Author: whatsonni

The Playful Museums Festival returns to Causeway Coast and Glens during February with a series of outdoor events, crafts and storytelling for children aged 3 – 4

Join the Museum Services team to ‘Seek, Find, Speak, Create’ at one of four local green spaces for an outdoor trail to explore nature’s treasures followed by an indoor family craft workshop.

Activities will be facilitated by The Hares Corner Cooperative, and, with help from Freddie the Squirrel, children will be encouraged to look for the signs of nature.

Participants will have a chance to get creative together by decorating a frame representing nature using items gathered from the outdoors and museum collections.

The children’s work will then go on display in a week-long exhibition at Ballymoney Museum.

The four sessions will take place from 10am-12pm in the following locations:

Tuesday 7^th February, Roe Valley Country Park – Green Lane Museum;

Thursday 9^th February, Anderson Park – Coleraine Town Hall;

Tuesday 21^st February, Megaw Park – Ballymoney Town Hall;

Thursday 23^rd February, Ballycastle Forest Park – Ramoan Parish Centre.

The Playful Museum’s Festival programme also includes a storytelling session for 3–4-year-olds with Colin Urwin from the Armstrong Storytelling Trust on Wednesday 8th February in Ballymoney Town Hall from 10am – 11am.

For more information and to book your free place at any of the events please email cms@causewaycoastandglens.gov.uk or ring Ballymoney Visitor Information enter on 028 2766 0230.

The sessions are delivered with support from the NIMC Playful Museums Festival grant funding.

Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor Sandra Duffy, has launched a month long celebration of the City and District’s thriving food and drink scene.

Love LegenDerry will take place throughout the month of February and feature a programme of events and initiatives to allow locals and visitors to sample the best of our food offering.

Members of the LegenDerry Food Network, in partnership with Council and Visit Derry, are bringing together an exciting programme of events and experiences to celebrate our vibrant food and drink scene in the city and beyond.

“The LegenDerry Food Network has made significant strides over the past few years to strengthen the range and quality of our food and drink offering,” said Mayor Duffy.

“The City and District has now firmly established itself as a foody destination and more and more visitors are coming to sample our locally sourced food and drink.

“Love LegenDerry will celebrate how far we have come and encourage locals and visitors to get out and about across the City and District and sample our authentic experience for themselves.”

Tourism Manager at Derry City and Strabane District Council, Margaret Edwards, explained more about the initiative.

“The overall ambition of the Love LegenDerry campaign is to drive economic benefit by extending the food tourism season and attract visitors to travel here, stay overnight and sample our food experiences.

“It aims to enhance the reputation of our food and drink offering by using local produce, raising awareness of local provenance, great quality and value for money and provide a financial boost to our food businesses by extending their peak season.

“Members of the network created a series of special events during the month to highlight and celebrate the thriving scene here.”

Events include Meet the Producers at a long table event with Soda and Starch and Artis, a special Valentine’s gin making experience at the Walled City Brewery, afternoon tea at the White Horse Hotel and a new foodie fusion experience with a set menu of French inspired Irish cuisine.

You can also have fun at a special couples cooking experience, visit a goat farm in the Sperrins, find out about cheese making, take part in some urban foraging, experience a ‘wine, wild and wasted’ tasting dinner with talks and a focus on zero waste and an oyster and stout bluegrass festival at the Walled City Brewery.

The LegenDerry Food Brand and Network was set up by Council and the private sector in February 2019 to bring forward ambitious plans to build on the North West’s unique food offering as part of the wider food and drink strategy for the Council area.

Full details are available at www.legenderryfood.com

A new project has been launched today (23 January 2023) inviting people to share images of the unloved spaces of Belfast and to imagine what they could become.

Forgotten Spaces is a new Liminal Space Belfast project in partnership with the Imagine! Festival of Ideas & Politics which seeks to involve the public in discussion about how to regenerate the city.

The unique project is designed to be the first stage of a process that will highlight and map a range of forgotten spaces with the intention of making use of them in future programming with the Imagine! Festival and other partners. The public are invited to submit details for an online exhibition of a derelict site or forgotten space which will be hosted on the festival’s website. A competition for the best image and description will take place with prizes awarded for the best entries as part of the forthcoming Imagine! Belfast Festival of Ideas & Politics.

Project curator, Meadhbh McIlgorm, said:

“Liminal Space Belfast has developed a number of exciting projects that use alleyways and entries to host outdoor exhibitions and performances. Forgotten Spaces is an extension of this work, and I hope we can help regenerate forgotten and neglected places  to help reimagine the city.”

The open call for people to submit photos and comments about their unloved spaces is now open on the Imagine! Festival website (imaginebelfast.com) and will close on 12 February. Submissions will be exhibited, with a public vote, on the website  during March, and will be presented at a special event and prize giving during the festival on 22 March in the Europa Hotel. Category prizes of (£100, £75 and £50) for the best images and best descriptions will be decided by public vote and by a selection panel at the event.

