Over 175 events are set to take part during Community Relations Week 2014 under the theme ‘Building a United Community’ from 16 to 22 June.

Community Relations Week is organised by the Community Relations Council (CRC) and includes events run by local councils, public bodies, schools, and community and voluntary sector organisations.

The week will begin with its flagship event, the Community Relations Council policy conference entitled ‘Finish the Job’ at at the 174 Trust, Duncairn Complex, Duncairn Avenue, Belfast on Monday June 16. It will consider how we might find ways to resolve the outstanding issues in the peace process.

Jacqueline Irwin, CRC’s Chief Executive, says: “Building a united community is as urgent now as it was when the peace agreement was signed in 1998. We have plenty of examples of our capacity to slip back into animosity and old ways of thinking. There is no room for complacency.

“Community Relations Week is always an opportunity to showcase the great work that goes on quietly all year round to build and sustain relationships. It is a time to celebrate the ethnic and cultural diversity of our community and the many imaginative ways in which we are building a shared cultural region.

“We are grateful to everyone who is organising or attending events during the week. Your personal commitment to good community relations is changing this place. Your energy and enthusiasm is the fabric of our peace,” she adds.

A full listing of Community Relations Week events can be found at www.nicrc.org.uk and printed programmes can be obtained from local libraries.

Following the success of critically acclaimed play ‘Man on The Moon’ returns to Theatre at The Mill with their latest black comedy ‘Septic Tiger’ on Wed 18 June.

A beautiful young woman, a psychopathic murderer and a bankrupt farmer become embroiled in a tiger kidnapping held at a farm in the Northern-South border area. Who is behind the kidnapping? What will ordinary people resort to when love is betrayed and everything that was familiar becomes a distant memory?

Following the unprecedented success of ‘The Christening’ and ‘Man on The Moon’, Rawlife Theatre Company return with a hilarious new dark comedy written by Pearse Elliot that takes a truly original and entertaining look at the Celtic Tiger and the mayhem left in its demise.

Tickets for the show cost £14, £12 and £10 (concessions available) and are available by booking online at www.theatreatthemilll.com or by contacting Box Office on 028 9034 0202.

This weekend, Saturday 7 & 8 June, Bangor will be buzzing with the arrival of North Down Borough Council’s two day Seashore Festival.

The festival features an action- packed programme including two spectacular tall ships, The Mercedes and The Golden Lion which will be moored alongside The Eisenhower Pier and open to the public on both days for visitors. Also on The Pier, a fantastic street theatre programme will be entertaining the crowds with hilarious, interactive shows. And look out for colourful walk-about acts and live music dotted around the town too.

The Twister Aerial Team will be performing daring aerial displays on both the Saturday & the Sunday. At 2pm & 6pm look up to the skies over The Eisenhower Pier and watch these aircrafts perform breath-taking stunts and stunning aerial ballets.

For car lovers, a vintage motor show – “Cars Galore,” organised by The Morris Minor Owners Club will be taking place at The Town Hall, showcasing hundreds of fabulous vintage vehicles and a host of other entertainment, including face painting, a vintage show and lots more. At 4.30pm on the Saturday, a cavalcade of 200 vintage vehicles will make their way around the town, travelling down Main Street and back up to The Town Hall.

Down on The Promenade, a special Summer Fair will be taking place featuring lots of local retailers selling their wares.  Also making a welcome return to The McKee Clock Arena, The Armed Forces will be providing a wide range of activities and vehicles for everyone to enjoy.

Speaking about the event, Alison Stobie, Tourism Manager for North Down Borough Council said: “We will be delighted to welcome everyone to the town this weekend for the Seashore Festival and would encourage people to travel to Bangor by public transport where possible. We hope everyone enjoys the event and makes the most of Bangor’s shops, restaurants and cafes while they’re in the town.”

Eddie Rowan, Events Manager, Northern Ireland Tourist Board said: “With a variety of activities at the Bangor Seashore Festival, from acrobatic aircraft to Tall Ships to vintage vehicles, there will be plenty for visitors to the event to enjoy.”

In association with Translink and sponsored by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, this fantastic free event will be full of fun for all the family. So come down to Bangor this weekend, the event runs from 12 – 6pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Female authors share their intimate and inspiring personal tales.

They say everyone has a book in them, but it can take a life-changing experience to find it. This year’s Belfast Book Festival showcases the real-life stories, and those inspired by real events, which will capture the hearts of local readers.

Christine Hamill’s best-seller B is for Breast Cancer was written entirely while undergoing cancer treatment. Now a survivor, her diarised emotions, feelings and how to overcome the hurdles she encountered have become sacred words of advice and comfort for women battling the C-word.

Christine will be at the Crescent Arts Centre, the flagship location for the Festival, for an intimate and open discussion about her experiences, the support she received from local charity Cancer Focus NI and her love of literature, on Thursday 12^th June, from 6.30pm.

Tyrone mum-of-three, Emma Heatherington, comes up with her chick-lit plots while mopping the floor, but the death of her own mother when Emma was just 15, eventually led her to write If I Was a Child Again, a collection of achingly emotional short stories to which many of us can relate.

The effervescent and engaging Emma, who as the eldest child had to accompany her mother to hospital after the heart-attack, will be in conversation with UTV’s Sarah Travers at the Crescent Arts Centre on Wednesday 11^th June from 6.30pm.

Deborah Alicia Nicholas has tenderly and evocatively written about her devastation through miscarriage, a tragedy which an estimated one in seven women in Northern Ireland can relate to (Source: NHS). A Ray of Hope is Deborah’s raw account, punctuated with emotional language and memory.

