DOZENS of children have taken part in a host of free and fun chocolate-themed workshops at The Rock Shopping Centre this Easter.

The shopping and leisure destination unveiled its Easter installation – The World of Imagination – in time for the bank holiday weekend and kicked off the chocolate and sweets fun with workshops on Saturday 30^th March.

The activation is described by The Rock as a ‘magical room of all things sweet and nice’ and is aimed at bringing joy and fun to the centre this Easter.

The World of Imagination takes the form of a candy house with smarty and candy stripe walls creating the perfect backdrop for some fun Easter pictures.

Inside includes giant candy canes and prop lollipops complete with brightly coloured shelves filled with sweet jars taking inspiration from the new Wonka film.

On Saturday  – the event space came to life – with free sweet treat workshops running throughout the day, including cookie decorating, chocolate marbling and mallow bunny making.

Another day of workshops will run on Friday 5^th April between 11am and 3pm. The workshops are completely free to attend and run on a first come, first served basis. Visit The Rock’s website to find out more.

Arnold Wilcox-Wood, Centre Director at The Rock, said: “Our workshops were a huge hit with visitors over the Easter weekend and we were thrilled to welcome people from far and wide to take part. We’ll be doing it all again on Friday, we look forward to welcoming families to take part in this free, Easter fun.”

The World of Imagination is in situ until Friday 12^th April and visitors are encouraged to have a nosey inside and take memorable photos.

DOZENS of shoppers were surprised with red roses, sweet treats, gift vouchers and self-care goodies as The Rock Shopping Centre marked both Valentine’s Day and Random Acts of Kindness Day.

Over two days, the shopping and leisure destination handed out hundreds of items as part of its campaign to spread joy and love this February.

The Centre’s Kindness Crew housed their giveaways in a Kindness Cart which moved around the centre on Wednesday 14^th February and Saturday 17^th February.

Arnold Wilcox-Wood, Centre Director at The Rock, said: “This February we wanted to do something special to mark these two key calendar days. We were so pleased to be able to surprise so many of our shoppers. It has been wonderful to make so many people smile with such a small gesture. We hope it went a long way to brightening their day.”

The Perfume shop have released a Valentine’s Day gift guide…

A brand new café has opened inside The Range and will serve up delicious meals and drinks. Café Eighty-Nine, which is aptly named after the year The Range was founded, opened on Friday.

Bosses at The Range say the café will feature a fresh ‘continental style’ interior scheme offering customers a ‘village green’ meeting space with delicious cooked to order food, and barista made hot drinks.

The café also serves an array of tasty family favourite’s, including burger and chips, woodfired pizza, fish and chips and chicken tikka masala with rice and naan.

There will also be light bites including quiche, jacket potatoes and a selection of ciabattas, paninis, toasties and sandwiches. There is an amazing kids menu including main meals as well as a pick n mix option featuring sandwich, fruit, snack and drink for £3.75.

In addition to the cooked to order menu, Café Eighty-Nine offers a full range of premium barista coffees including, cappuccinos, lattes, espressos and mochas, with prices starting from just £1.95.

The newly refurbished café will boast a fresh and inviting interior scheme with pops of green and cream stripes to give a continental feel, with cosy seating areas and ambient lighting to offer a welcoming meeting space.

Your generous donations have raised a wonderful £1,224.43 for this great cause!

Caffè Nero has now officially opened at The Rock.

Caffè Nero Group Ltd was founded in 1997 and is currently the largest independent coffee retailer in the UK, with over 360 Caffe Nero stores from Brighton to Glasgow. Caffe Nero provide a European style coffee house experience offering premium espresso-based gourmet coffee, authentic Italian food products and a relaxing atmosphere in every store.

You can find them on the corner of St John’s Square next to H&M.

Shoppers visiting The Rock Shopping Centre had to look twice when they spotted live mannequins in the shop windows…

We held a two-day ‘Fashion Through The Glass’ event where shop window mannequins were swapped for models showcasing the hottest autumn trends.

Shows took place on Friday 22^nd  and Saturday 23^rd September and were held to inspire shoppers updating their wardrobes ready for the autumn and winter months.

Retailers including M&S, River Island, Primark, Vanilla, FME, Superdry and Blue Inc took part in the shows.

Arnold Wilcox-Wood, centre director of The Rock, said: “We’re always thinking of new ways to engage with our shoppers and support our retailers and this is the perfect event to do both. This activation was a great way to turn customers’ heads and encourage them to hit the shops.”

Hundreds of people are expected to descend on Bury for the town’s first ever Comic Con event next month.

Organised by the town’s BID, Bury Comic Con, will take place on Sunday 29^th October at various locations across the town centre.

Pop culture superfans will have a chance to get up close to comic artists, TV stars and props inspired by Doctor Who, Jurassic Park, Transformers and all of your favourite superheroes.

The event will take place across the town with host venues including The Rock, The Mill Gate, The Fusilier Museum, Bury Art Museum, The Hops, The Bank and Rayners.

Among the anticipated events scheduled are appearances from actors Colin Baker (Doctor Who), Kai Owen (Torchwood), Willie Copen (Star Wars) and George Copen (Willow).

Budding young artists will be encouraged to ‘complete the comic’ competition and adults and kids alike can showcase their costume talents in the cosplay competitions.

“We’re really looking forward to welcoming the Comic Con audience to Bury town centre and showcasing all that the town has to offer. This is a great opportunity to get involved and have fun, “ said Louise Jackson from Wax and Beans.

There will be several exciting traders completing the line-up with many of the towns businesses also gearing up to celebrate all things Comic Con with exclusive offers.

Families visiting The Rock this summer will be able enjoy free circus school skills workshops.

We have unveiled our Circus House of Fun installation which will be in situ all month.

Located in the space in front of The Range, the installation features a room of wacky mirrors, a clown themed tunnel of laughter and a hoop throwing game. It’s free for everyone to enjoy every day.

Plus, on Wednesdays from now until 23^rd August children can take part in Circus School and learn a new skill every week, the classes will include plate spinning, stilts, juggling and diabolo.

Circus School sessions start at 11am and run every 30 minutes. Each session will last approximately 20 minutes and the last session is at 2:30pm.

This week visitors were able to take part in plate spinning workshops and dozens of children attended throughout the day.

Arnold Wilcox-Wood, Centre Director, said: “We wanted to do something completely different this summer and we’re so excited to bring circus skills to The Rock. All of the activity is free for our visitors. We know it can be hard finding something fun and free for the children to do in the summer holidays, but with a different skill to learn each week The Rock is the place to be. Children will be given a report card to have stamped each week and those who complete at least three sessions will be awarded with a Circus School certificate.”