To celebrate, visitors will go free for the whole weekend of 1-2 September

Mount Stewart Conversations Festival is set to return to the shores of Strangford Lough on 1st and 2nd September 2018. This year’s festival will build on the success of two previous events, featuring the very best conversationalists from Ian Hislop to Kate Adie, and offer an unparalleled programme of arts and entertainment.

To celebrate the return of this unique festival, the National Trust, the UK’s largest conservation charity, is announcing that Mount Stewart will throw open its doors and offer free entry to the grounds all weekend*.

This unmissable weekend festival which celebrates the arts, literature, music and big ideas will centre on the theme of Women in Power in this, the year in which we celebrate 100 years since women were granted the right to vote.

The Festival highlights Mount Stewart’s history as a historical nucleus of creativity, individuality and influence. Here, Edith, Lady Londonderry welcomed leading political and literary guests as the famous house and gardens played host to magical debates and discussions.

Once again Mount Stewart Conversations has teamed up with two cutting edge arts partners: Seedhead Arts and Beyond Skin, in order to offer a stellar line-up of acclaimed guests who will engage visitors in debates, performances and talks on a vast array of emotive and inspirational subjects. The programme, which will be announced in the coming weeks, promises a jam-packed schedule of activities taking place around the family home and world-renowned gardens.

Adam Turkington, Seedhead Arts, Programmer, commented, “This festival is an opportunity for people of all ages to join the debate and talk about the things that really matter to us. Now, more than ever, we need conversations to be universal and we need people to come and listen but most of all, to contribute. Mount Stewart is the perfect location for this event and we are excited to encourage guests to debate, challenge and rethink their conversations.”

Jon Kerr, General Manager, Mount Stewart, commented, “With a diverse mix of cultural acts and performances that resonate with Mount Stewart’s place in history as a melting pot of minds, we are delighted to invite visitors from near and far to this wonderful festival.

“Last year’s festival was a roaring success where we welcomed TV personalities, journalists, academics and performers to name but a few. The ensuing conversations and debates were dynamic, topical and entertaining and we are very much looking forward to hosting the 2018 festival this September.”

More details on the fascinating line up of speakers, the exciting programme of events and tickets will be available soon. Visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/mount-stewart to find out more.

Access to Mount Stewart will be free. Selected talks will be ticketed and will be available to book in advance.

As a conservation charity, the National Trust is bolstered by the support of volunteers. Our team turns great events into amazing experiences with the help of volunteers. If you would like to get involved by volunteering at Mount Stewart Conversations, visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/mount-stewart/features/volunteering-at-mount-stewart

Northern Ireland Opera is bringing its IMAGINE! tour to the Portico of Ards on Saturday 30 June from 11am to 1pm. Throughout an interactive session of music, art and craft, children are invited to go on a journey of playful engagement with themes of identity, discovery and fantasy.

The event, supported by Ards and North Down Borough Council, will be led by the talented singers of the Northern Ireland Opera Studio; and children will investigate themes of identity, self-exploration and fantasy through music and art. They will be invited to imagine and create “a new world” with alien creatures, novelty architecture and fashion, undiscovered languages, unknown behaviour. What world would you like to live in and who would you meet there? On their journey, children will encounter studio singers as “otherworldly” inhabitants of an imagined parallel universe, singing their songs. Repertoire will include evocative pieces from children’s and family operas of the 20th and 21st century, as well as 19th century fairy tale operas.

The IMAGINE! tour has been performing across Northern Ireland during the month of June and has already performed in Belfast, Derry and Armagh. The tour is a perfect opportunity for parents to introduce their child/ children to the world of opera in a fun and interactive setting.

Kate Guelke, Director said:

‘‘So far, our young audience are brilliantly curious and imaginative. We’ve been delighted by their questions, suggestions, gasps, laughter! This is children’s opera as it should be – interactive, engaging and magical. Audience participation highly encouraged.’’

The IMAGINE! tour is suitable for children of a primary school age and is a magical introduction to opera and the arts. Previous attenders have been delighted and fully immersed in the event and this is definitely an event not to be missed.

Tickets for the Portico show cost £7.50 per adult and £5 per child and are on sale at:

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/ardsandnorthdown

For further information, please contact:

Emma Martin (Marketing and Communication Assistant) on (028) 9027 2522 or visit www.niopera.com/imagine.

Brighter Nights are back at Lilian Bland Community Park from Friday 29 June – Friday 24 August. Join us each Friday evening from 6.30-8.30pm for a range of activities for all ages!

Kick starting this year’s programme is a special ‘Schools Out Party’ to celebrate the start of the School Summer Holidays. Party on down to Lilian Bland Community Park where we have The Adventure Playbus, Punch & Judy Show, Traditional Games, Multi skilled outdoor activities, Bungee Run, Bouncy Castle with slide and Face Painters to keep you entertained.

