A team of 30 determined and dauntless women will take on a unique 30-day charity fitness challenge this autumn. Could you be one of them?

Cancer Fund for Children, the leading NI charity for children and young people living with cancer is calling on women aged 18 and over to sign up to pretty TOUGH. It will take place in the greater Belfast area and will involve indoor and outdoor activities catering to all fitness levels which will run from September 21st to October 20th, 2015.

Led by Bangor-based Tribal Fitness, the challenge is just the excuse to get outdoors, get fit and have some fun. Locations include Ashfield School in Belfast, the Ozone at Ormeau Park and Seapark in Holywood. Activities include circuits, bootcamp drills, team games and relays as well as relaxation.

At the same time participants will be raising vital funds for Cancer Fund for Children, a charity dedicated to ensuring families don’t have to face cancer alone through its unique offer of practical, emotional and financial support services as well as free therapeutic short breaks to families across the island of Ireland.

Cancer Fund for Children service user and NI 4 Kids magazine’s Mum of the Year -Tracey McGeehan is getting behind the pretty TOUGH recruitment campaign. She organised similar events in her home county of Tyrone recently which raised over £40k. She decided to support the charity’s work after receiving help when her little girl Cassie was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2010 aged just 18 months.

Tracey said: “Events like pretty TOUGH are a perfect way of getting out there and getting fit. This challenge will also raise funds for a charity that really helped my family through such a difficult time by offering us a free short break at its therapeutic facility Daisy Lodge in Newcastle which allowed us to escape the pressures of hospital visits and treatment.”

Cancer Fund for Children’s CEO Gillian Creevy said: “By taking part in pretty TOUGH your support will be helping families affected by cancer get through the “toughest time of their lives”. Every week in Northern Ireland another three children, teenagers and young adults are diagnosed with cancer. We rely on donations and goodwill from the public. Funds raised will enable our team of experienced specialists to help even more families cope with the impact cancer has on their lives supporting them during and after treatment and sadly in some cases, bereavement.”

The registration fee for pretty TOUGH is £70. Minimum sponsorship is £300. A full timetable will be provided upon registration. For more information or to register log on to cancerfundforchildren.com, call 028 9080 5599 or email alex@cancerfundforchildren.com.

Packed schedule of events in the hospitality marquee

THE Metzeler Ulster Grand Prix Bike Week is home to a full schedule of unmissable events every evening.

On Monday 3^rd August, a cavalcade of classic cars and motorcycles will leave Lagan Valley LeisurePlex to take part in a parade lap of the Dundrod Circuit, followed by a quiz in aid of the Injured Riders Welfare Fund at 8.30pm in the marquee.

On Tuesday 4^th August, all are welcome to attend a ‘Night of Nostalgia’, which will include the launch of a book by Roy Harris entitled ‘Just For the Thrill Of It’. The new book captures the high and low points of racing, motocross and trials through the 70s.

On Wednesday 5^th August from 9pm the marquee will host a fantastic Night at the Races. This will be followed by a Young Guns event where fans can meet the future stars of road racing and take part in a Q&A session, plus live music from The Good Times.

Thursday evening will see magician Rodd Hogg entertain the crowds, before the Miss UGP hopefuls take to the stage to see who will be crowned the winner of the 2015 contest. Live music from Stevie Johns will follow.

On Friday 7^th August at 11am all are welcome to a meet the riders event at Topaz Airport Road Service Station, before a broadcast from BBC Radio Ulster’s Hugo Duncan at 1pm live from the paddock.

At 5pm on Friday, everyone is invited to the paddock walkabout when riders will have their awnings up, ready to meet and greet fans. At 7pm there will be a trials bike display followed by the infamous Purple Helmets stunt show at Nutt’s Corner Stock Car Track.

At 8pm on Friday evening, the UGP Supporters Club Chat Show will take place, with live entertainment afterwards from RJ Rocks.

To conclude the week of entertainment, everyone is invited to the Chequered Flag wrap up party on Saturday night from 8pm, with live music from High Times.

