.com