A Festival Yurt based within the beautiful surroundings of Bangor Castle Walled Garden is home to the Aspects 25 Anniversary Festival weekend programme (23-25 September), and there are a wealth of events celebrating writing and words happening there with something to appeal to everyone.
Ards and North Down Borough Council are pleased to welcome internationally recognised writers Sinéad Moriarty, Glenn Patterson, Colin Bateman and Sinead Morrissey to the Festival Yurt stage.
Aspects has a long reputation of bringing new voices in Irish writing to the Borough. This year, Aspects present another host of writers who look set to become our best-loved writers of the future, from debut novelists Lesley Allen and Tanya Ravenswater, to a selection of new generation poets from the ground-breaking new anthology ‘The Future Makes Me So Very Thirsty’ edited by Sinead Morrissey and Stephen Connolly.
Health and well-being is a theme for this year’s festival and Aspects is pleased to present Tara West reading and talking about her forthcoming memoir ‘Happy Dark’ – a beautifully written and intimate account of her battle with depression and one which aims to make the darkness of mental illness visible. Writers, and anyone who may like techniques to deal with performance-related stress, are invited to attend a workshop with which uses mindfulness and CBT to address blocks in creativity and performance. Laughter has it’s place in well-being and Cookstown comedian Owen O’Neill brings his hilarious show ‘Red Noise’ to the Yurt.
The Yurt is also a place where aspiring authors can come for insight and guidance from publishers, and those who are already on the road of publication, during the Resource for Writers day event (Fri 23 Sept). On that evening, poets are invited to bring their poems from page to stage in the Aspects Festival Poetry Slam presented by Poetry NI. Poets who wish to enter just need to register at the start of the night. Please note you have three minutes to compete in.
Followers of sport and Northern Ireland football, won’t want to miss a new documentary of Northern Ireland’s 1958 dream team, introduced by the Director Evan Marshall – and Aspects Festival Yurt also plays host to one of the first performances of Duke Special and Ulaid’s new collaborative work ‘Belfast Suite’.
Patricia Hamilton, Festival Director, said: “The Festival Yurt over Aspects Festival weekend will be fantastic, with comedian Owen O’Neill, Duke Special and Ulaid, Tara West and Glenn Patterson and many more taking part! It’s all about atmosphere and the Yurt seemed to us the ideal venue for this special anniversary year.”
If you are visiting during the weekend (23-25 September), bring the family – there are some lovely family oriented activities happening in Bangor Castle Walled Garden and North Down Museum as well.
Find full details of all Aspects Festival events, and to book, at aspectsfestival.com