According to Peter O’Neill, Imagine! Festival Director:

“We want the citizens of Belfast to share images of their favourite unloved spaces which deserve some attention. We also want to hear what they could become in the first step towards regeneration and useful purpose. The festival seeks to stimulate new ideas on politics and culture so we are delighted to support this exciting new project which will hopefully capture the imagination of local people who care about the future of this great city.”

Ulster Touring Opera are coming to Armagh’s Market Place Theatre with Rossini’s ‘The Barber Of Seville’ a tale of bribery, deception and disguise!

Figaro, town barber and jack-of-all-trades, is going to need all his wiles to outwit old Dr Bartolo and make sure true love wins the day.

Carrickfergus-born mezzo-soprano Sarah Richmond sings Rosina in an international cast featuring Thomas Chenhall as the industrious barber and rising star Jack Roberts as the lovestruck Count.

Following his success in UTO’s ‘A Night At The Opera’ tour, Belfast baritone Malachy Frame re-joins the company in the role of Basilio, and Spanish soprano Lorena Paz Nieto takes on the fiery role of Berta.

The production will be sung in English in Amanda Holden’s beloved translation. With vocal fireworks, scheming lovers and one very busy barber, Rossini’s comic opera is bursting with fun, mischief and the world’s best tunes.

‘The Barber Of Seville’ will be staged on Saturday 4 February at 8pm. Tickets are priced £17.50 and £15 (concession), and can be booked online at www.visitarmagh.com/marketplacetheatre or through the Box Office on 03300 561 025.

– Family Friendly Events to Take Place on Site at Armagh Observatory and Planetarium From 26 to 28 January 2023 –

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium has announced that a number of family friendly events will take place on site from 26 to 28 January 2023.

These will be:

A Star Tracker evening, which will take place on 26^th January. Suitable for adults and children aged over eight, this two-hour event will include a talk on ‘Big Telescopes’ by Armagh Observatory and planetarium PhD student, Christopher Duffy. The talk will be followed by a Dome Show and live stargazing (weather permitting.)

The Legendary Telescope Tours, which will take place on Saturday 28th January. These 90-minute tours will run at 1pm and 3pm. Suitable for adults and children over ten, they will take visitors on a journey through the Armagh Observatory to see its historic telescopes.

An expert guide will tell visitors about the telescopes and how they were used for pioneering science in the past.

Visitors will be able to have their picture taken with the Grubb 10-inch telescope that was used to create a fundamental star catalogue still used by astronomers today. They will also have a chance to view the century-old Calver telescope and hear unique stories, discovering why Armagh is a truly celestial city.

A Grade A listed heritage building and a global centre for astronomical research, Armagh Observatory opened in 1790. It is the oldest observatory in the UK and Ireland continuously in use for its original purpose. There are four generations of historic telescopes inside the Observatory that remain in their original settings, as well as one modern telescope that is still in use.

Ria Mee, Senior Education Officer at Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, says, “We are excited to kick off the new year with some great events for all the family here at Armagh Observatory and Planetarium.

“As a globally recognised centre for research into astronomy, we hope that by providing compelling, age-appropriate content, we can both entertain and inspire the STEM leaders of the future.”

The Legendary Telescope Tours include general admission to the Planetarium exhibition.

To book tickets for these events, visit: https://armaghobservatoryplanetarium.ticketsolve.com

Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council’s Arts Service is pleased to unveil its latest Arts Guides packed with creative opportunities and cultural highlights.

From January until March 2023, there’s an exciting array of events, exhibitions, and workshops to look forward to.

At Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Centre in Limavady, highlights include the Hayward Gallery touring exhibition, ‘Arts Forms in Nature’ by Karl Blossfeldt which runs from January 20^th – February 17th. This is an incredible opportunity to see an exemplary collection of the internationally acclaimed artist’s close-up images of plants and flora.

In the Danny Boy Auditorium, there’s a great line up of live entertainment including Chicago Bluegrass band Special Consensus and a night of comedy from Colin Murphy.

As part of The Steinbeck Festival, there’ll be a performance from American Blues singer Mirenda Rosenberg, Mark Carruthers will be in conversation with Martin O’Neill OBE and Tenx9 will return with an evening of the best true-life stories about journeys. The galleries will host the Dustbowl Photo Exhibition and the Steinbeck Connection Primary School’s Competition exhibition. Visitors will have the chance to explore a selection of Steinbeck’s work through talks and book club discussions.

Over the next three months the programme also includes various film screenings, workshops in quilling, wool painting, ceramics, creative writing, and some fantastic activities for kids alongside community activities such as Sound Connections and Into Film Festival.

