Month: November 2010

JOURNEY AND FOREIGNER CONFIRM DUBLIN AND BELFAST DATES

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CLASSIC ROCK Presents AOR

A NIGHT TO REMEMBER
with
JOURNEY
FOREIGNER
And Special Guests


Announce First Ever Irish Concert Dates Together in 2011



Wednesday 17th November 2010 – Journey and Foreigner, two of the biggest names in Classic Rock have today announced that they will be heading to Ireland in June when the they play Dublin and Belfast together for the very first time.

Journey – Neal Schon (guitars, backing vocals), Jonathan Cain (keyboards, backing vocals), Ross Valory (bass, backing vocals), Deen Castronovo (drums, percussion, backing vocals) and Arnel Pineda (lead vocals) – have performed around the world for nearly three years in support of the group’s latest recording project, Revelation.  A three-disc CD/DVD package, Revelation sold more than 104,000 copies its first week, marking the band’s biggest first week’s sales in over a decade.  Produced by Kevin Shirley, the album marks a new chapter in the band’s legendary career.  The New York Times hailed: “…the band seems to have taken rock vitamins: it feels alive.” Revelation earned Platinum honors, marking their 11th Platinum album certification to date. There will be a brand new studio album from Journey out in Spring next year.

Journey plays with a passion and commitment that wows both longtime fans and new generations of listeners alike.  ‘Don’t Stop Believin’, arguably their biggest hit has featured in both TV shows and films. The song made it back into the Top Ten last year as part of a Facebook campaign to get the track to the Christmas #1 spot. It is the most downloaded catalogue track in the history of iTunes and has featured heavily in some of the biggest TV shows across the board in the last 12 months, having been sung by winner Joe McElderry on The X-Factor as well as the contestants on 2010’s final Big Brother recording it as part of a task and the cast of the hit US show ‘Glee’ making it a huge anthem for a whole new generation.

More than a million fans attended their shows since 2008 to hear new hit singles “Never Walk Away” and “After All These Years” as well as the staggering catalogue of hits such as “Don’t Stop Believin’”  “Any Way You Want It,” “Open Arms,” and “Separate Ways.”

On their return to Ireland, Neal Schon said:
“We love our Irish fans and we are excited to return to Ireland”

More than 30 years after releasing their first multi-platinum album, Foreigner’s music resonates globally across generations, thanks to an impressive run of 14 Top 20 hits, including worldwide number one hit ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’, ‘Waiting For A Girl Like You’ and video game staples such as ‘Hot Blooded’ and ‘Juke Box Hero’, together with album sales exceeding 70 million.  Foreigner’s 2010 United In Rock tour electrified audiences and established the group in its rightful place as one of the top touring attractions of the year in the US.  Their latest release, ‘Can’t Slow Down’, broke many Classic Rock sales records and spawned two Top 20 singles on US radio.  ‘Can’t Slow Down’ was the band’s first album of new music in more than 15 years.  Mick Jones, the band’s founder and legendary songwriter/guitarist, produced the new album with Marti Frederiksen (Aerosmith and Buckcherry).  It entered the Billboard Top 200 in the Top 30 on its first week of release and it is the first full length album to feature Foreigner’s revamped lineup: Jones, singer Kelly Hansen, bassist Jeff Pilson, guitarist Tom Gimbel and keyboardist Michael Bluestein.

Foreigner’s new live album ‘Can’t Slow Down When It’s Live’ was released on earMUSIC November 15th 2010.

Jones adds
“This will be one of the main events of the summer.  Bands who represent the magic era in Classic Rock together for the first time.  Get ready to rock!”

The tour will be sponsored by the brand new title from Future Publishing’s latest title Classic Rock Presents AOR, editor Geoff Barton had the following to say:

“With melodic rock on the resurgence, this tour is going to be one of the must-sees of 2011. We’re happy to set the ball rolling by featuring Journey on the cover of our brand new magazine, Classic Rock Presents AOR, which goes on sale on November 17. And, of course, with Journey’s classic song Don’t Stop Believin’ enjoying a brand new lease of life, it was only right that the track, making it back into the Top Ten nearly 30 years after its release, would be in the running to receive ‘Event Of The Year’ at our prestigious Classic Rock Roll Of Honour Awards.’

