Author: whatsonni

Flowerfield Arts Centre in Portstewart and Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Centre in Limavady have a packed programme of horrifying Halloween activities on offer this October.

From frightening films to creepy craft workshops, spooky storytelling to live music, you’ll be spoilt for choice if you’re looking for some suitably themed family fun.

At Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Centre, Banyan Theatre Company return with its Spooky Shadow Puppet Workshop for 5-11 year olds on Saturday 22^nd October while tiny tots can enjoy Slightly Spooky Tales with fantastic storyteller Kelly Quigley on Saturday 29^th October. On Thursday 27^th October, there will be a late-night screening of ‘The Shining’, a fantastic opportunity to see this Stanley Kubrick’s cult classic horror film on a big screen!

At Flowerfield Arts Centre, kids aged 5 -12 can get creative with Linda Mullholland at a Halloween themed Weekend Wonders Workshop, or those aged 10 – 16 can join local artist Eleanor-Jane McCartney to create a colourful hedgehog mobile at an Autumn Fused Glass Workshop on Saturday 29^th October.

Tenx9 returns on Friday 28^th October, presenting their successful ‘Ghosts’ performance.  Nine people will have up to ten minutes each to tell a true story from their own life about ghosts, from the spooky kind to laments about the ghosts of their past. We are on the lookout for storytellers, so get in touch with your true spine-chilling stories at http://www.tenx9.com/submissions.

As well as this, two very special Haunted House Open Days take place at Flowerfield on Saturday 29^th October and Monday 31^st October.

Saturday will kick off with a screening of the original Hocus Pocus movie and then families are encouraged to channel that witchy energy and get creative in a post-film craft workshop with Linda Mulholland.

Storyteller Karen Edwards will bring the spooky myths and legends of the Causeway Coast to life followed by a drop-in creepy craft workshop in the afternoon when you can also enjoy a visit to Naturally North Coast & Glens Artisan Market, serving local

artisan foods while outdoor music will be provided by electronic pop duo VOKXEN.

On Monday (October 31^st), a screening of Disney’s Coco will be followed by a drop-in Sugar Skull craft workshop.  Kelly Quigley will share some ‘Not So Spooky Tales’ for tiny tots and in the afternoon there will be drop-in craft workshops with Linda Mulholland to create some monster masterpieces.

Bookings for workshops, films and events can be made at https://www.flowerfield.org/ and https://www.roevalleyarts.com/ or by calling Flowerfield on 028 7083 1400 or Roe Valley on 028 7776 0650. 

For the Halloween Haunted House Open Days, only the films require advanced booking. Tickets are priced at £3 per person or £10 for a family of four.  All other activities as part of the Halloween Haunted House Open Days are drop-in and free of charge.

The Haunted House Open Days at Flowerfield Arts Centre have received financial support from The Executive Office through the District Council Good Relations Programme.

– Family Friendly Halloween Events to Take Place on Site at Armagh Observatory and Planetarium From 22 to 31 October 2022 –

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium has announced that a number of family friendly Halloween events will take place on site from 22nd to 31 October 2022.

These will be:

The Spooky Star Tracker evening, which will take place on 27th October. This atmospheric event offers something for everyone, with a choice of either the family friendly 7pm Spooky Space Dome show, or the 8pm Look Up Dome Show and comet talk for adults, followed by spine-tingling stargazing.

The Spooky Space Dome Show, which will take place on 22nd, 23rd, 29th, 30th and 31st October will provide families with cosmic fun this Halloween Half-term. This PG rated Halloween Dome Show features monsters, zombies, ghosts, black holes, zombie stars, and spectacular ghostly nebulae! Show times are at 11am, 3pm and 4pm. Tickets include entry into the exhibition area.

The Potions and Explosion Science Show will run on 29th and 30th October. Located in the Copernicus Hall, this event will see visitors of all ages join Scientific Sue for a special Halloween themed live science show that includes explosions, mess, fun but more importantly learning!

