Friday 2 – Thursday 8 September

Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 September, Family Fun at Cockle Row Cottages

Groomsport Harbour

Free entertainment, 2pm-4pm

Sat 3: Clayrazy and children’s crafts

Sun 4: Children’s Crafts, ‘Plant and Play’ and Ulster-Scots Agency Entertainment

Cottages open to the public 11am-5pm, daily. Free admission

Info: (028) 9127 0069, visitardsandnorthdown.com

Sun 4 – Sat 10 Sept, Ulster-Scots Festival –  Walks, Talks and Live Music

Bangor, Ards, Comber and Donaghadee

Tickets Free-£3, available now!

There are a number of Talks and Tours taking place as part of this week long Festival. Tickets must be allocated in advance.

The event culminates in a fantastic finale with Donaghadee Lights Up on Saturday 10 September, featuring the enthralling Red Hot Chilli Pipers. Supported by the Ulster-Scots Agency.

Info: (028) 9182 6846, visitardsandnorthdown.com

Wednesday 7 September, Historic Holywood and Ulster Scots Walk

Holywood

Tickets £3, 2.30pm – 4pm. Enjoy an informative stroll through Holywood’s colourful history. Tour departs from outside The Maypole Bar.

Info and booking: (028) 9127 0069, visitardsandnorthdown.com

Thursday 8 September, Historical Society Talk: The Life of Emma Duffin, WW1 Nurse

North Down Museum, Bangor

Starts 8pm, Free for Society members, £4 for non-members

Info and booking: 028 9127 1200, northdownmuseum.com

Saturday 10 September, Donaghadee Lights Up

The Commons, Donaghadee

Free. 12noon-9.30pm. The Red Hot Chilli Pipers play live at this spectacular seaside setting. Supported by the Ulster-Scots Agency with a full programme of music, activities and food.

Info: (028) 9182 6846, visitardsandnorthdown.com

Friday 9 – Thursday 15 September

Until Saturday 10 Sept, Ulster-Scots Festival –  Walks, Talks and Live Music

Bangor, Ards, Comber and Donaghadee

Tickets Free-£3, available now!

There are a number of Talks and Tours taking place as part of this week long Festival. Tickets must be allocated in advance.

The event culminates in a fantastic finale with Donaghadee Lights Up on Saturday 10 September, featuring the enthralling Red Hot Chilli Pipers. Supported by the Ulster-Scots Agency.

Info: (028) 9182 6846 | (028) 9127 0069, visitardsandnorthdown.com

Saturday 10 September, Guided Walks and Tours: Ulster-Scots Dander Round the Dee

Donaghadee

2.30pm – 4pm. Tickets £3.

Step back through the ages as you are lead around the history-rich town of Donaghadee. Discover the stories behind the buildings and hear how Hugh Montgomery and his followers arrived at the harbour in 1606 to help shape present day Donaghadee.

Info and booking: (028) 9182 6846 | (028) 9127 0069, visitardsandnorthdown.com

Saturday 10 September, Donaghadee Lights Up

The Commons, Donaghadee

Free. 12noon-9.30pm. The Red Hot Chilli Pipers play live at this spectacular seaside setting. Supported by the Ulster-Scots Agency with a full programme of music, activities and food.

Info: (028) 9182 6846 | (028) 9127 0069, visitardsandnorthdown.com

Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 September, European Heritage Open Days

The Ards and North Down Area

Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, Bangor Castle, The Boys’ Brigade Heritage Museum, Sketrick Castle, Holywood Motte and Light Ship ‘Petrel’ to name just a few attractions of interest open this weekend.

See visitardsandnorthdown.com for more details.

Info: (028) 9182 6846 | (028) 9127 0069, visitardsandnorthdown.com

Aspects Irish Literature Festival, Bangor

25 Years Celebrating Irish Writing

A quarter of a century has passed since the first Aspects Festival took place and its spirit remains ‘a celebration of Irish Writing’. The festival returns this year still celebrating, nurturing and exploring the extraordinary literary talent found locally and throughout the island.

