British Youth Music Theatre (BYMT), the team behind the smash-hit musical adaption of Tony Macaulay’s international best seller Paperboy, has teamed up with National Museums NI on a very special pop up exhibition at the Lyric.

The exhibition, which will run alongside the BYMT production of Paperboy (1-4 August), features artefacts from 1970s donated by the Belfast public. Items include; The Hood figurine the main villain in Thunderbirds who appeared in many guises while trying to acquire the technology used by International Rescue and Flashy Flickers picture gun which enabled children to project films of their favourite television and cartoon characters.

Set in 1975, Paperboy tells the true story of young Tony Macaulay growing up in West Belfast. The book was adapted for stage by stand-up comedian Andrew Doyle and music for the production was composed by platinum-selling Belfast artist Duke Special. It depicts fondly remembered moments such as the Lord Mayor’s Parade, The Bay City Rollers gig at The Ulster Hall in 1975 as well as references to popular culture of that time.

Checking out some of the items in the Paperboy exhibition at Lyric were, Tony Macaulay and Karen Logan from  National Museums NI.

Creative Peninsula – Northern Ireland’s premier celebration of Art and Craft will begin with a showcase of the boroughs most talented artists and makers at Creative Peninsula in the Square this Friday (2 August 2019).

For one day only Conway Square in Newtownards will be transformed into a creative hub with more than 30 artists and makers displaying and selling their work and talking about what inspires them.  Free demonstrations including glass engraving, wood turning, painting, felting, printing, drawing, ceramics and much more will run throughout the day. So why not come along and join them in our celebration of creativity!

Taking place throughout August, the thriving celebration, which is now in its 18th year, offers a range of free and bookable opportunities for people of all ages and levels of experience to see, learn about and even ‘try their hand’ at some of the many art and craft forms that are practiced in the local area.  

Other highlights include;

Alfresco Afternoons, Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 August, 12noon – 4pm (free) – be inspired with our Alfresco Art programme featuring afternoon demonstrations. The beautiful location of the Courtyard at North Down Museum is the backdrop for two afternoons of hand-crafted wood and art and craft demonstrations in many mediums.

Drink and Draw, Thursday 8 August, 7pm-9.30pm (£5) – true to its name, this is an art class for both seasoned scribblers and clueless beginners – but in an unconventional setting with a glass of your favourite tipple. 

Ards Arts Centre Workshops, Saturday 3 – Saturday 10 August (cost varies) – a series of engaging and interactive workshops designed to explore the processes used to create unique pieces of arts and craft.

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

“With one of the largest concentrations of artists and craftspeople living and working in Northern Ireland, Ards and North Down is home to a thriving creative industry. The Creative Peninsula gives visitors the unique opportunity to see some of the very best of local arts and crafts, and to meet and engage with the makers behind the pieces.”

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

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

Enjoy a great day out at Springhill’s Family Fun Day on 11 August from 11am – 4pm. Springhill House, which is cared for by the National Trust, is located in Moneymore just ten minutes from Cookstown and Magherafelt town centres.

Your day will be filled with activity and laughter as you create precious family memories at Springhill. Experience a family friendly house tour, enjoy all the fun of the mini fairground, and take a selfie with one of the friendly animals from Phil’s Farm. At scheduled times throughout the day there will be old school sports day races…..for the young and old at heart! A full timetable of events will be available on the day. All this, on top of our Summer of Sport offering already in place, where the whole family can challenge themselves in the adventure trail and Nature Ninja area. Or maybe you fancy having a game of football, volleyball, tennis or table tennis….the choice is yours.

In the midst of all this activity, if you need to take time out and relax for a moment, our two second hand book shops host quiet escapes to browse a wide selection of texts. Our experienced volunteers are happy to help source those hidden literary gems.

Our celebrated allotments will be open for you to have a wander and pick up some useful tips from our friendly walled garden community whilst they tender their crops.

There will also be the opportunity to peruse local crafts and products by Saffron Essential Oils, Elemental Earth, Spirit, and Felt Art by KD.

Feeling peckish? Enjoy the new seasonal light lunch options in the Barn Café. Live music from R&R will create the fun atmosphere in the Laundry Yard and there’s face painting too!

Springhill shop offers a wide variety of gifts, including local crafts, and unique items for your garden…and if you need a sun hat or an ice-cream they have them too!

Take a little piece of Springhill home to your own garden from an impressive display of bedding plants and shrubs, cultivated by our gardener Warren, whose rose display in the Dutch Garden is another ‘must see’ at this event.

A dynamic group of friendly staff are looking forward to welcoming you all to Springhill on Sunday 11 August for Springhill’s Family Fun Day, 11am-4pm.

Normal admission applies. National Trust Members and under 5’s free.

Following the success of the first six editions, the City of Derry International Choir Festival is back with a bang this autumn from 23-27 October, announcing an impressive and diverse line-up of participating choirs from across Europe and South America.

Organisers look forward to welcoming more than 50 choirs to the city to take part in competitions, concerts, performances and workshops across the 5-day event.

This year’s festival will also include a jam-packed schedule of non-competitive performances by more than 40 local choirs and singing groups as part of the Every Voice Community Programme, in partnership with Derry choir Allegri, resulting in a total of nearly 100 participating choirs.

The highlight of the weekend will be the International Competition, to be held on Saturday 26 October in St. Columb’s Hall. Eight choirs, representing eight countries, will compete for the prestigious “Oak Tree of Derry” trophy and a cash prize of £2,000.

