Brighter Nights return to Lilian Bland Community Park from Friday 5 July – Friday 30 August. This free family fun event will run each Friday evening from 6.30-8.30pm offering a great choice of activities for all ages to enjoy.

Getting this year’s programme off to a great start is a special ‘Schools Out Party’ to celebrate the start of the School Summer Holidays. So party on down to Lilian Bland Community Park where we have The African drumming circle, an inflatable assault course, adventure play bus, traditional games, multi skilled outdoor activities, a Disney themed bouncy castle with slide and face painters to keep this party in full swing!.

Launching Brighter Nights earlier this week Deputy Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey, Councillor Anne-Marie Logue commented “It is great to have such a diverse range of activities for children to enjoy each week in this fantastic open green space, an ideal opportunity to bring communities together”.

So if you fancy yourself as a Dancing Diva or a Sports Fanatic or just looking for some Fun you will love Brighter Nights which offers a different theme each week.

For a full listing check out our website www.antrimandnewtownabbey.gov.uk/brighternights

To close the BASH WEEKEND, the ensemble present a one off concert performance of Gilbert & Sullivan’s comic masterpiece.

Revolutionary music-theatre for its time, Pirates of Penzanca irreverently tells the story of a group of undesirables that take on the establishment’s sense of ‘duty’ and redefine the notion of a ‘sea border’.

With orchestra and a top class cast, this classic gets a 21st century update for one night only!

A WEEKEND CELEBRATION OF THE BELFAST ENSEMBLE

It’s been two years and the ensemble is having a party! In a Lyric Theatre take over, we present the best of our last two years and the best of our future.

For one spectacular weekend this June THE BELFAST ENSEMBLE will be performing three of their ground breaking works PLUS a brand new work ‘Lunaria’ on both Lyric stages.

In one thrilling performance you’ll watch The C*** of Queen Catherine, The House of Usher, The Doppler Effect’ + ‘Lunaria’ ALL FOR THE PRICE OF ONE TICKET.

The Ensemble’s work has become a byword for excellence and European influenced music-theatre in the city. Catch them here before they take their work to London’s Southbank Centre as part of the PRSF New Music Biennial.

THE HOUSE OF USHER (2018) with an electric fusion of orchestra, video and actors this high-octane response to Poe’s horror classic is writ large here for the Lyric stage.

THE C*** OF QUEENE CATHERINE (2017) Written on the cusp of a referendum, this work for solo performer and chamber quintet – two years on – explores what happens when Europe divides in two Tudor-style.

LUNARIA (2019, premiere) A special performance of our new 15 work commissioned by PRSF for the New Music Biennial. Lunaria – a flower that blooms every two years – explores what is possible when artists of many disciplines make work together for two exciting years! See it here before it goes to Southbank Centre, London and Hull as part of the UK’s leading new music festival.

The 25th anniversary production of A Night in November.

This is the stunning multi-award winning play from Marie Jones, writer of hit shows Stones in his Pockets & Christmas Eve Can Kill You.

‘Can passion change a man?’

A Night in November tells the story of Kenneth McAllister, a clerk in the local welfare office. Kenneth is a Belfast Protestant who has followed all the rules. He loved who he was supposed to love. He lived where he was expected to live. He fought who he was taught to fight. That is, until one night — a night in November — when he did the most exciting, outrageous, crazy, mad thing he’d ever done.

Directed by Matthew McElhinney, this funny, passionate and heartbreaking show sees the actor Matthew Forsythe flex acting skills, seamlessly shifting through dozens of characters.

A post show Q&A with Director Matthew McElhinney and his dad Ian McElhinney on Sunday 16th June entitled ‘Like Father, Like Son’

“The actor, director and producer of this production of Night in November were not even teenagers when this play was first performed. The fact that twenty five years on it still resonates with them is humbling and the passion they bring to restaging it for another generation is incredibly exciting.” – Marie Jones

“I grew up with this play and it grew up with me.” – Matthew McElhinney

Tickets are now on sale for Creative Peninsula, Northern Ireland’s largest celebration of Art and Craft. Now in its 18^th year, this thriving annual event brings together local artists and makers to demonstrate their skills and showcase their work.

Beginning on Friday 2 August 2019 and running throughout the month, Creative Peninsula, organised by Ards and North Down Borough Council, offers free and bookable opportunities for people of all ages and levels of experience to see, learn about and even ‘try their hand’ at a host of different art and craft forms practiced in the local area. 

Featuring, open studios, creative tours, exhibitions, workshops, demonstrations and more, Creative Peninsula is an ideal way to experience what the local art and craft industries have to offer throughout the beautiful and picturesque Ards and North Down Borough.

The programme kicks-off on Friday 2 August with ‘Creative Peninsula in the Square’ at Conway Square in Newtownards.  For one day only the space will be transformed into a tented arts and crafts village with more than 30 artists and makers displaying and selling their work.  Free demonstrations including glass engraving, wood turning, felting, printing, ceramics and more will run throughout the day.

Mayor of Ards and North Down, Alderman Bill Keery said:

“With over 20,000 attendees each year, Creative Peninsula has become one of the most inspirational, educational and vocational arts festivals attracting people from all corners of Northern Ireland. Ards and North Down is very fortunate to have one of the largest concentrations of artists and makers living and working here and unsurprisingly the area has a thriving creative industry. We are delighted to be able to offer this event again which allows these talented individuals to showcase their knowledge and for members of the public to learn.”

The 2019 Creative Peninsula brochure is available to download at visitardsandnorthdown.com/creative-peninsula.  Tickets for bookable events are also available from this website. 

You can pick up a programme or find out more information on all the events on offer from Ards Arts Centre, North Down Museum, at any of the local visitor information centres (Ards, Bangor and Portaferry) or by contacting the Council directly on 0300 013 3333. 

Come along and celebrate School’s Out for Summer at V36 at the Valley, on Friday 28 June from 6pm-9pm.

Join us for Free Family Fun including Fairground Attractions such as Cups & Saucers, Bungee Trampolines, Bumper Cars, Inflatables, Face Painting, Balloon Modelling and Street Theatre to keep the little ones entertained.

Tempt your taste buds with some of the great food stalls available and enjoy the live music and performers throughout the evening. 

Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey, Alderman John Smyth commented “It is great to see this Free Family Fun Event at V36, this is a fantastic opportunity for children to celebrate the end of the school year whilst bringing communities together at this shared space”.

This event is supported by the EU’s PEACE IV programme managed by the special EU programme body (SEUPB).