MCD Present
A NIGHT TO REMEMEBER
with
JOURNEY
FOREIGNER
And Special Guests

The O2 Arena
Saturday 11th June 2011
Tickets from €49.20 including booking fee

The Odyssey Arena
Sunday 12th June 2011
Tickets from £44.00 including booking fee

On sale Friday 26 November at 9.00am from:

Ticketmaster
In person: From 100 Ticketmaster Outlets Nationwide
By Telephone (24 Hour):
ROI – 0818 719 300, Northern Ireland – 0844 277 44 55
Book On Line: www.ticketmaster.ie

The Odyssey Arena, Belfast
Odyssey Arena Box Office: Tel. 02890 739074
Book On Line: www.odysseyarena.com

IRON MAIDEN REACHES THE FINAL FRONTIER…. COMING HOME FOR A UK ARENA TOUR FINALE IN 2011!

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Live Nation (MCD in Belfast) is proud to welcome rock legends IRON MAIDEN back to the UK in 2011 for an extensive 10 city arena tour for the final run of dates on their FINAL FRONTIER WORLD TOUR 2010/11. For the first time in many years, the band will be playing shows across the full length and breadth of the UK, including places they’ve not visited for up to three decades! The dates for The Final Frontier UK Tour 2011 are:

JULY
Wed 20 Scotland, Glasgow SECC
Thu 21 Scotland, Aberdeen AECC P&J Arena
Sat 23 England, Newcastle Metro Radio Arena
Sun 24 England, Sheffield Motorpoint Arena
Wed 27 England, Nottingham Trent FM Arena
Thu 28 England, Manchester MEN Arena
Sun 31 England, Birmingham NIA

AUGUST
Mon 1 Wales, Cardiff CIA Arena
Wed 3 Northern Ireland, Belfast Odyssey
Fri 5 England, London 02 Arena

Maiden founder member Steve Harris comments; “Everything in the Maiden camp has been so full on these last five years or so that we haven’t travelled around the UK to play for our home fans for almost that long. These fans supported us by coming to Twickenham Stadium, Reading and Leeds Festivals, Download and more recently Sonisphere so we thought we should get off our backsides and do the travelling this time and get round the country to see them all. We very much look forward to playing all four home countries and a couple of places we haven’t been for a very long time, Aberdeen and Belfast! And playing the O2 gets us as close to the East End of London where Maiden started off than we have been for many a year, probably since the Ruskin Arms! All in all l think this is going to be a very special series of shows and a wonderful way to end this whole world tour.

“We intend to take the full stadium show into the UK arenas and fit everything we possibly can into each venue. The set list will be different to this year’s tour. Of course we will play more songs from the new album and some other recent material, but we intend to include a healthy dose of older fan favourites too for those who haven’t seen us before , plus a spectacular light show and stage set, not forgetting, of course, ….Eddie!”

The UK shows will be the culmination of The Final Frontier World Tour, which began in June 2010 with a hugely successful 25 date tour throughout North America, followed by selected European stadium and festival shows, including Knebworth, Sonisphere in the UK.

The band recently announced the first leg of the 2011 tour which starts in February and will be ‘Around The World In 66 Days’ – a fifty thousand mile odyssey aboard a specially customized Boeing 757 – Ed Force One, piloted by airline captain and lead singer Bruce Dickinson. This will carry band, crew and many tons of equipment across 5 continents to thirteen countries, visiting 26 cities for 29 shows