Lots of audience participation will be needed and each show will last approximately 60 mins.

Armagh Observatory will play host to the Tall Tales and Terror tour on 29th and 30th October. Recommended for adults and children aged 10 or over, visitors on this special observatory tour will be led by a terrifying tour guide and regaled with stories that will chill them to the bone! The Armagh Observatory was founded in 1790, and so there are plenty of tales to tell.

The tour includes general admission to the Planetarium exhibition. Some stories will include adult themes not suitable for young children.

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

Ards Arts Centre in Newtownards will be transformed into a magical world of puppets this Halloween when the historical building becomes the home of The Enchanted House of Puppetry.

Presented by Ards Puppet Festival, the two-day event will feature an eclectic mix of scheduled performances, free puppet shows and workshops and plenty of madcap puppet shenanigans, to inspire the imaginations of both young and old alike! Expect puppets in all shapes and sizes, from hand puppets to strings and socks!

The festival is thrilled to welcome Hands Up! to the programme. All the way from the Netherlands, with nothing more than his bare hands and wooden eyes, Lejo creates a unique, fresh style of puppet theatre. Hands up! is a lively, wordless performance with lots of music. Simple but adorably mischievous, it’s sure to be a highlight!

Little Gem Puppets will make a welcome return to the festival with their adorable Three Little Pigs and Maggie shows and Cre8 Theatre will be performing their wonderful Sleeping Beauty: 80’s Throwback.  In this modern adaption of the well-known fairy tale, the heroine wakes to find herself in the most fantastical world full of 80’s inspired music!

As well as scheduled performances, visitors can expect drop-in shows and workshops, taking place at various times throughout both days. Stories, Just in Case by Clydebuilt Puppet Theatre is a series of fun performances featuring a mermaid, a crocodile, Little Red Riding Hood and more! After each story, kids can have a go at puppet manipulation with guidance from puppet master Steve Smart.

The Puppet Labyrinth by Brothers Dimm invites you to take a magical meandering wander to find festival favourite Aloisious Ginderbalm the Troll! Only the bravest travellers dare to seek out the enchanted ramblings and gobbledegook from an ancient 700-year-old Swedish Troll called Aloisious Ginderbalm. He tells the tallest tales for being the shortest troll. Prepare to be amazed at The Flea Circus – involving feats of astonishing bravery and breath-taking beauty – acrobatics, trapeze, high wire and more!

There are also opportunities to get creative at the Puppet Making Workshops where everyone can have a go at making simple puppets to take away and create your very own puppet shows at home.

Speaking about The Enchanted House of Puppetry, Amy McKelvey, Community Arts Development Officer with Ards and North Down Borough Council said; “It is very exciting to be hosting this event for the first time at Ards Arts Centre, we hope it will be something a little different for families to enjoy over the half term break and we would encourage everyone to come along and join in the fun.”

The Enchanted House of Puppetry takes place from 30 – 31 October in Ards Arts Centre, Conway Square, Newtownards. To view the full programme and to book tickets, go to: https://puppetfestival.andculture.org.uk/whats-on

Printed copies of the programme are also available from Ards Arts Centre, North Down Museum or any of the Council’s Visitor Information Centres.

The award-winning Irish documentary LYRA will open in Irish and UK cinemas on Friday 4 November

Directed by BAFTA-winning Alison Millar and executively produced by Hillary Rodham Clinton’s HiddenLight Productions, LYRA is a beautiful and heartfelt film about the life and death of the internationally renowned Northern Irish investigative journalist Lyra McKee.

Raised in working-class, war-torn Belfast, Lyra went on to highlight the consequences of the Troubles, seeking justice for crimes that had been forgotten since the Good Friday Agreement. Her murder by dissident Republicans the day before Good Friday in 2019 sent shockwaves across the world.

