This June, North Down Borough Council will be marking The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee with an extended weekend of special events, taking place around The Town Hall and Bangor Town Centre.

As part of the vintage-themed celebrations, on June 3^rd & 4^th, in the beautiful surroundings of Bangor’s Town Hall – The Northern Ireland Morris Minor Owners Club (MMOC) in association with North Down Borough Council will be holding a Jubilee Vintage Car Show. The MMOC are one of N.I’s most active old vehicle Clubs and despite the name open their events to all makes, models and types of old vehicles. This special show will feature a wide array of vintage cars from many periods and is sure to delight motoring fans young and old.

Highlights of The Show so far, which will feature over 50 cars, include: a Morris Minor Panda Police Cart, fully restored complete with Police equipment, a 1971 MG B Roadster and a 1973 Triumph 2000. Also in attendance will be the award winning Maxwell Freight Titanic Truck and a truck that is currently being painted celebrating the Golfing Masters Tournament coming to Northern Ireland this year.

The Ulster Military Vehicle Club will be attending with a Shoreland vehicle built by Shorts, also featuring will be a beautifully restored old Council refuse collection truck. It is hoped to also include a scooter and motor bike display as part of the event, a treat for all you bike fans.

Members hope to recreate a very special atmosphere with a special Diamond Jubilee “Street Party” and are encouraging their members and exhibitors to get into the spirit of the occasion and come along in 50s style dress. There will be many spot prizes to be won on the day including prizes for the best dressed in period costume.

As well as the Vintage Car Show, there will also be a Vintage Fair, a Cartoon Wonderland, live music from internationally renowned Jazz acts and The Ulster Orchestra, as well as events at The Museum, The Big Lunch and lots more.

So come down to Bangor this June 3^rd and 4^th and be part of the Queen’s Jubilee Celebrations!

For further information, please phone our Tourist Information Centre on: 028 9127 0069 or visit www.northdowntourism.com or www.mmoc-ni.co.uk

Two local TV production companies are coming together to broadcast the Olympic relay events in Magherafelt. Anderson Videos and NEELB TV are joining forces to provide live internet coverage of the Olympic torch coming to town.

The team will use their combined skills to record the community carnival parade on Wednesday 6^th June  and stream a live transmission of events via the internet on Thursday 7^th June, including the arrival of the world famous torch.

The partnership came about when Magherafelt District Council approached Raymond Anderson from Anderson Videos to cover the prestigious events. Raymond realised the potential of the broadcast and suggested contacting Peter Simspon from NEELB TV about working together to provide a full Outside Broadcast.

NEELB TV has a full production facility not unlike a small TV station, including HD filming, a television studio and a ten camera Outside Broadcast Truck with satellite webcasting . They currently produce programs for two web TV channels for teachers www.neelb.tv and www.esags.tv . These channels provide Continual Professional Development support for teachers under the Department of Education’s ‘Every School a Good School Policy.’  Programmes are available 24/7 and are used by educationalists around the World.

Peter says “We are looking forward to covering the two-day event and will have full OB support on the ground. This event gives us the opportunity to use some of the local students in the production which will provide them with a unique broadcasting experience. The main question has been ‘how can we cover this?’ Running cables couldn’t be an option due to the lengths required so we decided to use four microwave links including a helicopter link and six wired cameras. This meant we had to re-think things and use a hoist for aerials in order to get a signal.”

Raymond says “When I was told about the event I jumped at it. This is an event happening now that most likely will not happen again in our lifetimes. Magherafelt needs a record of it. We want to show the excellence of the people of Magherafelt in areas such as commerce, sport, music and education. We want to promote the area and people from it. In fact, most of the people involved in recording the event are from the area.”

The program will be hosted by local personality and BBC sports presenter, Claire Glancy.  A dedicated studio and green room will be set up in a hall at First Magherafelt Presbyterian Church at the head of town where Claire will be joined by guests from the district. Cameras will then be linked from events around the town, including the filming of visual displays at Meadowbank where 3000 children will assemble. Weather permitting, the children from 31 local schools will come together to form an Olympic message which will be filmed from a helicopter and streamed live over the internet.   The school children will then line the streets to welcome the torch as it passes through the town.

The arrival of the Olympic torch to Magherafelt will also be recorded as it travels up the Ballyronan Road, through to the town centre roundabout, down Broad Street and on to the Castledawson Road. The events will be streamed live via the internet from 12.30pm to 2pm and can be watched via Magherafelt District Council’s website www.magherafelt.gov.uk.