The first show will be on Feb 11th in Moscow’s Olympic Stadium, after which the Boeing 757, which will have new designs to tie in with the new album and tour, will fly the band to Singapore and Indonesia for Maiden’s first ever shows there, before arriving in Australia to headline two arena dates and five Soundwave Festivals. EF1 then turns its attention briefly to the Northern Hemisphere with a first show ever in South Korea and two shows in Tokyo, before heading all the way across the Pacific, a journey which (believe it or not!) is 6660 miles, for two shows in Mexico. An extensive series of stadium shows through five South American countries follows, and, via Puerto Rico, the band will play the final show on this leg of the tour in Tampa, Florida, USA on April 17th, exactly 66 days after Moscow! (full dates below)
Says Bruce, “We were taken aback by the fantastic reaction from everyone to EF1 during the 2008/09 World Tour. As our fans all know from the “Flight 666” film, which documented the trials and tribulations we underwent in order to get the whole project literally off the ground, the end result was well worth all the effort and complex logistics we had to deal with! The band and crew enjoyed themselves so much travelling that way, it seemed only logical to set up this part of The Final Frontier tour in the same way so we could get to see as many fans as possible all over the World, only this time we’re pushing the boundaries even further and going to more places Maiden has never been before… in true Frontier style!! We very much look forward to playing in Singapore, Indonesia and South Korea for the first time, as well as revisiting our fans elsewhere.”
This Around The World tour will be followed by an extensive series of European dates starting late Spring. Nordic and Russian shows have already been announced (as below) and there are many more dates to follow, before Maiden comes home to the UK in July. It will be an historic return for a number of reasons, not least as it will be the first time the band has played in Aberdeen since their first UK headline tour back in 1980! And although the band played earlier this year in the Republic Of Ireland at Dublin’s O2 Arena, it was 1993 when they last performed in Belfast, so shows in these cities are well overdue! The last show of the tour will see Maiden’s first ever performance at London’s O2 Arena.

The Final Frontier World Tour is in conjunction with the band’s 15th studio album released in August through EMI Music and their most successful chart album to date, registering the #1 sales chart slot in 28 countries around the globe; from Lebanon, Arabia and India in the East, to Canada in the West, New Zealand down South, throughout UK and Europe and across Latin America, as well as reaching No.1 in Billboard’s European, Tastemaker and Rock Charts, and No.4 in the USA, which is the band’s highest position ever there.

Wherever possible, members of the Iron Maiden Fan Club will get the opportunity to win The First To The Barrier competition where 60 lucky members (plus a guest each) get the chance to enter the venue before the general public and grab themselves a prime viewing position right by the front of the stage barrier.

As well as competition entry to ‘First to The Barrier’ access on show day, there will be an exclusive first ticket pre-sale for Iron Maiden Fan club members, before tickets go on sale to the general public on Saturday November 20th. Information on this special pre-sale will be posted on www.ironmaiden.com

BIG COUNTRY PLUS SPECIAL GUEST SPRING & AIRBRAKE 20TH APRIL 2011

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THE LIMELIGHT COMPLEX PRESENTS

BIG COUNTRY

PLUS SPECIAL GUEST

SPRING & AIRBRAKE

WEDNESDAY 20TH APRIL 2011

£20 / 8pm

Legendary 80’s rockers Big Country are all set to return to the stage and have announced a UK tour next year.  They have enlisted The Alarm’s Mike Peters as lead singer for their 30th anniversary tour. They will play Spring & Airbrake on Wednesday 20th April 2011. Tickets are priced £20 plus £2.50 booking fee and are available from Friday 12th November at www.cdcleisure.net.

The band exploded onto the scene in 1982 with anthemic songs which as ‘Fields of Fire’ and ‘In A Big Country’ which were culled from their classic debut album ‘The Crossing’ which sold several million worldwide.  They followed up with a number one album ‘Steeltown’ and released 8 studio albums all of which entered the Top Ten.  Big Country released 28 singles 5 of which were also Top Ten.

Approaching their 30th anniversary, the band are lining up concerts for a period of celebration that will not only embrace their illustrious past but also honour the life and times of original lead singer, guitarist and co-founder Stuart Adamson, who passed away so tragically in 2001.  Taking on the mantle of lead singer and joining the band for these dates and more will be Mike Peters of fellow celtic rockers The Alarm.

