The Navan Centre & Fort, Armagh has a new Santa experience for 2015, Santa’s Magical Elves.  Running on various dates throughout December this promises to be a fantastic family Christmas experience.

Santa’s Magical Elves ‘at Navan Centre & Fort, Armagh will take you on an enchanted Christmas Journey with Santa’s little helpers who arrive on their very own Elf Mobile!

How did the Elves come to be at Navan?  How did they help Santa make Christmas?  Be captivated by the secrets of the Elves as you journey with them from Navan to the wonderful ‘Elf-ville’

On your travels the Elves will stamp your Christmas Ticket allowing you unlock the gates on ‘Elf-ville’ to meet with Santa in his magical kingdom, where he has gifts for all the boys and girls!

Cost: Adult £5.15, Child £10.30 and Under 1 £5.15, this will include a gift for children and tea-time treat for adults to take away and enjoy.  There is 10% discount for parties of 12 or more, when made as one booking.

Pre-essential is essential.  For dates, times and booking www.armagh.co.uk/santa

For information please contact: Navan Centre, 81 Killylea Road, Armagh.  BT60 4LD.  Tel 028 3752 9644

The final line up for this year’s’ Atlantic Sessions Music Festival’ has been announced! The Festival, which will run from 12^th until 15^th November, will feature almost 50 FREE gigs at various bars, coffee shops and hotels in Portrush, Portstewart and Portballintrae.

Organised and funded by Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council’s Tourism Team, in conjunction with participating venues, Atlantic Sessions presents an eclectic mix of home grown music, with unplugged acoustic sessions to full-on indie-folk, Americana, cool electro sounds and everything else in between.

Having just announced that they will support the highly acclaimed ‘Hozier’ on his UK tour early next year, ‘Wyvern Lingo* will headline Atlantic Sessions at Flowerfield Arts Centre, Portstewart on Friday 13^th November. ‘Paddy Casey* will also perform a special concert on the Sunday evening at Flowerfield to close the four day festival.

Other ticketed events include Mandy Bingham, Amanda St John and Edelle McMahon, who will open the Festival on Thursday 12^th November with ‘A Celebration of Female Singer-Songwriters’ at Flowerfield Arts Centre and Hannah McPhillimy at Portrush Town Hall on Saturday 14^th. BBC Radio Ulster’s Ralph McLean will host the popular ‘Sunday Brunch Session’, an intimate in-the-round session with a collection of the featured artists.

New to the programme this year are two movie showings, presented by ‘Portrush Film Theatre’ at the ‘Playhouse Cinema’, Portrush. The screenings include ‘Amy (15)’, the controversial documentary about Amy Winehouse and the award winning film ‘Whiplash (15)’.

Also on the menu for this musical feast are winners of the 2015 London Galaxy Award for ‘Best Album’, The Vals, who toured with Paul Weller earlier this year, and Cup O’Joe who were nominated for the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award for 2015.

Other artists on the FREE Music Trail include; the multi award winner, Kaz Hawkins; PORTS; Jessica Doherty; Rosborough; Scorpion Jack; Son of the Hound, Lonesome George, Paddy Nash and the Happy Enchiladas, Old Hannah and Manouche, plus a load more of original talent from across the country!

Tickets for the headline acts and events are now available online at atlanticsessions.com or from Flowerfield Arts Centre, telephone 028 7083 1400. For further information or to view the full programme visit www.atlanticsessions.com. Find ‘Atlantic Sessions’ on Facebook, or follow the Twitter page @AtlanticSess for updates.

Tourism NI has put together a list of 10 exciting things to do in Northern Ireland next week (November 2 – 8).

• Belfast Design Week, various locations, Belfast, November 2-8, Belfast Design Week is a series of specially curated talks, workshops, events, pop-ups and exhibitions to promote and celebrate design and the creative economy in Belfast and beyond. It will showcase emerging and established talent and aims to create new connections across island-wide industries.

• Jamboree In The Park, Ecclesville Centre, Fintona, Co. Tyrone, November 6 – 7. The place to be this November is at Irelands Largest Indoor Country Music Festival that is Jamboree In The Park! With a range of top country music stars it is set to be an unforgettable night. From Johnny Brady to Nathan Carter, Lisa McHugh to Ritchie Remo and many more. Doors open at 7.30pm.