Noel Johnston, Clerk of the Course at the Metzeler Ulster Grand Prix said: “We’ve really worked to improve the schedule of bike week events and we hope as many people as possible will support our efforts and make the most of the entertainment on offer.

“It’ll be great craic – and what better place to spend your week than the paddock at the world’s fastest road race, the atmosphere will be electric!”

Entry to the events on Wednesday and Thursday night will be £5 and tickets can be bought on the door or from the Race Office.

For more information and a full programme of Bike Week events visit www.ulstergrandprix.net or you can also follow @UlsterGrandPrix on Twitter and find us on Facebook.

W5 is offering fantastic group rates to crèches, after-school clubs and summer schemes during August.

Explore over 250 interactive exhibits including the ALL NEW technological marvel that is ‘RoboThespian’, our BIGGEST EVER exhibit ‘Climbit’, ‘Discovery’ a special exhibition area for the under eights and watch science demonstration shows throughout the day!

Groups can also choose to enhance their visit with one of our brilliant summer workshops! Groups can choose from the following;

Fish ’N Ships – under 8s
Ahoy there salty sea urchins, join us as we celebrate tall ships, tiny boats and all things fishy and fun in our latest super summer workshop.  Discover sea creatures above and below the waves then test your skills by catching a crusty crustacean, a shifty shark or even an eight-legged friend!

Tall Ship Champion of Champions – over 8s
Is your sail in ship shape? To celebrate the Tall Ships Races 2015 come along to design, build and test your very own tall ship. Will it survive the choppy waters of W5?  Can you cross the channel to the finish line first and become W5’s 2015 Tall Ships champion?

Rogue Robots: A Lasertag Activity – strictly over 8s
It is 2115 and for many years The Space Council has been sending research robots into deep space on planetary exploration missions. But our scientists now believe that a form of alien intelligence has taken control of our robots. The Space Council has declared that we need to send specially trained RoboSquads to deactivate, recover and reprogramme these rogue robots. Using phasers you will be challenged to deactivate robot targets as you make your way through two target range sets. Have you got what it takes to be a member of RoboSquad and will your squad deactivate the most robots in the time available to be crowned RoboSquad Champions?

Cost

General Admission: 10am-2pm – £3 | After 2pm – £4
Workshops: + £1.50
Adults free per 1:10 supervision ratio (additional adults £7)

All summer workshops are 30 minutes. For more information or to make a booking please contact our booking team on 028 90467790/7793 or visit our website www.w5online.co.uk/education

The Curious Wedding Fair, sponsored by SS Nomadic is Belfast’s newest and most unique wedding fair!

The Curious Wedding Fair will be showcasing an eclectic range of unique and unusual wedding suppliers with a few of the more traditional elements thrown in!

Taking place on the fabulously restored SS Nomadic on Sunday 6^th September from 1pm till 5pm, admission is free and the first 50 onboard will receive a free goody bag. The fair is spread over the 3 decks of SS Nomadic and guests will encounter everything from dresses and cakes to inflatable photo booths and human tables! The Curious Live Lounge will take place under an impressive stretch tent on the bridge deck all afternoon, with the final of the Win Some Wedding Sparkle Competition and The Curious Catwalk taking place at 3pm.

The Curious Wedding Fair is hosted by Sparkle Wedding Magazine. Sparkle Wedding Magazine was launched in December 2014 as a white wedding alternative magazine for Northern Ireland. At present Sparkle is the only white wedding alternative magazine based within Northern Ireland. The magazine has now published 3 issues and is available to purchase from newsagents across Northern Ireland.

Sparkle Weddings – “Pushing the boundaries of the Traditional White Wedding.”

‘TrustFord, Guy Martin and Clubs for Young People to host Soap Box Derby for children and youth groups across Northern Ireland at the Hillsborough International Oyster Festival.