NEELB’s résumé has included training young people to cover the Milk Cup for BBC Blast viewed by some 800 000 people across the globe as well as the ‘F1 in schools finals’ viewed in over 20 countries and on Information Tv on the Sky platform.  All the work they do is part of the Education Board’s curriculum and support service and assists in all areas of school improvement.  The group also take clients on virtual field trips.  For example, they recently took a teacher to the Giant’s Causeway and she was able to take 900 pupils on a live, virtual tour 3000 miles away in Virginia, USA using the OB truck and live satellite links.

Viewers from around the world are expected to tune in to watch the live broadcast of Magherafelt’s Olympic relay events on Wednesday June 6 and Thursday June 7. For further information contact Michael Browne, Davina McCartney or Charmain Bell at Magherafelt District Council 028 7939 7979 or email olympictorch@magherafelt.gov.uk

Bushmills Village: April 2012: BUSHMILLS™ Irish Whiskey has announced that globally-renowned actor Elijah Wood will perform a DJ set at ‘Bushmills Live’ – the festival of handcrafted whiskey and music taking place at the Old Bushmills Distillery on the 20th and 21st June.

He joins a bill that already features multi-platinum selling band Snow Patrol – whose fee for the festival is being donated in full to the Oh Yeah Music Centre in Belfast – and award winning artists Iain Archer and Foy Vance.
Wood, along with his friend Zach Cowie, will take to the stage under the name Wooden Wisdom. The duo has DJ’d at Bushmills launch events in the past, but this will be the first time that they will have performed at an event together outside of the United States.
Widely regarded as one of the most gifted actors of his generation, Wood has recently completed production for Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit, where he will be reprising his role as Frodo Baggins. Wood made an indelible mark in the trilogy of films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings in the lead role of the hobbit, Frodo. Directed by Jackson, the films; The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and Return of the King were all critically lauded as well as being box office record setters. In addition, Return of the King won the Academy Award* for Best Picture as well as 11 Academy Awards in all, tying Titanic for the record. Wood is also the founder of record label Simian Records.

Elijah Wood recently appeared in ‘Bushmills Since Way Back’– an initiative that celebrates the friendships of artists across the world, and works with them to produce unique content inspired by their passions.

Fans of Bushmills Irish Whiskey can win the chance to attend the festival by entering a competition on the Bushmills Facebook page – facebook.com/bushmills1608.

To stand a chance of winning they will have to submit a photo of themselves and a friend and explain why they and their friend should be in the audience for Bushmills Live.

As well as listening to great music, those fortunate to win a ticket to the festival will also have the opportunity to make their own blend of Bushmills Irish Whiskey.

Colum Egan, Master Distiller at the Old Bushmills Distillery said: “I am really looking forward to welcoming Elijah to the Old Bushmills Distillery. He is a great actor and DJ and I have already seen him perform at a fantastic Bushmills party in Los Angeles. The line up for Bushmills Live just keeps getting better and I now can’t wait for 20th June!”

To win tickets to Bushmills Live or to find out more, visit facebook.com/bushmills1608. Entry closes at 23:59 GMT on 27th April 2012. Terms and conditions apply.

*OSCAR® and ACADEMY AWARDS® are registered trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Drink Responsibly
drinkaware.co.uk for the facts

THE biggest Countrysports Fair in Northern Ireland is back this May and promises to be even better than ever before with a staggering £1 million worth of investment set to be generated into the local economy.

Rebranded from The National Countrysports Fair to The Northern Ireland Countryside Festival, the two-day spectacular, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary and has launched a brand new website to mark the occasion, will once again take place in Moira Demesne on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May, 2012.

More than 18,000 visitors attended last year’s event and organisers expect, with new attractions and activities, that number to rise significantly this year resulting in a huge boost for the local area. With the various exhibitors and visitors travelling into the region over the weekend, 800 bed nights will be required while £100,000 will be spent in and around the festival venue.

Families will certainly enjoy all the fun of the fair as this year three great events – the National Countrysports Fair, the Tea on the Titanic Music Festival and the Finn McCool Strongman Festival – have been rolled into one giant festival.

Activities in the main ring this year include Phoenix Falconry Birds of Prey Display, Drakes of Hazard Sheepdog and Ducks Display and Gundog handling demonstrations. The Strongman Arena will include the Finn McCool Celtic Games and the Irish Novice Strongman Challenge while the Tea on the Titanic Festival allows the visitor to enjoy traditional music and dance from Hugo Duncan and band, The Bjorn Identity Abba Tribute Band and an Elvis Tribute act.
The eagerly anticipated festival has seen significant support and funding from the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and Lisburn City Council as it continues to establish itself as a key Northern Ireland event and generates tourism during #ni2012 supporting the ‘Our Time, Our Place’ campaign.

Festival Director, Bill Beckett said, “This year is going to be bigger and better at the Northern Ireland Countryside Festival, not only are we celebrating our 10th festival at Moira Demesne, we have rebranded and have launched our new website.