Launching Brighter Nights earlier this week Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey, Councillor Paul Michael commented “It is fantastic to have these open green spaces in our Borough which allow us to hold a vibrant programme of events, bringing communities together”.

So if you fancy yourself as a Superhero, a Dancing Diva or a Sports Fanatic 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

An appearance by one of the Army’s most impressive battle tanks is set to make Armed Forces Day an event to remember in Coleraine.

The Challenger 2, which is rarely seen by the public here, will be on display in Christie Park when the celebration of military life comes to the town on Saturday 23^rd June.

As the force’s main battle tank, it weighs over 62 tonne and spans over 44 feet when its gun is extended.

Visitors can also look forward to getting up close with a Gazelle helicopter while the Royal Navy is bringing its P2000 patrol vessel to the River Bann.

Thousands of people are expected to descend on Coleraine for the regional showcase, which celebrates the ongoing commitment of troops, their families, veterans and cadets. A park & ride facility will be available at Rugby Avenue from 8am – 9.30pm and further details about traffic and travel arrangements will be made available nearer the time.

A spokesperson for Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council said: “We are working closely with our partners in the Ministry of Defence to create a spectacular event for everyone to enjoy. The Challenger Tank showcase will provide an unforgetable sight and it is a real privilege for us to welcome it to Coleraine.”

The event will be compered by well-known media personality Paul Clark who will be on hand to guide visitors through the planned programme of events. This includes the event’s opening parade which will see hundreds of service personnel and veterans pass through the town before a Drumhead Service in the Diamond.

A gun salute will signal the start of a packed programme of family-friendly attractions and live music in Christie Park and throughout the town from 12-30pm-5pm. A water based showcase on the River Bann will feature exciting world class demonstrations of wakeboarding, barefoot water skiing and freestyle jet skiing.

The event will come to a close in spectacular style as the world renowned Band of the Royal Marines will parade through the town before leading the Beating of the Retreat.

And the entertainment doesn’t end there because from 5pm, the Diamond area will be transformed into a live music and dance venue with the return of Rhythm of the Bann.

Held for the first time last year, it promises an evening of superb FREE entertainment including an unmissable performance by the world renowned Royal Marines band.

Keep up to date with the latest announcements about Armed Forces Day and Rhythm of the Bann by following us on Facebook and Twitter @CausewayCouncil and @EventsCwayCoast

Get all your mates together for a pure geg as loveable rogue, Maggie Muff, returns to Armagh’s Market Place Theatre in ‘Maggie Yer Ma’, the highly anticipated sequel to best-selling author Leesa Harker’s smash hit trilogy.

Life doesn’t stop when you drop a sprog, whaaa?

With Billy in jail for the biggest feg run heist in history and Maggie’s ma dropping a bombshell that will curl your toes, Maggie finds herself a single Ma. Big Sally-Ann is no help – sure she’s become a Buddhist and is ringing bells and chanting all over the show! Life sure has changed for Maggie, but can she get back til herself? Til the way she was? [In other words, you’re guaranteed a geg].

From best-selling author and playwright Leesa Harker, directed by Andrea Montgomery, starring critically acclaimed Caroline Curran. This production will contain material of an adult nature.

‘Maggie Yer Ma’ will be staged on Wednesday 20 and Thursday 21 June at 8pm. Tickets are priced £20, and can be purchased through the Box Office on [028] 3752 1821, or online at www.visitarmagh.com/marketplacetheatre Get ‘er booked!

And 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.

An exhibition showcasing iconic images of artists including Billy Idol, Ultravox, Siouxsie Sioux and more will go on display at the Crescent Gallery, Belfast, as part of the 2018 Belfast Photo Festival Compact, in association with Quilter Cheviot Investment Management.

POP by Brian Griffin, which runs from June 17-27, features a selection of both studio and location images from Brian’s personal collection, many of which are rare vintage prints captured prior to the digital age of photography when technical proficiency and ingenuity was a must, whether it was twanging knicker elastic to create shafts of light or producing an album cover – front, back and inner sleeve – on a shoestring budget of less than one pound.

For a decade between the late 1970s though the 1980s, Brian was a highly sought-after photographer for record labels, band managers and artists themselves, all scrambling to book him to produce eye-catching album covers, single bags and publicity shots.

The exhibition features work for artists such as: Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Echo and the Bunnymen, Mari Wilson and The Wilsations, Depeche Mode, Kate Bush, King Sunny Adé, Psychedelic Furs and more.

On Saturday, June 16, Brian will also take part in the festival’s music symposium at The Crescent discussing his exhibition, POP, and his career-defining aesthetic that epitomises 80s pop and rock photography.

