Down

Northern Ireland’s Largest Model Exhibition returns to North Down this Saturday and Sunday at Bangor Gransha School.  A weekend of miniature trains, planes and automobiles. Lots of exhibitors and railway layouts from across UK and Ireland.  Young Modellers Zone where over 7s can have a go at building their own models from kits.  Face painting, balloon modelling, refreshments.

Tyrone

Bring the family along to the Burnavon for an egg–citing day of fun and laughter this Saturday, including street entertainment, Easter arts and crafts activities for the kids, live music and refreshments.  Always a favourite activity for children of all ages will of course be face painting, turning a child’s face into something creative and fun for Easter. So why not celebrate Easter at the Burnavon and enjoy a great family day out together!

Fermanagh

The Upper Lough Erne Tourism Development Association announce a brand new event for the competitive Pike Fishing calendar 12^th– 13th April on Upper Lough Erne. Cash prizes will be awarded per boat, with the winning boat taking a guaranteed £1,500 and second placed boat taking £1000. Additional entry fees will make up the remaining prize pot, up to 15 cash prizes, dependant on the number of entries.

Derry

International Wine Tasting Event this Friday 11^th April with Special Gourmet Dinner. at the Ardtara Country House Hotel Upperlands.  Patrick McLarnon will join Ardtara’s Chef de Cuisine Colin Theadorus to create a one-of-a-kind five course meal for you, to be matched by six delicious French wines from Domaine Gayda in the Languedoc region sourced by James Nicholson,  joined by Tom Ford, co-owner of Domaine Gayda (Languedoc) who will highlight wine insights and answer your questions.

Armagh

McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes Mud Madness is the ultimate muddy challenge which includes bogs, ponds, muddy trenches, water sprays, cargo nets and a climbing wall.  It is the ultimate opportunity to challenge yourself and to roll about in the mud like a big kid! This year’s event will be bigger and better than ever before and is open to males and females over the age of 17 with two races taking place to accommodate numbers.  Marie Curie Cancer Care is the charity partner for the event which takes place this Sunday 13^th April Foymore Lodge, Portadown.

Antrim

Ballymena Chamber Orchestra returns to centre stage conducted by Artistic Director Rebekah Durston for a wonderful night of film music on Saturday 12^th April. With the help of the Braid Film Theatre a series of film clips will accompany the Orchestra’s performance of arrangements from classic movies such as Jurassic Park, Star Wars, Schindler’s List and Indiana Jones. A concert not to be missed for all music and film fans.

Belfast

This Easter the fabulous Frock Around The Clock Vintage Fair will be back in Lisburn for the third year running. The event will take place on Saturday 12th April 2014 from 11am to 5pm at The Old Meeting House, 21 Railway Street, Lisburn. The event will feature 35 fabulous exhibitors who will be showcasing quality vintage, handmade and upcycled fashion, jewellery, furniture, homewares & collectibles PLUS sweet treats, retro art and gifts, photography, and much more!

For more details on these and other events across Northern Ireland, news and competitions see www.whatsonni.com, follow us @whatsonni and like us at fb.com/www.whatsonni. Add your  events FREE OF CHARGE at www.whatsonni.

This spring, Northern Ireland’s favourite vintage event, the fabulous Frock Around The Clock Vintage Fair, will be making its third annual visit to Lisburn on Saturday 12^th April with an Easter extravaganza of vintage treasures for sale and a big helping of timeless glamour, reminiscence and fun.

This highly popular event took Lisburn shoppers by storm in 2012 and 2013, when visitors turned out in their hundreds to shop for quality vintage and handmade treasures from a superb selection of handpicked Irish vintage dealers, designers and crafters.

This time the event will be appearing in a new venue – The Old Meeting House on Railway Street – where visitors will find an amazing line-up of 35 Irish vintage dealers and creative designers offering a fantastic array of vintage, handmade and upcycled fashion, jewellery, furniture, homewares, collectibles, sweet treats art, crafts, gifts and much more – it’s the hottest shopping destination to find the coolest stuff on the planet for your wardrobe and home.

The impressive exhibitor list will include Little Vintage Black Dress with authentic vintage evening wear, Loving Spoonful, designers of silver Jewellery handcrafted from antique spoons, Tiny Tower Vintage offering a fantastic range of vintage china, linens and paintings, Strictly Vintage, specialists in high end American costume jewellery from the 1920s to 1960s, Chez Clemley Collectibles specialising in vintage homewares sourced mainly from France, Cobble Interiors showcasing furniture upcycled with a twist, Chocolate Memories with a scrumptious collection of artisan chocolates, and The Old Hen House purveyors of a fine assortment of vintage, antiques, retro, salvage and everything inbetween! Visitors will also be able to relax and revive on the day in the pop-up vintage tearoom run by The Tea Boutique NI.