“The festival has continued to grow over the years and this year we wanted to enhance the visitor experience with the two additional events in what is a very historic and important year for Northern Ireland tourism,” he added.

Eddie Rowan, Northern Ireland Tourist Board’s Event Manager said, “We’re delighted to once again be supporting the Northern Ireland Countryside Festival. Each year it attracts crowds from across the country and with new attractions added to the 2012 event we’re sure it will appeal to an even wider audience and help increase attendances even more during this great year for tourism in Northern Ireland.”

Alderman Dillon, Chair of Lisburn City Council Economic Development Committee said, “Lisburn City Council is delighted to see the return of the festival for the tenth occasion to Moira Demesne and the first as the Northern Ireland Countryside Festival. This is a great event for the local area and with the estimated investment into the local economy, everyone should benefit from this.”

For further information and for ticket prices please visit the website www.nicountryside.com

BOOKS WORTH MORE THAN £16,000 UP FOR GRABS

SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS FOR 2012 PROGRAMME

TICKETS ON SALE FOR SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS FROM

THURSDAY 19 APRIL 2012

HAPPY DAYS, the Enniskillen International Beckett Festival, today announced tickets will be on sale from 10am Thursday 19 April for selected highlights for its inaugural Festival, 23 to 27 August 2012.

The programme will present a diverse mix of international theatre, music, art, comedy and conversation from world class Irish, UK and international artists and writers. The full HAPPY DAYS programme will be announced in June 2012. Tickets available from www.happy-days-enniskillen.com.

Early highlights include four projects that are part of the London 2012 Festival, the spectacular 12-week nationwide celebration running from 21 June until 9 September 2012 bringing together leading artists from across the world with the very best from the UK.

The London 2012 Festival events are the UK and Irish Premiere of Robert Wilson directing and starring in Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape; Britain’s favourite living composer, Gavin Bryars with his Ensemble performing The Sinking of the Titanic, alongside the World Premiere of the HAPPY DAYS commission, The Beckett Songbook; Antony Gormley’s Godot Tree, unveiled for the first time in the Grand Yard at the National Trust’s Castle Coole; and film-maker Atom Egoyan, nominated for two Palme D’Or Awards and two Academy Awards, presenting his installation Steenbeckett (2002), a work from The Artangel Collection that is premiering in Ireland prior to its accession by the Tate.

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of Castle Coole being in the care of the National Trust, Antony Gormley’s Godot Tree will be in place for 60 days from 2 July and throughout the HAPPY DAYS festival.

Other highlights announced today include the Vienna Piano Trio performing some of Beckett’s favourite composers; Perrier Award-winner and Bafta-nominated comedian, Stuart Silver; Tenor Ian Bostridge singing Schubert’s Winterreise accompanied by pianist Julius Drake; and Lyr Williams performing Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. Castle Coole, built in 1789, the year of the French Revolution, will also be the venue for the closing recital of French song and opera arias by mezzo soprano Ruby Philogene MBE, accompanied by Julius Drake, in honour Beckett’s adopted homeland.

Writers and poets discussing their relationships with Beckett and the lasting influence of his work.

will include Edna O’Brien, Lady Antonia Fraser, and John Banville amongst others. Edna O’Brien will open the Festival’s programme on Thursday 23 August at the Ardhowen Theatre, with an in-conversation event with William Crawley.

HAPPY DAYS, based in Enniskillen at the heart of the beautiful Fermanagh Lakelands in Northern Ireland, is the world’s first annual Festival dedicated to Nobel Prize-winning writer, Samuel Beckett. The Festival will celebrate Beckett’s work and influences and present some of the many international artists, writers, musicians and performers he has inspired.

Samuel Beckett, like Oscar Wilde before him, spent his formative years at Portora Royal School in Enniskillen. This remarkable island town is the perfect centre for HAPPY DAYS, a major, new destination cultural Festival embracing the entire Fermanagh Lakelands experience.

Some of Northern Ireland’s most extraordinary landmarks will host HAPPY DAYS, including Enniskillen Castle, Castle Coole, Portora Royal School, Mount Lourdes School, Blakes of the Hollow, St Michael’s Church and St Macartin’s Cathedral.

HAPPY DAYS is funded by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, Arts Council Northern Ireland, the London 2012 Festival and Fermanagh District Council.