The competitors are:

1.     Coral Brasília, Brazil

2.     Voices of Hope, England

3.     New Dublin Voices, Ireland

4.     Coro Giovanile Regionale del Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy

5.     St. Zlata Meglenska Female Chamber Choir, North Macedonia

6.     Solheimkoret, Norway

7.     Coro Feminino CVS, Portugal

8.     Cordydd, Wales

Adjudicating all competitions will be a panel of distinguished choral directors with a wealth of experience as international jurors. The festival welcomes the return of Josep Vila I Casañas, one of the best-known choral conductors in Catalonia and Spain, for his third year leading the team as Chair of the adjudicating panel. 

Artistic Director of the festival, Dónal Doherty, commented on this year’s line-up, “We’re delighted to announce yet another exciting and outstanding line-up of choirs for this year’s festival. Derry’s growing reputation as the City of Song continues to serve as a magnet to some of the very best choirs in the world. The five-day festival will once again bring the whole of the North West alive for all music lovers –  Portrush for the golf, Derry for the singing!”

Tickets for all festival events go on sale from the Millennium Forum Box office in August. For further information and updates visit www.derrychoirfest.com.

The ‘Pat McManus Band’ returns to the Market Place Theatre on Thursday 8 August, as part of the iconic 7 Hills Blues Fest taking place in Armagh.

The Pat McManus Band are a powerful three-piece blues|rock trio, headed up by the former ‘Mamas Boys’ and ‘Celtus’ guitarist | violinist virtuoso Pat McManus. Pat is today considered to be one of the last remaining individual guitar heroes of a generation of Irish guitarists. ‘Mama’s Boys’ were one of the greatest rock bands to come out of Northern Ireland.

This year the band is celebrating Pat’s 40th year as a professional musician with the release of the acoustic retrospective album ‘Rewind’, which includes songs from Pat’s wide-ranging career.

Then on Friday night, veteran Blues guitarist, Rab McCullough, takes to the stage.  He has shared the stage with other Rock and Blues legends including Rory Gallagher, Van Morrison and Jimi Hendrix. Rab inspires generations with his electrifying live shows, always thrilling crowds with unstoppable energy and conviction.  Admission to these two events is free, and entry will be on a first-come, first served basis.

Then on Saturday 10 August, the Oscar winning film ‘Ray’ will be screened at The Market Place. This epic film tells the story of Ray Charles, the legendary blues, soul and jazz musician, who despite losing his sight as a youngster, grew up to become a Grammy award-winning icon and one of the most popular musicians of the twentieth century.

Tickets are available from the Theatre Box Office on [028] 3752 1821, or online at www.visitarmagh.com/marketplacetheatre. To keep up-to-date with the latest news at the Market Place Theatre, you can follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/marketplacearmagh) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/mptarmagh) where you will find all the latest information, special offers and video previews.

MICHAEL Dunlop has arrived onsite at Armoy Road Races for the Bayview Hotel Race of Legends 2019. 30-year-old Michael Dunlop, who has raced at the Armoy Road Races every year, except last year, has seven consecutive ‘Race of Legends’ wins under his belt.

It is anticipated that he will be also riding in the Hilton Car Sales and Tilesplus Supersport races and the HemelStudioFlats.co.uk Open Race.

Michael Dunlop, will be set on retaining the Bayview Hotel Race of Legends title but there will be others in the mix including Mullingar man Derek McGee, and Derek Shiels although Michael will be hard to beat if the title is up for grabs.

Bill Kennedy MBE Clerk of the Course, said, “I’m absolutely delighted that Michael [Dunlop] will by racing this year and vying for the sought after title of Bayview Hotel Race of Legends. Michael has remained faithful to this Club and never lets us down. The Club and I would like to wish him to every success over the weekend.”

After ten sold out seasons at the Irish Arts Centre in New York and a highly successful Irish tour.

in 2017, Northern Irish poet, Paul Muldoon will return to the MAC with his critically acclaimed show, Muldoon’s Picnic on 11 August.

Born in Portadown, Co. Armagh, Muldoon has won a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and been described as ‘the most significant English-language poet born since the Second World War’ (Times Literary Supplement). His show, ‘Muldoon’s Picnic’, an omnium-gatherum of poetry, prose and music, refers to a popular 19th-century New York vaudeville show, which inspired the New York based Muldoon to begin hosting these carefully blended evenings of literature and music back in 2014.

Each show on the tour has a bespoke mix of artists from the worlds of music and literature. The final night of the tour takes place at the MAC, with the ‘Queen of Celtic Music’, Moya Brennan, virtuoso harpist, Cormac de Barra, Irish novelist and screenwriter, John Banville and West Cork poet, Leanne O’Sullivan.

Muldoon will also be joined by house band, Rogue Oliphant – a collective of musicians and composers, including Chris Harford (Three Colors, Band of Changes), Cait O’Riordan (The Pogues), David Mansfield (Bob Dylan, The Alpha Band) and Ray Kubian (Electric Six, Chris Forsyth).

Paul Muldoon describes the show as a direct response to an ancient impulse to perform, to share and to make one’s own amusement. He states: “It’s one of our most basic instincts; to listen to a song, listen to a poem. Even in this era when people have their noses stuck in their tablets, it still works.”

Muldoon’s Picnic is presented by Poetry Ireland, which has a growing reputation for producing dynamic literature events on a significant scale, introducing audiences to some of the finest writers and musicians performing today.

Book tickets for Muldoon’s Picnic at the MAC online at themaclive.com or call Box Office on 028 90235053.