Frock Around The Clock organiser Becky Moore comments ‘we are very excited to bring Frock Around The Clock back to Lisburn as we always receive such a warm reception and it is a wonderful day for shoppers and sellers alike. We are delighted to announce that thanks to our sponsors Lisburn City Centre Management (LCCM) and Success NI we are once again able to make this a free admission event so visitors can come in and browse without it costing them a penny. But don’t forget your purse as you will be blown away by the unique vintage treasures and handmade designs on offer!’

The Frock Around The Clock Easter Vintage Fair will take place on Saturday 12th April from 11am to 5pm at The Old Meeting House, 21 Railway Street, Lisburn BT28 1XG, and admission to the event will be free.

More information on the event and the exhibitor list can be found online at www.frockaroundtheclockvintagefairs.com.

On May 8th Cycle Against Suicide is coming to the local area with the anchor point being Maghera and we would like your help in accommodating cyclists for the night.

Cycle Against Suicide seeks to encourage those who need to help to seek it out, through promotion of its core message that ‘It’s OK not to feel OK, and it’s absolutely OK to ask for help.’ This year’s Cycle is expected to attract up to 7,000 participants, each standing, shoulder to shoulder, to break the cycle of suicide on the island of Ireland.

The Cycle takes places over two weeks and takes in the entire island of Ireland.

The Homestays Programme sees homeowners all over Ireland provide a warm meal, a chance to freshen up and a bed to cyclists that are passing through their town. Feedback from last year’s Cycle has shown that the experience proves to be just as rewarding for the hosts as it is the guests.

If you would like to host one or more cyclists as part of this year’s Cycle Against Suicide, please contact Anne on 07889958523 or Karen at S.T.E.P.S. 07904564218 You can also find out more about this event by logging on to www.cycleagainstsuicide.com.

Together, shoulder to shoulder, we can break the cycle of suicide on the island of Ireland.

Ballymena Chamber Orchestra presents Saturday Night At The Movies with the Braid Film Theatre on Saturday 12 April, 2014 at 8.00pm.

Ballymena Chamber Orchestra returns to centre stage conducted by Artistic Director Rebekah Durston for a wonderful night of film music.

With the help of the Braid Film Theatre a series of film clips will accompany the Orchestra’s performance of arrangements from classic movies such as Jurassic Park, Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean and The Fellowship of the Ring (Lord of the Rings). Rebekah Durston will also be playing the violin solo part in the Theme from Schindler’s List with the orchestra.

This is an ideal concert for the whole family and a great opportunity to hear some of your favourite film music performed live by some of Northern Ireland’s most talented instrumentalists and teachers.  The orchestra is also providing a platform at this concert for talented young instrumentalists from Ballymena, who will be performing the ‘Raider’s March’ from Indiana Jones alongside members of the orchestra.  This hopes to encourage and inspire the next generation of orchestral players and presents the children with a fantastic performance opportunity. This is definitely a concert not to be missed for all music and film fans so come and support your local orchestra by booking your tickets now

from the Ballymena Tourist Information Centre, The Braid Arts Centre, Bridge Street, Ballymena.T. 028 2563 5900; £10.00 and £5.00 for children under 12 and concessions.

Passengers on the railway lines of Northern Ireland may recently have enjoyed a glimpse of blue, a rush of steam, the unmistakable sound of a steam train whistle.

After 10 years of restoration work, mighty express steam locomotive “Merlin” is back on track and ready to pull passengers on Sunday 13^th April.

The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland, based at Whitehead, has worked since 2004 to restore, repair and breathe life back into one of Irelands finest express steam engines.  The locomotive has been trial running for a few weeks and the results have been excellent.

Sunday April 13^th will see Merlin pull a passenger train from Belfast Central to Portadown, with two return trips from Portadown to Lisburn, before returning to Belfast Central and the Society is selling tickets for the trains.

Built in 1932 in Manchester, Merlin was one of 5 locomotives built especially for the Belfast-Dublin “Enterprise” service operated then by the Great Northern Railway Company (Ireland).  Designed to climb the steep gradients and haul heavy passenger trains at averages of over 60mph, the locomotives revolutionised the Belfast-Dublin train service at the time.  The Society is especially pleased to have Merlin back in-traffic 50 years after the RPSI was formed in 1964.

