This week's new events

Holocaust Memorial Day , London & Manchester The Imperial War Museum's Manchester and London homes are the setting for a mix of education and memorial as the collections are brought to life by talks from Holocaust survivors, plus tours and storytelling. Ahead of Friday's Memorial Day, events start in Manchester tomorrow with a walk and recollections of the Kindertransport and the chaplain who entered Belsen with British forces. Many events are family-friendly, with those in London from 28 Jan featuring a talk by artist Ori Gersht as well as a session on talking to your children about the Holocaust. Imperial War Museum North, Manchester & Imperial War Museum, SE1, Sun to 29 Jan Iain Aitch Death: Festival For The Living , London It might sound macabre, but this three-day homage to the Great Leveller is likely to raise the spirits (pardon the pun). Shedding light on "a subject too often consigned to the shadows", events here range from the BBC Concert Orchestra's Music To Die For to a Digital Death discussion of where our data goes when we die. Also in the mortality mix is a talk (chaired by Jon Snow) on assisted suicide, comedian Markus Birdman's show about suffering a stroke at 40, and a display of Ghanaian bespoke coffins designed for going out in style – as giant cocoa beans. Southbank Centre, SE1, Fri to 29 Jan Colette Bernhardt Big Burns Supper , Across Dumfries & Galloway It has to be said that food does feature at this festival, but rather than an excuse to cook a record-breaking huge haggis, more than 80 arts events celebrate the work and spirit of Robert Burns. Amid the music, comedy (including Frisky & Mannish), art, film and debates don't miss a performance of the 18th-century bard's's unpublished subversive work by Rebel Inc publisher Kevin Williamson, a far more apt tribute than any twee meal. Various venues, Mon to 29 Jan Katrina Dixon Out & about Big Garden Birdwatch , Across the UK, Sat to 29 Jan Talks, bird bingo trails, feeder-making workshops and more before next week's grand bird survey. Various venues Chinese New Year , Liverpool, Sat to 21 Feb Celebrate the year of the dragon with craft, calligraphy and painting workshops, traditional lion dances, lanterns and the Chinese youth orchestra. Various venues Alternative Wedding Fair , London, Sun Forget meringue dresses and penguin suits. It's a leap year – anything goes. Medieval costumes? Um, fetish gear? Piccadilly Institute, W1 Ireland's Creative Expo , Dublin, Sun to Wed Fashion, crafts, gifts and homewares by 350 Irish designers and makers. RDS, Ballsbridge Print Festival , Leeds, Thu to 31 Jan Workshops, open studios, bookmaking, printing and talks with designers including Anthony Burrill. Leeds Gallery, York Street