Bangor’s Seafront is definitely the place to be this June.
On 18th and 19th June, the Tented Village will have all the ingredients for the perfect seaside day out with superb local food, live music, celebrity chefs, street theatre, kids zone and amazing Water Walkerz.
New to the event, is The Baby Rave at Kids Zone at Sea Bangor. This unique child-sized rave is complete with DJ, lighting, projections and dancers to help you and your babies move and groove. The Baby Rave, which lasts for one hour will be held at 12.00, 1.30 pm and 3.00 pm. The event is free and suitable for under 5s. Also in the Kids Zone is Tall Tales and Tea interactive storytelling with a difference! This will be held from 10.00 am until 11.30 and from 4.00 – 6.00 pm.
The Tall Ship Pelican will also be joining the line-up and will be open to visitors at The Eisenhower Pier. The ship will be sailing from a Festival in Liverpool, to arrive in Bangor on Friday 17th June where it will be open to the public 10am-6pm throughout the Festival.
The Pelican is a sailing ship for all ages. She was originally built in France in 1946. Her conversion from Arctic trawler to tall ship was completed in 2007. She now sails thousands of miles each year crewed by people of all ages taking up the “Pelican Challenge
For a world of mystery & curiosities experience Bangor Bob’s Maritime Marvel Tent hosted by Firsty?, (an exciting new collective of local artists) In here you’ll see a collection of art exhibitions and interactive demonstrations brought together in a unique, atmospheric way. One of the exhibition highlights will be the amazing Wall of Curiosities, a collection of sculptures and paintings from local artists which will be displayed behind a wall of “peep-holes”. Children will be thrilled by the sound installation, a large painting which responds to the sense of touch and the giant blackboard mash wall which will allow people to leave their own mini-works of art! Or for the budding writers, how about swapping words for art?
Market Kitchen and Saturday Kitchen’s Matt Tebbutt will be wowing the crowds with 3 live seafood cookery demonstrations in the Live Cooking Area. The programme will last all day with demonstrations from a selection of Local Chefs. A full programme will appear on our website.
On Sunday, Matt will be joined by Johnny Stevenson, Northern Ireland’s own Masterchef finalist on the panel for Sea Bangor’s very own Masterchef style competition. Three catering pupils from local SERC colleges will be pitching their talents against each other during three rounds for the spectacular prize of a day’s work experience with Matt Tebbut. Based on the Professional Masterchef model, contestants will have to make the same seafood dish for round one, a dish for under £10 for round two and finish off with their own signature dish.
Over in the Music & Yarns Tent on Saturday, there will be talks on coastal birds and wildlife from Exploris and the RSPB and on the Sunday, award-winning journalist and author of “Titanic Port,” Alf McCreary will be giving a talk on the history of Belfast Harbour. Following Alf’s talk on the Sunday afternoon, BBC Radio Ulster’s Cherrie McIlwaine will be introducing a special gardening segment, featuring some local experts with talks, demonstrations and a Q & A session afterwards. Afternoons in the Music & Yarns Tent will feature a line-up of top class live music acts, including local artists like Gareth Dunlop and Matt McGinn.
Top quality local food will be on offer from 10.00 – 6.00 pm.
On Saturday 18th June there will be a chance to get up close to a Gannet SAR Sea King on Bangor’s Long Hole – and at 3.00 pm – prepare to be thrilled by a flypast by two Tornado GR4s.
There’s lots happening on The Eisenhower Pier too, which will be animated with quirky maritime-themed Street Entertainment and Water Walkers; inflatable ‘walk on water’ balls which let you run, roll, flip and spin on water without even getting wet! So whatever floats your boat, come along to the year’s Sea Bangor, guaranteed fun for all ages!