• Sound of Belfast 2015, various locations, Belfast, November 6-14. There are 27 events in 9 days in a festival that showcases new talent, veteran punks, electronic acts, traditional music and urban artists. Events are taking place at the Mandela Hall, Lavery’s, The Pavilion, Voodoo, The Ulster Hall, The Empire and the Bar With No Name.

• The Moscow Ballet – Swan Lake, The Market Place Theatre, Market Street, Co. Armagh, November 7. The most popular of all classical ballets and the world-renowned Moscow Ballet – La Classique demonstrate their continued quality of dance and performances in a dramatic production of this timeless favourite set to Tchaikovsky’s superb score. From 8pm.

• Nocturnal Nature Tour at Crom Estate, Newtownbutler, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, November 5-6. Experience a personal tour with one of the rangers. Hear all about what lives and lurks around the magnificent estate when darkness falls. Booking essential.

• Family Film Saturday: Classic Cartoon Capers, Roe Valley Arts & Cultural Centre, Main Street, Limavady, Co. Londonderry, November 7. Enjoy a family afternoon of classic cartoon shorts from Disney.  Featuring all the favourites including Mickey Mouse, Daffy Duck, Sylvester the Cat and Tweetie Pie, Pluto the Dog and more. The compiled shorts are a trip down memory lane for Mum and Dad and guaranteed hilarious entertainment for the kids. From 2 – 4pm.

• Cinemagic International Film Festival, various locations, Northern Ireland, until November 4. The much anticipated Cinemagic Film and Television Festival is jam-packed with creative events to motivate, educate and inspire young people! This year’s closing film preview is the World Premiere of Cinemagic’s own feature production ‘A Christmas Star’, featuring a host of film and television professionals and young actors from all over Ireland.

• ‘The Hooley Tour’ with Declan Nerney and his Band, The Braid Arts Centre, Bridge Street, Ballymena, Co. Antrim, November 5. Declan Nerney is an Irish singer of the Country and Irish genre. His big break came with his autobiographical song ‘The Marquee in Drumlish’. He has a huge following and charts on a regular basis not only in Ireland but in Scotland and England and his recordings are sought worldwide. From 8pm.

• Simply Science, Castle Espie Wildfowl & Wetlands Centre, Ballydrain Road, Co. Down, November 7-8. Join the friendly education team and take part in fun experiments to learn more about the world around us – a great experience for families who want to have fun and discover some fascinating facts along the way!

• Kiltonga Tour and Tales with Liz Weir, Kiltonga Nature Reserve, Belfast Road, Newtownards, Co. Down, November 8. Wrap up warm and enjoy a guided tour of Kitonga Nature Reserve in all its autumnal glory. Enjoy a warming hot chocolate or cuppa before settling in for an hour of enchanting storytelling at the beautiful Kiltonga Hall with Liz Weir. Tour 2.30pm Tales 4pm.

Please note some of the events require pre-booking. For more details on these and other events click on www.discovernorthernireland.com/events, visit your local tourist information centre or log onto www.facebook.com/discovernorthernireland.

The Market Place Theatre in Armagh is set for enthralling drama from Brendan Behan and musical reminiscence with the songs of Joe Dolan.

pBrendan Behan’s ‘The Hostage’ tells the tale of a decaying lodging house in Dublin in the 1950s, host to a large collection of whores, decaying civil servants, skivvies, navvies, fanatics and Russian sailors. These are tense times as a young IRA volunteer is about to be hanged in Belfast. Despite this, the party and shenanigans continue in the house in the form of song, dance, stories and the outplaying of relationships. Suddenly into this already crazed mix arrives a young British soldier, kidnapped by the IRA for the life of the young man in Belfast. As the hours to the execution shorten, the motley crew in the house rally to the young soldier’s side. Can fate be avoided?

‘The Hostage’ will be staged at The Market Place on Wednesday 18^th and Thursday 19^th November at 8pm by one of Northern Ireland’s leading amateur theatre companies, Newpoint Players, who are now entering their 70th year. Tickets are priced £10 and £8 (concession).