RPSI Operations Officer Mervyn Darragh picks up the story “Naming steam locomotives was quite common.  Whilst Merlin is magical to us, she and her sister locomotives were actually named after birds of prey.  The locomotives were painted a very striking shade of blue, trimmed in red and lined in black and white.  Merlin makes a very impressive sight and oozes pent up power.  We are taking the opportunity to get as many miles of running-in as possible and it is great to get the opportunity to bring the engine back to the former GNR(I) route between Portadown and Lisburn.  We hope lots of people in the Lisburn and Portadown area take the opportunity to experience the magic of travelling behind this marvellous machine.”

“After Sunday 13^th Aprils operations, we will take Merlin back to our depot at Whitehead for checks, then she will be used to haul our annual Easter Monday and Easter Tuesday “Easter Express” trains.  These trains are lots of fun for all the family, with Easter Eggs for children and plenty of nostalgia for the adults.  Merlin will be the icing on the cake for us.”

Ticket details, timings and online sales (where relevant) are handled through www.steamtrainsireland.com.

Tickets for the Sunday April 13^th trains cost just £10 and are available on the train on the day.  For that fare passengers can choose to travel in any combination of Belfast Central (1110)-Lisburn (1130)-Portadown and then on two return trips from Portadown (1210 and 1455) to Lisburn and back (1310 and 1610), before departing Portadown at 1655 to drop off at Lisburn (1735), Belfast Central (1755).

Tickets for the Easter Monday and Easter Tuesday steam trains are selling fast from Belfast Welcome Centre (Tel: 028 9024 6609).  They cost £11 each and ticket holding children will receive an Easter egg.

Tickets are also on sale from the Belfast Welcome Centre for the Railway Society’s annual Steam and Jazz trains with the Apex Jazz band.  Held on Friday evenings in June each year, these trains are a social calendar mainstay.

FACTFILE:

• The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland was formed in 1964 and is celebrating it’s Ruby Anniversary in 2014.  Set up to preserve and operate steam trains and associated railway heritage stock and items, the RPSI is still managed by volunteers and the majority of restoration work is carried out by volunteers in Whitehead, Dublin and Mullingar.
• Merlin is unique, the last of 5 “V”-class, three-cylinder compound locomotives built by Beyer Peacock in Manchester for the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) in 1932.  The locomotives were built to be powerful and fast, but still be small enough to be worked on inside the dimensions of the railway company workshops at Dundalk.
• The 5 locomotives were named after birds of prey – No.83 Eagle, No.84 Falcon, No.85 Merlin, No.86 Peregrine, No.87 Kestrel.
• No.85 was last steamed in about 1962 and was eventually bought by the Belfast Transport Museum.  The locomotive was on display at their museum in Witham Street Belfast until 1982 when Lord Henry Dunleath provided substantial funding to have the locomotive restored.
• The locomotive’s first overhaul in preservation was largely carried out by Harland and Wolff and she ran from 1985 to 1990 before returning to the RPSI depot at Whitehead for further extensive work.
• She hauled steam trains all over Ireland from 1994 to 2004 before retiring again for overhaul.  The overhauls are largely carried out by volunteers and the work on Merlin earned junior volunteer Nathan Lightowler from Moira the national award of UK Volunteer of the Year 2013.
• The RPSI is always seeking new volunteers and interested persons should first of all join the Society, details of which can be found online at www.steamtrainsireland.com

This week Bangor marked the starting point for an ambitious pilgrimage that will take one man on a spiritual journey covering over 3000 kilometres and take approximately three months to complete.

French pilgrim Simon Derache, from Lyon in France, is re-tracing the steps of Bangor’s most famous Saint, Columbanus, on a journey that took the Saint through six European nations spreading the Christian message during the 7^th Century. This challenging trip will see him walk the length of Ireland before travelling to England, France, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and finishing in late June in Bobbio, near Milan, the resting place of St Columbanus.

Wishing him “bon voyage” was the North Down Tourism Development Officer, Alex Irvine, who commented, “This pilgrimage highlights the importance that is placed on the legacy of Columbanus from within mainland Europe. To undertake such a journey shows true dedication and we wish Simon all the best for his epic journey”.

Simon’s visit is the first of a number of pilgrimages to Bangor in 2014 with another in June seeing a number of Italians and French arriving. It is expected that 2014 and 2015 will see an increase in followers of Columbanus visiting Bangor with the 1400^th anniversary of the Saints death to be celebrated throughout the year from November 2014 to November 2015.