“I first met Stuart on stage at a U2 concert in Hammersmith Palais back in 1982” says Mike Peters. “Bono introduced us to his audience as being “part of the new breed” and Stuart was literally passed up onto the stage by the glance and I shook his hand as I handed him a guitar – an unforgettable entrance.  The last time I saw him was also on stage with Big Country at Glasgow Barrowlands for the last night of the Final Fling tour in 2000, when we sang Neil Young’s ‘Rockin In The Freeworld’ together.  When Bruce Watson called and asked me to sing for Big Country, it was something I didn’t need to think twice about. I’m looking forward to meeting all the fans again and playing a part in keeping the spirit of Stuart Adamson alive and celebrating the music of a band I have loved from near and afar for the whole of my adult like”.

Bass guitarist Tony Butler says “To play again as Big Country was something that was only going to happen if we could find someone who could compliment the band and sing the songs in the way they need to be sung – with heart and soul.  Mike Peters from The Alarm has stepped in to fill the premise.  It’s about time the songs got another airing, and we think Stuart would be pleased too”.

The new line up consists of:

Tony Butler – Bass Guitar and Vocals

Mark Brzezicki – Drums and Vocals

Mike Peters – Vocals and Guitar

Bruce Watson – Guitar and Vocals

Jamie Watson – Guitar

Big Country are set to play Spring & Airbrake on Wednesday 20th April 2011. Tickets are priced £20 plus £2.50 booking fee and are available from Friday 12th November at www.cdcleisure.net or from Katy Daly’s.

Find out more about Big Country: http://www.bigcountry.co.uk/home.php

Venue:                          Spring & Airbrake

Date:                            Wednesday 20th April 2011

Ticket Price:                  £20 + £2.50 Booking Fee

Doors:                          8.00pm

Support:                        To Be Confirmed

TICKET DETAILS

In person:                     From 22 Ticketmaster outlets province wide (Including Easons) / Katy Daly’s Bar
24hr hotlines:                Tel: (NI) 0844 277 44 55 (ROI) 0818 719 300
Buy online:                    www.cdcleisure.net

Ulster Orchestra project shortlisted for Composer Award

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composer Brian Irvine with a pupil from St Kieran’s PS, Poleglass, Belfast.
Composer Brian Irvine with a pupil from St Kieran’s PS, Poleglass, Belfast.

Rain Falling Up, a new oratorio for children commissioned by the Ulster Orchestra and written by its Associate Composer for 2009, Brian Irvine, has been shortlisted for a 2010 British Composer Award by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.

Rain Falling Up tells the story of Jake, a young boy who has an insatiable curiosity for all things scientific, especially gravity. The project was primarily an education event, providing children with opportunities to participate, explore and learn about music outside the classroom. It encouraged collaboration between different and diverse communities and the children were able to create artwork, animation and poetry in response to what they had discovered about gravity in school.

The unique project involved a choir of 210 children from three schools, a community choir of 240 children from a further six schools, the full Orchestra and residents of a Holywood care home – all of whom performed in front of a 1500-strong audience at the Belfast Waterfront in March.

Brian Irvine, alongside fellow Artistic Director of Dumbworld Ltd, writer John McIlduff, created this new work as a musical and visual exploration of the phenomena that is Gravity.  Funding and sponsorship were provided by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland Lottery and Ulster Bank.

Brian Irvine said: “I’m delighted and honoured that Rain Falling Up has been nominated for this award.  It was a wonderful and exciting opportunity to work with such a diverse and creative range of participants and ended my tenure as Associate Composer with the Ulster Orchestra with a fantastic finale”.

The project has been nominated in the Community or Educational category of the Awards which will be presented at a ceremony in London on 30 November. The results will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Performance on 3 at 7pm the following day.

Mid-Ulster business people get ready for Start-Up Live!

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Leading Mid-Ulster business people will share their successes, failures, challenges and ambitions with an audience of entrepreneurs from start-up and early stage companies at a major event in the Burnavon Arts Centre on November 23.

Start-Up Live in Cookstown, organised by Ulster Bank in association with www.smallbusinesscan.com, is part of a tour of 14 dates across the island, which are free of charge to all attendees. The series of events, which target those with aspirations of going into business, are part of the bank’s commitment to supporting new and emerging companies.