TrustFord has announced that the deadline to submit entries for this year’s TrustFord Soap Box Derby has been extended to Friday 14^th August.TrustFord, the world’s largest dedicated Ford dealership group, has teamed up with Guy Martin for its exciting new partnership with youth charity Clubs for Young People (CYP), to host the inaugural Soap Box Derby taking place on Saturday 5^th September, 2015 at the Hillsborough International Oyster Festival.

TrustFord is looking for thrill seekers of all ages who would like to design and race their own soap box go-kart for the event, with a host of exciting prizes on offer. The partnership and the tournament are being supported by world-class road racer Guy Martin who is also the holder of the Guinness World Record for the fastest soap box of all time at 85mph. Guy, along with CYP, is committed to encouraging young people to participate in fun, active and educational activities.

Commenting on the event, Guy Martin, world-class road racer said: “I am really excited to be a part of the TrustFord Soap Box Derby at this year’s Oyster Festival in Hillsborough, it should be mega. When I was a kid I was right into building stuff and tuning engines, I’d even sit on my Dad’s work bench in a nappy and watch him. I’m looking forward to seeing what some of these youngsters can come up with.”

Those looking to try their hand in the fast lane can now register their interest right up to 14^th August at www.trustford.co.uk/soapboxderby. Open to all community groups, youth clubs and children accompanied by an adult, teams are required to design and build their own soapbox in order to compete in the nail-biting Soap Box Derby at the Hillsborough International Oyster Festival in September, where legendary racing and TV star, Guy Martin, will be a judge.

For those fourteen to seventeen year olds who fancy their chances behind the wheel, they can enter one of the fast-paced races that will be taking place throughout the day. However the event won’t just be about speed. As well as a Race Winner, there are four other awards up for grabs, open to all entrants aged between five and seventeen, including Best Innovation, Best Technical Design and Best Entertainment. The group that best embodies the spirit of the competition will not only lift the coveted Best Overall Team trophy, but will also win a 14-seater minibus for their club or school worth over £25,000. All other category winners will take home a £500 cash prize.

Ireland’s largest theatre school, which trains almost 400 young people from across Northern Ireland in the magical art of theatre, are creating another spectacular Summer Youth Project which promises to capture and enthral audiences lucky enough to get a ticket!

Belfast School of Performing Arts returns to the MAC with it’s Summer Youth Project this August,  the talented team will be hosting a two week intensive course culminating in 5 showings of the world’s greatest love story of all time – West Side Story.

With warring gangs, struggling to survive in a world of hate, violence and prejudice, West Side Story is arguably one of the most relevant musicals of our time. Director James Huish has a few tricks up his sleeve to bring to life the intense reality and heartache of the story;

“I will be creating a divide between the Sharks and the Jets in rehearsals, even during break times, I truly believe that as each actor totally immerses themselves in becoming their character that a greater standard of acting will be achieved and therefore a more spectacular show will be produced. These young people are incredibly talented and this is a form of acting that is used regularly in both the West End and on Broadway.”

At BSPA each production strives to bring those taking part the experience of being involved in a truly professional show. Many young people taking part will go on to a life on the stage and the professional team behind BSPA encourages them to be prepared for what lies ahead, those who don’t want a career in acting get just as much out of taking part and enjoying the experience of a lifetime!

This production of West Side Story is made possible with a cast of 60 young people, aged from just 14 years old. James goes on to say that the talent coming through the audition process has been exceptional;

“One of the reasons I founded BSPA was because of the huge number of talented young people in Northern Ireland who really didn’t have an outlet for their talent, each audition we do confirms my original belief – NI is full of talent! BSPA is constantly expanding into new areas and we now have classes running in Belfast, Ballymena and Lisburn –each school is growing rapidly and we are looking forward to taking BSPA to even more locations across NI and beyond. Our Summer Youth Project is always an opportunity for those not involved to try it out and to spend their summer holidays doing something incredibly rewarding! I’m proud of every one of them and can’t wait to see the finished show!”

West Side Story will be at the Mac from the 19^th – 22^nd August – tickets priced at just £18 are available from www.themaclive.com. For further information please visit www.thebspa.co.uk