In Portstewart, Flowerfield Arts Centre will showcase some fantastic exhibitions including ‘Creative Voices: What Autism Means to Me in association with the Education Authority AASI, ‘Disruptive Women’ by Conflict Textiles, and ‘Uncertain Landscapes’ by contemporary artists Alex Dewart and Heather McAteer.

The auditorium will host live music, dance and film, including a performance in collaboration with Echo Echo Festival of Dance and Movement by Fiddler Ultan O’Brien (Slow Moving Clouds) and percussive dancer Nic Gareiss (This is How we Fly).

Alongside this, the Replay Theatre Company will stage PRISM, its new inclusive and accessible family theatre and there will be screenings of My Year Living Mindfully and Lyra (2022) and a performance from experimental folk musician, Joshua Burnside, taking place in March.

As well as community activities including Space to Write, Into Film Festival and Friday Art Club, Flowerfield will also host several workshops and events in association with the NI Science Festival.

You won’t want to miss how to learn to swing dance in a day or sign up for creative workshops in photography, ceramics, glassmaking, and painting; along with activities for children and families including a series of workshops for autistic children and a parent/carer.

Creative options for adults also extend to Ballymoney Town Hall and Sheskburn House Ballycastle, where there will be workshops in painting and patchwork.

The new Arts Guide is available to download from www.flowerfield.org or www.roevalleyarts.com or drop into Flowerfield Arts Centre or Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Centre to pick up a copy.

Preparations are underway at the City of Derry International Choir Festival for an extra special edition to mark its tenth anniversary, taking place on 18-22 October 2023.

The Festival is now accepting entries for its full selection of events, so get your applications in as soon as possible in order to avoid any disappointment – you won’t want to miss this year’s very exciting programme.

In 2023, Derry Choir Festival will bring together singing groups of all sorts, from across the UK and Ireland, including local community singers from the region’s thriving choral scene, as well as a new crop of international choirs who will compete for the Oak Tree of Derry trophy.

School, local, national and international choirs are invited to join us for a 5-day feast of singing, which will include concerts, pop-up performances and educational workshops, all taking place in the Millenium Forum, the Guildhall and in a varied selection of venues across Derry, Strabane and Donegal.

Participating groups and local audiences will also be treated to a programme of concerts by world class guest artists. The long list of outstanding groups who have appeared at previous festivals includes The Sixteen, Tenebrae, Voces8, The King’s Singers and The Real Group, as well as a series of truly memorable gala concerts from the Festival Chorus and the Ulster Orchestra. Full details of the programme will be announced over the course of the coming months, so keep an eye on the Festival’s website and the usual social media channels.

Artistic Director, Dónal Doherty, commented, “I am already very excited about the plans we are putting in place for our 10th anniversary festival. 2013 was a transformative cultural experience for everyone in the city and region and our aim is to relive that excitement and to recapture that energy in our most ambitious programme to date.”

For information on how to take part visit www.derrychoirfest.com, or to connect with us on social media, visit facebook/CityofDerryInternationalChoirFestival, IG: @derrychoirfest or Twitter: @derrychoirfest

 

A £30,000 investment at Crumlin Glen is a welcome boost for local walkers and joggers to enjoy a safer route around the Glen.

This recent upgrade was part funded by Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council, along with DAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs) through its “Tackling Rural Poverty and Social Isolation” (TRPSI) programme.  

The three-week project included trail resurfacing and laying of bitmac which connects the upper and lower trails near the river bridge, as well as new fencing and handrails for safer, easier access. This will help encourage a wider range of locals and visitors alike, to be physically and mentally healthy by being active outdoors.

Further improvements to the town include the restoration of the Clock Tower, along with the installation of decorative railings, planting, and surrounding groundworks. Crumlin Glen, one of the Council’s Green Flag sites also recently received a new bright blue ‘buddy bench’ as part of the Loneliness Network initiative.

The Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey, Alderman Stephen Ross, said, “Crumlin Glen is a beautiful place to visit in the Borough and this recent upgrade will greatly enhance people’s visit.

“The Council is committed to making our parks and open spaces more accessible and safer for everyone. Crumlin Glen is one of many of our outdoor spaces to have received a recent investment. Last year, path improvements and associated works were also made across the Borough, including Muckamore, Rea’s Wood and Burney’s Lane to name a few.”

Teresa O’Neill, DAERA’s Rural Affairs Director added, “This project is another example of how DAERA develops partnerships and funds initiatives which benefit rural communities. These upgraded trails, which received £22,500 from DAERA’s Tackling Rural Poverty and Social Isolation (TRPSI) Programme, will open up a host of opportunities for locals and visitors alike.  

Teresa continued, “The TRPSI programme aims to tackle poverty and social isolation in rural areas through organisations working in partnership and I want to congratulate Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council on working closely with DAERA to develop these enhanced facilities at Crumlin Glen. Projects like this are really important in sustaining and improving the health and wellbeing of local rural residents, both young and old.”