John Cassidy and Mary O'Neill of Ulster Bank get ready for Start-Up Live at the Burnavon Arts Centre in Cookstown on November 23 with panellists and local business people Jacqueline McGonigle (right) and Yvonne McFarland (left). Beginning at 6pm, the event is free of charge and targets those with aspirations of going into business, or who have recently set up a company.

Beginning at 6pm, the get-together will feature Jacqueline McGonigle, founder and owner of www.whatsonni.com; Yvonne McFarland who owns three local outlets – Bra Boutique, Lingerie Rooms and Orchid Lingerie, and William Allingham, owner of Allingham Quadcrate.

The panel will be chaired by entrepreneur and founder of www.smallbusinesscan.com Fionan Murray.

John Cassidy, area manager with Ulster Bank, says that the panel promises to provide excellent insights into how to start-up, establish and grow a successful business.

“The event will provide an opportunity for those with business ideas or who have recently started up a company to learn from others and to share their experiences and insights. We have an excellent and diverse panel in place for the event who will provide the benefit of their considerable experience,” he points out.

“We’ve developed a helpful online platform in Smallbusinesscan where start-ups, small business owners and entrepreneurs are sharing insights, ideas, knowledge and experiences. Start-Up Live is a natural extension of that,” Mr Cassidy adds.

More information about Start-Up Live is available from Ulster Bank branches or www.smallbusinesscan.com. The event is expected to last until 8pm.

Tour dates:

  • Monday 8th November, National Software Centre, Cork
  • Tuesday 9th November, UL Kemmy Business School, Limerick
  • Wednesday 10th November, Galway Museum, Galway
  • Monday 15th November, The Granary, Waterford
  • Tuesday 16th November, Kilkenny Design Centre, Kilkenny
  • Wednesday 17th November, Science Gallery, Dublin
  • Monday 22nd November, Crowne Plazza Hotel, Dundalk
  • Tuesday 23rd November, Burnavon Arts Centre, Cookstown
  • Monday 29th November, Model Art Gallery, Sligo
  • Tuesday 30th November, Cavan Crystal Hotel, Cavan

RECORD NUMBERS SIGN UP TO TEST DRIVE THE ARTS

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Christine Adams, Audience Development Manager, Audiences NI, Richard Gaston, Marketing Manager, Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queens with Cathy Mackle, the 3,000th Test Driver.

First time arts enthusiasts from across Northern Ireland have shown overwhelming support for Audiences NI’s initiative to bring the art world to the masses – with a record 3,000 signing up in just under a year.

These would-be arts lovers, who have never been to a local live theatre or performing arts event before, have enjoyed on-the-house tickets to some of the hottest shows, celebrating the best that Northern Ireland’s rich cultural scene has to offer – all courtesy of Test Drive the Arts NI.

Cathy Mackle from Armagh became the 3,000th ‘test driver’, after logging on to the easy to use website – www.testdrivetheartsni.org.  Featuring a host of Northern Ireland’s most exciting performances, the website enables users to request tickets from a broad range of must-see shows. This month Five Guys Named Moe is showing at Theatre at the Mill and the 20th Cinemagic International Film and Television Festival gets underway (11-26 November). New shows are added daily, so check the website for details.

The initiative is managed by Audiences NI – set up to boost attendance numbers to arts organisations across Northern Ireland – and funded by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.

Booking could not be easier. Simply select the performance you are interested in attending and complete the registration form online to request tickets. Tickets will be regularly available on a first-come, first-served basis, so the sooner you go online the better the chance you have of securing the tickets you want.

Audience Development Manager Christine Adams, Audiences NI, said:

“Northern Ireland has a rich cultural and artistic heritage that is enjoyed by thousands of people every year. Yet many arts lovers have not sampled the full range of arts on offer. We want to change that. The principle behind testdrivetheartsni.org is simple – it’s about giving arts enthusiasts the chance to ‘test drive’ the arts, whether that’s opera or comedy.