Known previously as Belfast Photo Festival Youth Edition, the biennial event, last held in 2016, has been rebranded to Belfast Photo Festival Compact, a condensed festival format which includes a programme of workshops, seminars, exhibitions, tours and screenings.

Belfast Photo Festival Compact is supported by National Lottery funding through Arts Council Northern Ireland, Quilter Cheviot Investment Management, Belfast City Council and Alexander Boyd Displays.

For more information on this year’s festival, visit www.belfastphotofestival.com and keep up to date on social media via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

It’s hard to believe that the biggest off-road event in Ireland is almost upon us, with only two weeks to go until the highlight of the motocross calendar arrives at Desertmartin on the 24^th June, the organising Cookstown Club are hard at work preparing the World-famous circuit to the highest level ready for the cream of British motocross to show their skills.

 

This year, the Club are delighted to host a round of the British Two Stroke Championship for the first time.

 

This Championship has been introduced by the ACU due to rider enthusiasm and is presently led by Dutchman Mike Kras on the GL12 KTM run by two stroke enthusiast Bob Buchanan, second dis Ashley Wilde, no stranger to these shores, while third is Kras’ team mate James Dunn, further down the table are familiar names like frequent visitor to Ireland South African Neville Bradshaw, veterans such as Brian Wheeler Phil Mercer and Mark Eastwood, mixed with younger talent like Jamie Skuse, there will be some local names announced next week to add to the mix here.

 

Meanwhile, in the MX1 Class for big bikes, the Championship has been dominated this year by Buildbase Honda star Jake Nicholls on 140 points, the step back from GP riding seems to have rejuvenated the ‘Rev’ and he has been on impressive form, following behind in second is the big Russian Evgeny Bobryshev on 121 points, the privately run Suzuki seems to suit the aggressive riding ‘Bobby’, while third is local hero Graeme Irwin run by the Northern Ireland based Hitachi Construction ASA Scaffolding KTM UK team based is Crossgar and owned by local businessman Roger Magee, Graeme is also holding down 24^th in  the World, a fantastic achievement considering he suffered serious back burns in an horrific crash at Blaxhall in the last round of the MAXXIS British Championship, repaired but in pain he finished both races there and has competed in GP’s since then, he has 107 points and will be looking to the home crowd to help him add to this points tally.

 

Fourth is another ex-British Champion in Elliot Banks-Brown on 105 points, while fifth and sixth are veterans Brad Anderson and Ryan Houghton on 82 points each.

 

In the field as far as, local interest in concerned locals such as Loughbricklands John Meara on his Kawasaki, Jim O’Neill from Dublin on his SONC Concrete KTM are regular, Championship runners, but it looks like crowd favourite and all round nice guy, Stuart Edmonds will be a non-starter on his Apico KTM due to a recently sustained broken arm

 

In the ultra-competitive MX2 Class the next ‘big name’ on the motocross scene, Conrad Mewse leads the Championship on 138 points, the youngster came up under the radar as he, perhaps wisely, concentrated his early youth career on the continent and has proved to be a great signing for the Hitachi Construction KTM UK team as he also lies thirteenth in the World Championship.

 

Second on 117 points is Josh Gilbert on the Dave Thorpe run Honda Adventure machine, another promising youngster on the domestic scene, while third is Mel Pocock on the Revo Husqvarna machine on 106 points while a point adrift is Liam Knight in his Pope Racing KTM.

 

Fifth after a disappointing opening round on 98 points is Ballyclare native Martin Barr on his Revo Husqvarna, however, Martin is currently leading the European MX2 Championship by three points from team mate Mel Pocock, Martin always enjoys racing in front of his home crowd and having a night’s sleep in his own bed too helps!!!

 

Other home interest in this class are the perennial home rivals Jason Meara from Loughbrickland and Glenoe man Glenn McCormick, both KTM mounted, and Dundonald youngster James Mackrel on his Yamaha, details of local wild card entries will be released closer to the event.

 

The Cookstown Club as usual would not be able to promote the event without the help of local sponsors, these include, Bannside Haulage & Pallets, Banbridge, Tobermore Concrete Products Ltd, Tobermore WJ Scarlett & Son Merchants, Ballyclare Bavarian BMW, Belfast

Charles Hurst Motorcycles, Fluid Plumbing & Heating Services MRA Ireland Ltd 2×4 Wheel Motorsport Steering Group, Edgar Electrical Supplies, Belfast, Heron Brothers, Draperstown

JB Tyres, Tobermore Lance Graham, LG Racing BM Auto exchange, Newtownards, Thompson Leisure Dromore, Mid Ulster District Council, and of course title sponsors MAXXIS Tyres and Pro Clean.

 

Further details will be released later, but racing commences at the circuit on 24^th June at 1045 with practice and qualifying off at 0900am, postcode for the circuit is BT45 4QW and further details can be found on www.mxgb.co.uk