Using hours of voice recordings from Lyra’s own mobile, computer and Dictaphone, the documentary, which won the Audience Award at the Cork Film Festival, seeks answers to her senseless killing through Lyra’s own work and words. The result is a complex picture of Northern Ireland’s political history, bringing into sharp focus the ways in which the 1998 Good Friday agreement – with its promised end to violence for future generations – has struggled to be fully realised.

Speaking ahead of the cinema release, Director Alison Millar said:

“Thanks to Wildcard Distribution, we are delighted to be able to share the incredible LYRA with the world.

“Alongside projecting Lyra McKee as a ‘fearless investigative journalist, determined and tenacious, honest in her approach’ I wanted this film to also capture the great warmth and infectious humour of the person I’d known for so many years.

“Through the use of her voice recordings (enabling us to have her narrate her own story), home footage and her remarkable writing, I hope LYRA will inspire and introduce a new generation to her work and the story of her homeland, the turbulently beautiful Northern Ireland, of which she wrote so much about.

“I’ve made many films about Northern Ireland – its people and its past – but with this film, with LYRA, it’s different – with her, this time, it’s personal.”

LYRA was produced by Jackie Doyle and Alison Millar for Erica Starling Productions and executively produced by Siobhan Sinnerton, Edward Watts, Greg Darby, Andrew Eaton, Louisa Compton and Hillary and Chelsea Clinton with funding from Northern Ireland Screen in association with TG4. Music for the film was scored by the Ivor Novello Award-winning David Holmes, Mark McCauley was cinematographer on the project and it was edited by the British Independent Film Award-winning Chloe Lambourne.

The Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Tina Black, has expressed her heartfelt condolence to the families and community of Creeslough, Donegal, following the tragic events on Friday.

A book of condolence was opened in City Hall today by the Lord Mayor for the victims of the tragedy.

The Lord Mayor said: “The people of Belfast will join me in expressing our deepest sympathy and heartfelt condolence to the families and community of Creeslough and all those affected by this terrible tragedy on Friday. My thoughts and prayers are with them all during this time of immense grief.

“I also want to thank all the emergency services from Donegal and here who worked under such traumatic circumstances in the search and recovery operation.”

The book of condolence will be open to sign in the reception area of City Hall during normal opening hours.

 Did you know that October is Positive Ageing Month?

To mark the occasion, Age Friendly Causeway has unveiled its inaugural Positive Ageing calendar packed with a fantastic variety of events which will take place throughout October.

The month-long campaign aims to celebrate the contribution of older people within our local communities while empowering them to lead full and active lives. It includes activities to suit all interests from guided walks, arts, sports and cultural activities to online training sessions and employment advice clinics.

Welcoming the initiative, the Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, Councillor Ivor Wallace said: “Through our Age-Friendly Programme we want to engrain the inclusion of older people in all aspects of community life, remove barriers to participation, ensure access to services and make sure this is an enjoyable place for older people to live.

“We want to achieve this by working with our partners, and it is thanks to this approach that we have been able to collate such a wide range of events which will be delivered throughout Positive Ageing Month.

“I would like to thank all those organisations and Council departments for collaborating on this calendar, and I hope it encourages our older residents to try something new and forge new friendships and connections throughout the month.”

Alan Sharp, Chairperson of Causeway Coast and Glens Age-Friendly Forum, said: “The pandemic has limited our participation in previous years but this programme has a wide-range of possibilities for you to enjoy including exercise opportunities, helpful information sessions, inter-generational exchanges and social occasions.

“Please let your friends know about what’s happening and bring them along to enjoy the fun as well. I hope that all of our older people will find Positive Ageing Month informative and helpful.”

You can browse the full calendar of events now by going to www.causewaycoastandglens.gov.uk/live/age-friendly or hard copies are available at Council offices and local libraries.

For more information, call the Age Friendly Causeway team on 028 777 60306 or email agefriendly@causewaycoastandglens.gov.uk

Booking for some of the events is essential, so please check with the individual venue.

Please note that event details in the brochure were correct at the time of going to print, however each event organiser reserves the right to make changes to the published programme. Please check with the individual venue before attending.