“There are huge benefits to using the online offering. You can browse the website in your own time and request tickets when it suits. There are few places in the world that offer the diversity and quality of performances that are readily available right here in Northern Ireland and we hope that after experiencing a live performance you will want to come back time and time again.”

“Building audiences for the arts is a priority for the Arts Council, and Test Drive the Arts NI is the perfect vehicle to attract newcomers.  There’s an amazing choice of arts activities on offer out there for all ages and interests and, if they just give it a try, we know people won’t look back.”

To find out more and request tickets log on to www.testdrivetheartsni.org.

Contenders come to town!

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A tour of some of NI’s finest up and coming talent will end in Draperstown this week as Glasgowbury’s G Sessions host the final leg of the exciting tour.

The Contenders tour, organised by Oh Yeah in Belfast, is taking a host of acts on the road to celebrate the launch of their first ever Contenders CD – a compilation of 12 acts deemed to be holding the candle for the future of NI talent.

In celebration of the CD, acts have been hitting the road over the past number of weeks to help promote the CD, playing in cities and towns throughout the country.

The tour concludes at the Cellar Bar in Draperstown this Thursday night with four of the 12 acts rolling into town to deliver a swansong to the first time initiative.

Taking part in this week’s gig will be Rams’ Pocket Radio, Silhouette, Bellwether State and Wonder Villains.

Derry's Wonder Villains

Currently riding the wings of success, both Rams’ and Silhouette are the epitome of local success, taking the music scene by storm. Give either a piano and be instantly mesmerised by the sounds storming back at you.

As the face of Silhouette, local girl Shauna Tohill will be making a welcome return to the local venue while muse Peter McCauley will double up as both her drummer and the face of Rams’.

Bellwether State will make their first foray into Mid-Ulster. A man woman duo, Bellwether State employ intricacies galore in their musical craft that’s as gorgeous as it is heart felt.

Completing the eclectic bill is Derry pop outfit Wonder Villains, themselves riding the wave of recent success.

A youthful four piece with a zest for catchy tunes and movie masterpiece Space Jam, Wonder Villains are the face of youth and new music in Northern Ireland.

All four take hold of the Cellar Bar in Draperstown this Thursday night as the G Sessions welcome the final leg of the Oh Yeah Contenders tour.

Doors are at 9pm, admissions is £5. For more information see www.glasgowbury.com

Shauna Tohill AKA Silhouette

Magherafelt Tempts the Tastebuds!

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Magherafelt District Council is once again hosting their Specialty Christmas Food Market on the 26th & 27th November 2010 in the Old Market Yard, Magherafelt.

Following on from the tremendous success of 2009, the market has been developed into a two day event starting on the Friday evening from 5pm to 9pm and continuing on the Saturday from 9am to 9pm which coincides with the annual Christmas Lights Switch-on.

Funded by D.A.R.D through the Northern Ireland Regional Food Programme, the Christmas Market is a truly seasonal experience where visitors are engulfed in the mouth-watering aromas of Northern Ireland produce, with lots of opportunities to sample the fayre on offer.  You will be spoilt for choice as there will be eels, Pig-on-the-Spit, fish, cheese, olives, hand-made fudge and chocolate, seasonal drinks, hot soup and stew, breads, jams, chutneys, cookies, cakes, dairy products and other special delights.

A sausage competition “Magherafelt’s best banger!” is also being held as part of the Food Market.  A number of local butchers will be creating a new sausage, with people being encouraged to sample and vote for the one they like best.  Everyone who votes will be entered into a prize draw to win a hamper of meat, including a supply of the best banger.

So mark the date in your diary, as the aromas of the food accompanied by live Christmas music drifting through the market, colourful decorations brightening the yard, children’s entertainment, competitions and heated seated areas, will create a magical atmosphere that all the family will enjoy.

Christmas Lights Switch-on

On Saturday the 27th November at 6.30pm join Cool FM and Elvis the Elf for a captivating evening of festive fun, with prize giveaways, lantern trails and the arrival of Santa in style!  Winners of the competitions will be announced on stage, before Santa and his merry helpers switch on the lights and illuminate the sky with a fanfare of fireworks.