‘My Brother Joe’ is a live concert show featuring Ben Dolan, brother of the late and much loved entertainer Joe Dolan. Throughout his singing career Joe Dolan’s energetic and charismatic stage performances thrilled audiences throughout the world. His brother Ben shared the stage with his younger brother for forty-seven fun-filled years. Who better than Ben to tell the stories behind Joe’s songs and highlight Joe’s successful singing career. The show also features Ben’s daughter Sandra, and his two sons, Adrian and Raymond and their own band ‘Karen And The Dolans’.

’No Show Like A Joe Show’ was always used to describe Joe’s live shows. ‘My Brother Joe’ recreates that excitement as we relive the songs and stories of the great Joe Dolan on Friday 20^th November at 8pm. Tickets are priced £20 each.

Details of all events can be found online at www.marketplacearmagh.com, and tickets can be booked by contacting the Box Office on [028] 3752 1821. 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.

EVERY week Northern Ireland has a host of exciting events, must-see attractions and a range of experiences to get out and enjoy and Tourism Northern Ireland (TNI) has detailed one that will be a big hit with little monsters – ‘Spellbound Festival’.

Feeling brave? This Hallowe’en half term, visitors to Castle Espie Wetland Centre can enjoy a whole host of Hallowe’en activities for little monsters at the Spellbound Festival this week (finishing Saturday 31).

There’s the chance to get crafty making spooky spiders, have a go at the hilarious games such as lob the ghost, catch the witch or traditional apple games and concoct a witch’s potion on the Recipe for Disaster Trail around the reserve.

The frighteningly good fun continues on Friday 30 and Saturday 31 October with Hallowe’en treats including face painting, giant creepy crawlies with Mantella Environmental and Monster Mash Discos packed with spooky hits and fireside storytelling in the roundhouse.

Throughout the Spellbound Festival week there’ll be spot prizes for the best dressed little monsters and visitors to Castle Espie can enter into a prize draw to win a family pass to meet the Giant LEGO Brick Animals and LEGO Brick Workshop tickets in February and March 2016.

Entrance to the Spellbound Festival is included in the cost of admission to Castle Espie and free to WWT members and under 4’s. For a full event programme including timings for individual activities go to wwt.org.uk/castleespie/spellbound or contact Castle Espie on 028 9187 4146. WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre is open every day from 10am to 5.00pm, parking is free of charge.

There are some fantastic things to see and do in the area including:

Mount Stewart – Visitors can explore the stunning house and gardens at Mount Stewart at their leisure through free flow tours. Throughout their journey the story of Edith, Lady Londonderry and the Londonderry family will be interpreted and visitors can view a unique exhibition revealing the story of the Restoration Project and its legacy. There is a picnic area and cafe available on the grounds for refreshments.

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/mount-stewart

Ballywalter Beach – Ballywalter Beach is a long, sandy beach which is perfect spot for an autumn walk. Bathers and walkers can make use of this expansive stretch at Ballywalter Beach, along with its rock pools ready for children to explore. A small playground is located nearby, along with public toilets. At the Lime Kilns, a raised area provides great views of the Irish Sea coastline. www.visitstrangfordlough.co.uk

The Ark Open Farm – The Ark Open Farm has grown in size and popularity over the years, most recently there has been a new woodland walk developed complete with picnic site. There are various animals who call The Ark Open Farm home such as meerkats, reindeer, kangaroo’s, pigs, donkeys and many more who are all ready to meet visitors. www.thearkopenfarm.co.uk/

If you would like to extend your stay and book a short break visit  www.discovernorthernireland.com, www.facebook.com/discovernorthernireland or www.twitter.com/DiscoverNI.

Fresh from its sold out performances at the Baboró International Arts Festival for Children in  Galway, The Wolf and Peter is in rehearsals for its UK Premiere at The Mac in Belfast on Wednesday 28-Friday 30 October.

The spectacular dance performance by the multi award-winning CoisCéim Dance Theatre is a re-imagining of Russian composer, Prokofiev’s, Peter and the Wolf – one of the most famous pieces of music ever written. This timeless story of courage and imagination will also, this time, be told through the eyes of the WOLF.  The Wolf and Peter will take children, and their families, on a thrilling adventure to explore and discover contemporary dance and performance at its best. For children aged 6+. Book now at belfastinternationalartsfestival.com.