Tickets on sale now!

For info and to book visit aspectsfestival.com or call (028) 9127 1200

Exhibitions

Exhibition: Ebb and Flow

Friday 2 September –  Saturday 1 October

Ards Arts Centre, Conway Square, Newtownards

An exhibition by North Armagh Arts Collective.

Info: (028) 9181 0803, ardsarts.com

Exhibition: The Irene Sendler Window

Friday 2 September –  Saturday 1 October

Ards Arts Centre, Conway Square, Newtownards

David Esler worked with a group of ex service personnel, nurses and older people who experienced the conflict in N Ireland to create the Irene Sendler Window.

Info: (028) 9181 0803, ardsarts.com

Exhibition: NI’s Landscape and Wildlife Photography

Thursday 1 – Wednesday 28 September

The Loft Gallery, Portaferry VIC, BT 22 1NZ

Photographer Donny Moore presents a collection of captivating images of NI’s wildlife and landscape in this free to visit exhibition.

Info: (028) 4272 9882, visitardsandnorthdown.com

Portrush to welcome over 200,000 spectators to largest airshow on the island of Ireland

The largest airshow on the island of Ireland is ready for take-off with two days of thrilling flying displays across Portrush’s eastern shoreline by some of the world’s most famous aviation attractions.

Air Waves Portrush, running on Saturday 3^rd – Sunday 4^th September 2016, is expected to attract over 200,000 spectators to one of Northern Ireland’s much-loved coastal resorts for a packed programme of aerial entertainment, as well as a host of land and water based activities and events.

The stellar line-up, organised by Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, will include the world-famous RAF Red Arrows (sponsored by B&E Security on both days) who will perform their trademark formations, close passes and dynamic loops.

Visitors can expect to fly back in time with the sights and sounds of the Battle of Britain Memorial trio of Spitfire, Lancaster and Hurricane. Also hotly anticipated are the jaw-dropping manoeuvres from the Typhoon Jet (sponsored by The Adelphi Portrush), the breath-taking aerobatics from the Wildcats display team (sponsored by Barry’s Portrush) and the spills and thrills of the colourful Muscle Bi-plane.

Helicopter fans are in for a treat with an appearance from Vietnam veteran craft Huey and Loach. As an added attraction this year, there will be a stunning new one-off pyrotechnic aerial show in Portstewart on the Saturday evening.

Looking forward to the show, Richard Baker, Director of Leisure & Development, Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council said: “Air Waves Portrush is our blockbuster finale to mark the end of the 2016 summer season with a stellar line-up of air displays, and an array of fantastic sea and land activities and its status as a flagship event is underpinned with continued support from Tourism NI.

“We had record crowds in 2015 and we are expecting over 200,000 spectators to attend the show over the two days and we have pulled out all the stops to ensure this year’s show will be spectacular, awe inspiring, and different from the previous year.”

Meanwhile on the ground, a wide and wonderful host of activities will expand the entertainment offering to make this year’s event the best yet. There will be live music, street entertainment, play zone, Motor Village and an artisan marketplace.

The Ulster Aviation Society and the Ulster Gliding Club will invite visitors into a bygone era with its collection of vintage flying machines and gliding aircraft.

New for 2016 is the STEM Village where amongst other activities teenage school leavers aged 16-19 will also get the opportunity to trying out the brand new RAF Skytech experience – a futuristic virtual challenge to tackling some of the most testing aspects of an aviation job.

Richard adds: “With huge crowds anticipated on both days to mark the end of the 2016 summer season, we are working closely with the PSNI and Translink to ensure we minimise traffic congestion as much as possible.

“Translink is providing additional capacity on trains and buses and we would encourage as many visitors as possible to use these services. “

The official Air Waves Portrush 2016 souvenir programme is now on sale from selected outlets in Portrush, Portstewart, Coleraine and Ballymoney and Visitor Information Centres throughout the borough of the Causeway Coast and Glens.

For more information on Air Waves Portrush visit www.airwavesportrush.co.uk or search for Air Waves Portrush on social media.