TICKETS FOR SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS (DETAILS BELOW) ARE AVAILABLE FROM www.happy-days-enniskillen.com FROM 10AM THURSDAY 19 APRIL

THE LIMELIGHT
SATURDAY 2nd JUNE 2012
7pm / EARLY SHOW
£12.50 / Over 18s

“One of the purest, clearest talents I know  – a fabulous singer, bursting with raw Irish soul. Striking and original songs, and an effortlessly brilliant band. The whole Bronagh picture has come into focus.”  Brian Eno, APRIL 2012

To celebrate the release of her stunning self-titled second album, Meteor-nominated Derry singer and actress Bronagh Gallagher and her brilliant eight piece band have announced a week of shows in Ireland culminating in a show at The Limelight Belfast on Saturday 2nd June. Bronagh is a deeply soulful artist with a unique gift for singing and  storytelling, and has created a fascinating new world of songs and stories through her own personal experiences.  Tickets for the Belfast show go on sale this Friday at 9am from www.limelightbelfast.com, www.ticketmaster.ie and 22 outlets province wide.

In this highly anticipated second album, the listener is somewhat seduced by the songs the stories and their characters and we take flight on a journey from Ireland to Dorset England, Paris to Berlin and then onto California, we become submerged into magical nights unfolding wonderful stories in the ‘City of Angels’ finally leading us into the darkness and ganglands of Mexico City.

Following her Meteor-nominated debut album “PRECIOUS SOUL” (Mojo Magazine ***), Bronagh has again penned all her own material, collaborating on some of the music writing with her cousin Caolan McLaughlin, and the wonderful band of musicians that accompanied and guided Bronagh as she also took the helm as Producer on this record.

Bronagh brought together her favourite musicians and some close friends from rock n roll royalty in Ireland and London. They include the brilliant Conor Brady (Guitar), Graham Hopkins (Drums and percussion), Clare Kenny (Bass), Justin Carroll (Hammond Organ and Wurlitzer), Shelly and Jordan Bukspan and Paul Byrne (Backing Vocals), Michael Buckley and Ronan Dooney (Horns), and rehearsal and recording began in Optophonic Studios in Dublin, Ireland in February 2011.

Gather your team for NSPCC Northern Ireland’s Viking Boat Races, and prepare for a Titanic battle on the River Lagan!

The hordes will hit Cutters Wharf, Stranmillis, at 12pm on Sunday 6 May for the annual event.

NSPCC community fundraising manager, Paul Montgomery, said: “Over the last 12 years, teams of 10 have invaded the Lagan in Viking long-boats to test their strength, speed and endurance, while making a difference for vulnerable children and young people in Northern Ireland.

“As we prepare to recruit adventurers for this expedition, sponsored by Cutters Wharf and Barefoot Wine, you are invited to take your place for a raucous day out marking Belfast’s Titanic year.”

Battle against the clock to be the winner of your category, with the two fastest teams going head-to-head for ultimate glory.

Paul continued: “We rely on public support to help us continue our work with some of the most vulnerable children in Northern Ireland. Together we can help shape a society where abuse doesn’t go unchallenged, where children are empowered to seek out help, and where every call for support can be answered.”

Team members must be aged 18 or over, and teams can be male, female or mixed (with no more than six men in a mixed team). The entry fee, to be raised through sponsorship, is £200 per team of 10, or alternatively raise £400 and receive a T Shirt and tuck into lots of delicious barbecued food and accompanying drinks as a reward for your exertions!

To find out more or enter a team, click here, contact NSPCC Northern Ireland on 028 9035 1135 or email northernirelandappeals@nspcc.org.uk.

To make a £4 donation to the NSPCC in your area text NIChild to 70744.

Are you interested in singing in one of the biggest choral events ever to take place in Northern Ireland? Would you like to become involved in the London 2012 Festival celebrations in Belfast this summer? Read on!

NEST is one of the major London 2012 Festival events taking place this summer in Belfast to celebrate the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The producers are currently recruiting singers for a large Community Choir, made up of people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to take part in a massive choral and musical event on 21st July 2012, at T13 warehouse, Titanic Quarter, Belfast. The community choir will perform alongside established choirs from around Northern Ireland and the National Youth Orchestra. The final choral event will be part of a large-scale visual arts exhibition created by the people of Northern Ireland themselves who have been donating and labeling personal objects since September 2011.

The music is being composed by award winning Northern Irish Composer, Brian Irvine, who will be working with the large community choir weekly each Saturday in Belfast from 2nd June (10am – 1pm) until the final event. He’s encouraging everyone to get involved in what he’s calling ‘The Big Sing’

Greatly anticipating the final event, Brian Irvine said:

‘ 400 + singers from all parts of Northern Ireland performing together with the 120 superb young musicians of the Ulster Youth Orchestra …now that’s what I call a band! We are looking for people who just really “want” to sing and in return we guarantee you some hard work, some great music, some new friends, a lot of fun and a big beautiful sound.’

If you are interested in joining the community choir or need more information please contact Project Manager Cathie McKimm on info@2012nest.com or by calling 07874 023528. Alternatively further information on NEST can be found on www.2012nest.com.