It seems that June is the time for things to end in Manchester. First up, a couple of exhibitions that conclude this coming Sunday, 13 June:

At the Imperial War Museum North, photographer Don McCullin currently has a major retrospective called Shaped by War. The 75-year-old, not to be confused with Manchester’s own Don McPhee, is best known for his war-time coverage – and in fact in 1968 his Nikon camera stopped a bullet intended for him. The exhibition’s free, and if you fancy doing some pre-visit research, check out the q&a, preview and video interview on CreativeTourist.com.

Then at Mosi, it’s the final weekend of Da Vinci – The Genius, which has been running since November last year. One of the major parts of this exhibition is Secrets of Mona Lisa, containing ‘25 startling revelations’ about his most famous work – and that’s just one of over 200 items on show. Admission here is £7.50 for adults and £5 for concessions, and unless the exhibition’s final weekend is over-run with visitors, you should be able to buy from the Mosi box office on the day.

If you’re after something a bit more… live, this month is also your last chance to see Manchester’s Library Theatre in its current form. Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest was the first ever production in the theatre way back in 1952 – and it’s also going to be the last. The library is closing for a major overhaul from July, with the Library Theatre Company relocating to Peter Street’s Theatre Royal in 2012. The Grade II listed building, which is Manchester’s oldest surviving theatre building, dating back to 1845, has previously been the Royal Cinema and Royal Bingo, and until recently was a particularly unregal nightclub. Glad to see it’s finally being restored to (hopefully) its former glory.

Photo: Auditorium of the Theatre Royal in 1980 while being used for bingo. Courtesy of Ted Bottle

So you wait years for a decent Manchester ‘what’s on’ website, then two come along at the same time.

First up is the relaunched VisitManchester.com, a ‘destination website’ for anyone visiting this fair city and asking important questions such as: what are the city’s best music venues?; where are the top five cheap eats?; and what are the top real ale pubs? (The latter written by yours truly, somewhat predictably.) Much of the site is broken down into lists and short pieces of information, while the design itself – one single, never-ending page – is dizzying. There’s some great information on there, assuming its visitors have enough time to get accustomed to the navigation (which co-incidentally vanishes). Give it a spin, see what you think.

The other new site is GoSeeThis.com, the long-awaiting listings portal from All About Audiences (formerly Arts About Manchester). This features events, exhibitions and the likes from AAA’s dozen of member organisations – everywhere from the Air Raid Shelters in Stockport to the Zion Arts Centre in Hulme. I fully expect to be using the site the next time I’m wondering what to do with a spare Saturday or Sunday – and thanks to the highly customisable search facility (including saving your preferences if you log in), it’s fast and effective too.

By all accounts, last year’s series of open-air screenings at Spinningfields was a big success, helped along by the handy provision of popcorn, picnic hampers and deckchairs. So it’s great to see the series returning tomorrow, Thursday 20 May, with Control:

The Screenfields film season launches with the biography of local lad and Joy Division frontman, Ian Curtis. For Joy Division and New Order fans everywhere, the film charts Joy Division’s rise to success, their relationship with Factory Records and the personal turmoils of Ian himself. Screened to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Curtis’ death, this is a must-see for anyone passionate about the Manchester music scene. Stars Sam Riley and Samantha Morton.

And, er, afterwards you can get two-for-one entry into some place called FAC251?

Tenuous asides aside, Screenfields is the kind of free public event that Manchester needs more of – especially with the likes of Leon, Spirited Away, The Quiet Man and The Italian Job scheduled in for future screenings. But what better way to kick off this year’s season than with a depressing Manchester-centred film? It begins at 8.30pm.

There’s nothing better than going for a five-hour wander – particularly when Manchester offers blue skies, not grey clouds, overhead. That’s exactly what I did yesterday, and I returned with the following knowledge:

The infrequently used platform 12 at Piccadilly Station is currently showing off Manchester’s music venues, past and present, with a photography exhibition. All those you expect to be there are, plus a couple of surprises, such as the Jolly Angler pub, just behind the station, and the Hardrock Concert Theatre in Stretford. Turns out the latter, a 3000-capacity venue, hosted shows by David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Bob Marley, James Brown and Elton John!

The 16th outing of Viva!, the Spanish and Latin American film festival, kicked off yesterday at Cornerhouse. From reading through the brochure, Solo Quiero Caminar (Just Walking) looks to be one potential highlight – especially ‘if your dream film is a mash up of Pulp Fiction and The A-Team’, as someone described it earlier. That’s on tomorrow, Monday 8 March at 8.10pm.  There’s also a short film festival-within-a-festival on Wednesday from 7.30pm, and a live musical accompaniment to Segundo de Chomon’ silent shorts on Monday 22 March from 6.30pm.

Upstairs in Cornerhouse’s Gallery 1, Carlos Amorales, one of Mexico’s leading contemporary artists, has just opened an exhibition that runs for the duration of Viva! (6-27 March). I took a peak yesterday… it’s very video- and ambient music-heavy, in a good way.

If you follow Whitworth Street West down from Cornerhouse and take a left just before Deansgate, you’ll find yourself at Castlefield Gallery. Right now, this often-neglected space is playing host to a two-person exhibition by Leo Fitzmaurice and Kim Rugg – full of pain-stakingly detailed montages of ‘communication art’. Read CreativeTourist.com’s write-up of this exhibition, which continues until 3 April. It’s well worth the eight-minute walk.