Atlantic Sessions is proud to announce Paddy Casey will perform at a special closing concert for Atlantic Sessions 2015 at Flowerfield Arts Centre, Portstewart on Sunday 15^th November at 7.30pm.

Atlantic Sessions, organised by Causeway Coast and Glens Council Tourism Department, is a music festival which showcases different genres of original music, with almost 50 FREE gigs in various bars, coffee shops and hotels throughout Portrush, Portstewart and Portballintrae between Thursday 12^th and Sunday 15^th November.

The event will feature a number of ticketed showcase events, including; ‘A Celebration of Female Singer Songwriters’, ‘Hannah McPhillimy in Concert’, ‘The Sunday Brunch Session’ and ‘Paddy Casey’ in Concert.

Other artists on this year’s line-up include; ‘Wyvern Lingo’, who have just announced they will tour with Hozier in 2016 and ‘The Vals’ who toured with Paul Weller earlier this year.

Following a tour of his third album ‘Addicted To Company’ in 2009, Paddy decided that it was time to make his own album, without a label. He spent the next few years recording new tracks and finally settle on 11 tracks. He released his fourth album in 2014, following the five year hiatus titled, ‘The Secret Life Of’.

Tickets for the Paddy Casey gig are priced at £12, available from Flowerfield Arts Centre Telephone 028 7083 1400 for further details.

For details on the full programme visit www.atlanticsessions.com. Alternatively, you can follow @AtlanticSess on Twitter or like www.facebook.com/AtlanticSessions on Facebook for regular updates. For details on events and accommodation throughout the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough visit www.visitcausewaycoastandglens.com/.

One of Northern Ireland’s leading amateur theatre companies, the Armagh Theatre Group, are returning to The Market Place Theatre in Armagh with Joseph O’Connor’s debut stage play, ‘Red Roses & Petrol’. This play was first performed in Dublin by The Pig’s Back Theatre Company in 1995.

In her home in Dublin, Moya Doyle is preparing for the funeral mass of her husband Enda. From England and America her children are returning for the sombre occasion. But as the ghosts of the Doyle’s past begin to materialise, the consequences are both profoundly disturbing and memorably comic.

‘Red Roses And Petrol’ won the In Dublin Magazine Award for best new play. It has been performed in Dublin, London and New York and has been filmed starring Malcolm McDowell.

‘Red Roses & Petrol’ will be staged from Thursday 12^th to Saturday 14^th November at 8pm each evening. Tickets are priced £10 and £8 (concession).

Details of all events can be found online at www.marketplacearmagh.com, and tickets can be booked by contacting the Box Office on [028] 3752 1821.

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.

Feeling brave? This Hallowe’en half term, visitors to Castle Espie Wetland Centre can enjoy a whole host of Hallowe’en activities for little monsters at the Spellbound Festival from Saturday 24th to Saturday 31st October.

For the seven days of the Spellbound Festival there’s the chance to get crafty making spooky spiders, have a go at the hilarious games such as lob the ghost, catch the witch or traditional apple games and concoct a witch’s potion on the Recipe for Disaster Trail around the reserve.

Extra spellbinding activities over the weekend of Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th October include face painting to add the finishing touches to fancy dress costumes and spooky owls will be swooping in for Mantella Environmental’s Owl Display. On Sunday 25th, show off your monster moves at Jump Jiggle and Jive’s Hallowe’en Hooley, four fun-filled, interactive dance parties between 2pm and 4pm with plenty of Hallowe’en themed props for children and adults too.

The frighteningly good fun continues on Friday 30^th and Saturday 31^st October with Hallowe’en treats including face painting, giant creepy crawlies with Mantella Environmental and Monster Mash Discos packed with spooky hits and fireside storytelling in the roundhouse.

Throughout the Spellbound Festival week there’ll be spot prizes for the best dressed little monsters and visitors to Castle Espie can enter into a prize draw to win a family pass to meet the GIANT LEGO Brick Animals and LEGO Brick Workshop tickets in February and March 2016.