Biographical play ‘The Trials of Oscar Wilde’ unravels at Theatre at The Mill on Thurs 15 May to uncover the ending of arguably one of the greatest literary masters in history.

From the triumphant opening night of renowned social comedy ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ and peak of Oscar Wilde’s career to a dramatic and public demise that resulted in his arrest and sentencing to two years hard labour.

This Irish writer and poet created masterpieces such as ‘An Ideal Husband’, ‘A Woman of No Importance’ and his only novel ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’. As an individual, Oscar Wilde was renowned for his sharp wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversation, making him one of the biggest celebrities of his time.

Entangled in a legal conflict with his lover’s father, Oscar Wilde stood trial for gross indecency and laws that governed immoral activities in Victorian England. During his imprisonment the author found the harsh treatments intolerable as he was accustomed to his many creature comforts.

After serving his sentence, Oscar Wilde departed Britain for Paris, spending his final few years in impoverished exile. With a decline in his health in 1900, he was confined to his hotel until his death. One of his most famous and final quotes was amusingly, “My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One of us has got to go.”

Based on the original court transcripts and Wilde’s own sparkling words, audiences can feel what it was like to be in the company of a flawed genius – as this less than ideal husband was suddenly reduced to a man of no importance.

Find out if Oscar Wilde was harshly treated or whether he was the author of his own downfall on Thurs 15 May for one night only at Theatre at The Mill. Tickets, which cost £15, £13 & £11, can be booked online at www.theatreatthemill.com or through Box Office on 028 9034 0202.

Bruiser Theatre Company is back on the road, and coming to The Market Place Theatre in Armagh, with ‘The Nose’, a hilarious comedy that shines a merciless light on the murky world of bureaucracy. This great new show will be fun, fast, visually exciting and very funny.

In this fresh new adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s classic story, Alexey, a government bureaucrat, awakens one morning horrified to discover that his nose has run off! Join Alexey as he frantically tries to stop his runaway nose from causing him all manner of public humiliation and get back on his face! This adaptation pokes fun at the incompetence of ‘the powers that be’ and the superficial nature of society’s ‘respectable’ classes.

Gogol‘s short story of the Nose wonderfully captures the public downfall of a man in Government by removing his nose entirely from his face; forcing the corrupt politician to face ridicule and shame as his nose runs around creating havoc in the city. Completely absurd and manic in style, ‘The Nose’ is a satirical masterpiece that is just as relevant today as it was back in 1836. ‘The Nose’ is a dark physical comedy, completely bonkers with of course, an element of truth.

‘The Nose’ will be staged at The Market Place Theatre in Armagh on Saturday 12^th April at 8pm. Tickets are priced £12 and £10 (concession), and can be booked by contacting the Box Office on [028] 3752 1821, or online at www.marketplacearmagh.com

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.

Pubs of Ulster launches the inaugural Great Ulster Pub Week

The greatest celebration of Northern Ireland’s pub culture is coming to a town near you this May, following the launch of a brand new initiative launched by Pubs of Ulster.

The Great Ulster Pub Week, which takes place 1^st-9^th May 2014, will be the biggest pub centric multi-venue event seen in Northern Ireland and will showcase all that is ‘Great’ about the Ulster pub.

With over 150 pubs from right across Northern Ireland signed up, and more expected to join the roster over the next month, The Great Ulster Pub Week will feature hundreds of unique events showcasing great food, great entertainment and great craic.

From live music to magic; pub quizzes to arts, crafts, charity challenges and much more besides, bars across NI will show their best side with a packed programme of hundreds of events this May.

The Great Ulster Pub Week will kick off on Thursday 1^st May 2014 with a Guinness World Record attempt to stage the world’s largest simultaneous multi-venue pub quiz in association with Downtown Radio. The attempt, which will see registered Pubs across NI take part in the live pub quiz, will be broadcast on Downtown and aims to beat the current record of 2,679 participants in 39 venues.

Commenting on the launch of the launch, Mark Stewart, chairman, Pubs of Ulster said:

“From the traditional country pub, to the cosmopolitan city centre wine bar; pubs play a vital part in our economic, social and cultural past, present and future and ‘The Great Ulster Pub Week’ aims to recognise and build upon this.

“It’s not just the regulars who treasure our pubs – tourists rate our pubs as one of the best attractions and experiences in Northern Ireland.  In fact, pubs are the largest grossing tourism sector in Northern Ireland with almost 80 per cent of all tourists visiting a pub and almost 70 per cent eating in one.