Detroit-born Willetta Fleming, who moved to Northern Ireland in 2004, has been inspired by her life’s journey from Michigan to Belfast and will be reading from her book, Finding Black Gold on the Emerald Isle. Come and hear Deborah and Willetta tell their tales at Crescent Arts Centre on Wednesday 11^th June from 1.00pm.

Former Conservative politician-turned-novelist, Ann Widdecombe, will be one of the featured authors at the Festival. Known for her steely exterior and steadfast politics, Ann shows a more compassionate side with her writing, exploring themes including loss, love, family and hope. Her best-seller The Clematis Tree was first published in 2000 and was met with critical acclaim for its acute observations of family life.

All events will offer our audiences the chance to ask their favourite authors and personalities questions, along with signing sessions. The full programme can be downloaded from www.crescentarts.org. For more information and tickets, contact Crescent Arts Centre on 028 9024 2338 or visit www.crescentarts.org

In 1939 Sir Thomas Dixon, the First Mayor of Larne, received the charter which gave Larne its Borough status and this June Larne Alive will be celebrating 75 years of Larne Borough by organising a number of special events to celebrate this important milestone in the borough’s history.

On Saturday 14^th June, Larne Alive will host its Annual Civic Parade around Larne town centre. The parade will take you through each decade of the past 75 years with some special characters and memorable cars from throughout the decades making an appearance.  Schools, groups and clubs from throughout the borough will be dressing up and taking part. This parade is sure to be a colourful and vibrant affair and lots of fun for all taking part and spectating!  Come down to Larne Town centre from 2pm to 4 pm to enjoy music by MOJO at Broadway bandstand along with face painting and walkabouts! Enjoy the atmosphere and watch the parade pass by at around 3.15 pm. The Parade will be leaving Larne YMCA at 3pm.

On Sunday 15^th June from 2pm -5pm, Larne Town Park will be the perfect setting for the Vintage Picnic in the Park Day!  All we ask is that you pack your own scrumptious lunch and head down to Larne Town Park to enjoy our vintage buzz going on!  The incredible Swingabella close harmony group will be there performing a few classic songs. These three ladies are not to be missed and look and sound like they have been lifted straight out of the 1940’s!  There will be vintage car displays Arts and Crafts for the children and vintage games like ‘Grab a Duck’ and ‘Hoopla’ which will be fun for all the family to enjoy! Caricaturist, Colm Campbell, will be ready and waiting to draw your portrait in a very special way which you will be able to take home free of charge!   Come along to the Larne Town Park, Glenarm Road, and Larne and step back in time for a fantastic day of fun and excitement for all to enjoy!  Remember to bring your own Picnic!

On Saturday 21^st June, Larne Market Yard will play host to a special summer craft market.  The beautifully renovated Market Yard is the perfect place to host   an array of beautiful craft and specialist food stalls. There will be arts and crafts and falconry displays to keep the younger shoppers entertained!

Broadway Bandstand will be a hive of entertainment as a spectacular circus act rolls into town. Premiere Circus will be producing a special show which will take you through the past 75 years in style!

Larne Sports Development team will also be joining in the celebrations by organising a special community darts competition, community ParkRun and town centre bike ride from 20^th-22^nd June.

There will be plenty more things happening throughout the 75^th year of the borough, so keep up to date with what is happening at www.facebook.com/larnealiveofficial or on twitter @larnealive. More information can also be found on www.larne.gov.uk or call 02828260088.

Beach Boys to play Derry~Londonderry on 26th June

Life’s a beach, boys! Former Miss Derry Katie McCauley is all set for the arrival of the world famous Beach Boys to Ebrington Square in Derry~Londonderry on 26th June as part of the LegenDerry Maritime Festival.

With hits like Surfin’ USA, Good Vibrations and California Girls, the Beach Boys will perform their only Irish gig this year and their first ever visit to the City as part of their Good Vibrations tour.

The LegenDerry Maritime Festival will be a week-long party across Derry including Music Day on 21st June and a quayside carnival from 21-29 June, with celebrations to welcome the fleet of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race after 40,000 miles at sea.

For festival information visit: www.legenderrymaritimefestival.com or book Beach Boys tickets (priced at £20 excl booking fee) on www.millenniumforum.co.uk

The long-standing relationship between books and the wider creative arts will be celebrated at this year’s Belfast Book Festival. Music, poetry, art and theatre all feature in this year’s packed programme, welcoming household names from a wide range of disciplines.

Poet, broadcaster and playwright, Ian McMillan, will be discussing his prolific career and current role as host of Radio 3’s The Verb. The gregarious Yorkshireman, known for his outgoing approach and love of language, will be at the Crescent Arts Centre on Tuesday, 10^th June from 8.30pm.

Hosted by Marie-Louise Muir, music fans can revel in writing set to music when Jan Carson performs her vibrant work, Malcolm Orange Disappears. This novel about 11-year-old Malcom, who struggles to cope with an absent father, an increasingly absent mother and a childhood spent travelling the highways of America in the back seat of an ancient Volkswagen, will feature a musical response by Hannah McPhillimy.

Blues aficionado and band manager Paul Charles‘ career started when he took on his first group aged 15, and never looked back. The Magherafelt man is behind the popular Detective Inspector Christy Kennedy series and has also written on how to succeed in the music business. Meanwhile theatre lovers will enjoy performances of Brendan Behan’s The Confirmation Suit and Frank O’Connor’s Guest of the Nation by local actor Conor Maguire at Linenhall Library.

All events will offer our audiences the chance to ask their favourite authors and personalities questions, along with signing sessions. For more information, the full programme and tickets, contact Crescent Arts Centre on 028 9024 2338 or visit www.belfastbookfestival.com.