Entrance to the Spellbound Festival is included in the cost of admission and free to WWT members and under 4’s. For a full event programme including timings for individual activities go to wwt.org.uk/castleespie/spellbound or contact Castle Espie on 028 9187 4146. WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre is open every day from 10am to 5.00pm, parking is free of charge.

Alpha Fund Makes Children’s Literary Trail Possible

What better way to get more families and children into the great outdoors than to introduce one of the most popular children’s characters of the last generation? Colin Glen Trust supported by funding from Alpha and with the kind permission of Magic Light Pictures Ltd unveiled one of the sculptures that will take up residence in Colin Glen Forest Park in November.  Based on the much loved picture book, The Gruffalo, written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, the Mouse character is the first of seven sculptures that are currently being created by Andrew McIntyre.  The Gruffalo Trail is due to open in late November and while the finishing touches are applied to the little mouse’s adversaries, he will remain in the Colin Glen Visitor Centre for anyone to visit.

Colin Glen Trust have been supported by Magic Light Pictures, license holders for the Gruffalo, throughout the development of the idea and it was only when they successfully applied to the Alpha Programme, managed and administered by Groundwork NI, that the idea started to become a reality.

Unveiling the first sculpture, Colin Glen Trust Chief Executive, Colin O’Neill stated, “this is an exciting day for the Trust and for me personally.  I have been reading The Gruffalo story, and indeed other Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler books, to my two daughters for a few years now and that is where the idea came from.  Since we started talking about it as an attraction for the Forest Park the support has been amazing.  Daryl Shute from Magic Light Pictures and Mel Waddell from Alpha have both been incredibly supportive.  We were delighted when Andrew McIntyre agreed to take on the challenge of recreating the characters for the Forest Park and he has really captured the essence of the story.  Children and their parents will just love the opportunity to ‘take a stroll through the deep dark wood’ and follow the journey of the very clever mouse”.

Daryl Shute, Brand Director at Magic Light Pictures added, “It’s fantastic to be bringing the first Gruffalo character trail to Northern Ireland and what better location in which to do so. We’re delighted to be working with the Colin Glen Trust encouraging families to venture outdoors, enjoy the local landscape and get active with this special picture book character. Imagination, adventure and creative play are at the heart of every initiative we run for The Gruffalo brand and we’re looking forward to developing this partnership further.”

“The Alpha Programme is delighted to be involved with this project,” said Warren Bell, representing the Alpha Programme Steering Group.  He continued, “The Alpha Programme has supported a wide variety of environmental projects through the Landfill tax scheme and the Colin Glen Forest Park Gruffalo Trail is one that certainly captures the imagination.  Undoubtedly it will get more people actively involved in the environment and more people using Colin Glen Forest Park.”

Over the past few years Colin Glen Forest Park has become a hive of activity for all different types of people.  It was always known as a stunning park for local people but in recent times it has also become an attraction for families and groups from all over Northern Ireland as a “must see” location.  Having introduced SKYTrek, which incorporates a double zip line, power fan descender, climbing wall and high and low ropes course, the Trust continued to introduce more activities including Kayaking, Rafting, Laser Tag, Archery, Orienteering and just last month began to offer Mountain Biking.

“We manage and promote a magnificent resource and we want to get as many people active in Colin Glen Forest Park and our other site Colin Park.  We believe in developing as many attractions as possible in order to ensure that as many people as possible can come and enjoy this stunning location. The Gruffalo Trail is just one of the latest projects that will help get more people active and learning about the environment.  Colin Glen Trust has been hit hard by the sizeable government cuts over the past few years but we are determined to continually improve the facilities for local people, offer education and training and protect this beautiful facility forever.  In order to achieve this we need to create a range of appealing facilities such as this exciting and unique Gruffalo Trail and make it so that people will feel that they must come here”, added the Chief Executive.

Since 2007 the Alpha Programme has provided nearly £3m in funding to 90+ projects for biodiversity and community based schemes within a ten-mile radius of the Mullaghglass Landfill Site. The programme is managed by Groundwork NI and redistributes the landfill tax credits to support great projects and initiatives to create biodiversity or positively impact local communities.