For further information on the above events please contact The Bridewell T: 028 7963 1510, E: thebridewell@magherafelt.gov.uk or visit www.magherafelt.gov.uk

All aboard for Model Railway Day at the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum

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Four year old James Donnelly from Holywood is on board at the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum for Model Railway Day. On Saturday 13th November over 30 railway layouts and associated exhibits will go on show in the Rail Gallery from 10am to 5pm. An exciting addition to the event will be the screening of virtual model railways in the Rail Gallery throughout the day.

Steaming into the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum on Saturday 13th November is Model Railway Day. As one of Northern Ireland’s biggest model railway exhibitions there will be over 30 railway layouts and associated exhibits on show, alongside the full scale locomotives and carriages in the Rail Gallery.

There is a special addition to this year’s event, with the inclusion of virtual model railways, developed by model railway enthusiast Stephen Flanders. The virtual models will be screened in the Rail Gallery, providing visitors with a very realistic view of railway layouts.

Event Organiser Ian Sinclair from Friends of Cultra said, “This is a great event for model railway enthusiasts and families to enjoy, as they can get up close to the intricately designed model railways and see the miniature trains in action. An interesting feature of many of the model gauges on display is that they are based on real railway lines located in Northern Ireland.”

Curator of Transport at the museum Mark Kennedy said, “The Railway Gallery is a wonderful venue for the event as visitors can explore the impressive full scale steam locomotives, passenger carriages and goods wagons, which are part of the Irish Railway Collection.”

The event, supported by DFDS Seaways and North Down Borough Council, runs from 10am to 5pm and experts will be at the Railway Gallery to answer any questions about the model railways.  Normal admission rates apply.  For more information on this and other upcoming events and exhibitions visit www.nmni.com.

Networking events really work for women in business.

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Businesswomen in Northern Ireland will have the opportunity to take part in a unique province wide networking event, which will show that networking is one of the most powerful ways for women to succeed in running a business.

The event, which is set to coincide with Global Entrepreneurship Week, is run by Business Women’s Network NI and supported by Invest Northern Ireland. It will showcase how networking works for women entrepreneurs and will be an opportunity for members and non-members from across the province to connect. They can find ideas to help their businesses grow at the Lagan Valley Island Conference Centre on the 18th November.

RTE’s dynamic Dragon’s Den star Sarah Newman will be keynote speaker offering new inspiration about how to maximise business potential, and speaking about strategies and ideas to help grow business in today’s difficult climate. She is a highly successful entrepreneur who set up needahotel.com and who is now a private investor looking for new business ventures.

The Business Women’s Network NI with over 600 members is made up of four regional networks, which each help to connect local business women across the province.

Margaret Andrews, BWN NI events coordinator, is delighted to have such an inspirational speaker as Sarah Newman to attend this event and said that there is already a great deal of interest from the network. She explained why women benefit from a business support network that focuses on them. “Research shows that women need a little extra support and encouragement to take the first steps into business.”

“Here in Northern Ireland a smaller percentage of women take the step to set up their own business than in the rest of the UK, in Ireland or in the US. This is a huge loss to the local economy and it is therefore vitally important that we support women with great ideas to realise their potential.”

“Networking really works for women whatever stage of business you are in, but especially as a business growth mechanism. It not only gives access to contacts that may become clients or may give a referral, but many women benefit from the friendships they make along the way.”

The Meet a ‘Dragon’ network event for the BWN NI network will be held at the Lagan Valley Island Conference Centre from 4.30-7.30pm on the 18th November. Tickets cost £25 for members and £35 for non members with a hot buffet supper included. They are available to pre-book from the Business Women’s Network website on www.bwnni.com.

The Business Women’s Network is supported by Invest NI and comprises four local groups, Women on the Move (Co Antrim), Enterprising Women’s Network (Armagh & Down), Network for Enterprising Women, (Tyrone & Fermanagh) and Women in Enterprise (Derry/Londonderry). To find out more about events or joining a network in your area contact Margaret Andrews on 028 3083 7575 office@enterprisingwomen.biz

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