“Today many of our local pubs serve top notch food and provide weekly entertainment; they showcase sports and games and get involved in fundraising.  Our pubs are the first and best form of social networking, providing a safe place to meet old friends and make new ones and they can offer a platform for aspiring musicians, entertainers and chefs to showcase their talents and develop a fan base.”

The Great Ulster Pub Week aims to reposition the pub in the hearts and minds of people in Northern Ireland, and support an industry which is not only extremely important to the local hospitality and tourism sectors, but also to the wider economy.

Commenting on the launch, Colin Neill, CEO, Pubs of Ulster said:

“We are lucky to have such a huge selection of award-winning and iconic pubs and through The Great Ulster Pub Week, we want to encourage people to visit their local pub and experience this for themselves.

“Pubs are no longer just about alcohol; they’re increasingly focused around great quality food, entertainment and events. The Great Ulster Pub Week will showcase all of this and more; giving people a reason to return to their local pub and, we hope, inspiring publicans to think differently about their businesses.

“It is fantastic to see the enthusiasm in the pub industry about The Great Ulster Pub Week and we are delighted that so many pubs want to get involved.  We already have a number of exciting events planned and, with many more still to be added to the schedule, I have no doubt that the Great Ulster Pub Week will give everyone something to enjoy.”

In pubs right across Northern Ireland, The Great Ulster Pub Week will be jam packed with events,  creating a real buzz across and serving as an important reminder of how ‘Great’ Ulster’s pubs truly are.

The Great Ulster Pub Week will also be used as an opportunity to raise the skills and standards of service in our local pubs as each participating pub will undergo training in social media and World Host Customer Service Training.

The Great Ulster Pub Week kicks off on Thursday 1^st May 2014 and is supported by Discover Northern Ireland, Coca Cola, Coors Light, Guinness, Harp, Heineken, Jameson and Tennent’s, with media partners, Downtown/Cool FM, Hospitality Review NI and The Sunday Life.

A special promo video, filmed by local filmmaker, Ben Price and sound tracked by local band, Pretty Child Backfire can be viewed at Youtube.com/greatulsterpubweek

For further information, visit www.greatulsterpubweek.com or find The Great Ulster Pub Week on Facebook, Twitter, You Tube and Instagram using the hashtag, #UlsterPubWeek

The Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) has put together a list of 10 exciting things to do in Northern Ireland over the next week (April 7 – 13).

• Me and My Girl, Island Arts Centre, Lisburn, Co. Antrim, April 8 -12.  A toe tapping and infectiously happy musical including instantly recognisable and cheerful melodies which gives an insight of London in the good ole days.

• Together Again with Philomena Begley and Ray Lynam, Ardhowen Theatre, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, April 9.  The legendary Queen of Country Music, Philomena Begley has reunited with her duet partner Ray Lynam having previously released albums together, they are back together following solo success.  

• What Would Beyonce Do?, The MAC, Belfast, April 10-12. Following a sell-out run in Edinburgh and London, What Would Beyonce Do? is the hilarious debut show from the talented stand-up comedian Luisa Omielan.

• Annual Variety Showcase, Market Place Theatre, Armagh, Co. Armagh, April 12. Talented students from Drama for Kids and DFK Anomaly will take to the stage performing dazzling dances, songs, acting pieces and versatile solos.

• Brass Band League Championships, The Alley Arts and Conference Centre, Strabane, Co. Tyrone, April 12. Join over 21 brass bands as they perform in four sections in this now annual festival day in Strabane and a must see for those who enjoy brass music.

• 3^rd Annual Castleward Challenge, Castle Ward, Strangford, Co. Down, April 12. A great chance for runners to take part in the Castleward Challenge’s half marathon and 10k race set in the idyllic surroundings of Castle Ward.

• Saint George’s Singers and Studio Symphony Orchestra, Ulster Hall, Belfast, April 12. A large Belfast-based choir specialising in the great choral works of the Baroque and Classical periods will perform Handel’s Messiah along with local soloists and conducted by Marion Doherty Hayden.

• Mind, Body & Soul Festival, The Guildhall, City of Derry, April 12 -13.  The festival will bring a variety of therapists, holistic retailers and readers to the Guildhall offering talks and workshops on the full holistic field from reflexology and massage to incense and the various readings available.

• Upper Lough Erne Pike Fishing Festival, Lisnaskea Boat Club, Lisnaskea, Co. Fermanagh, April 12-13.  A brand new event on the competitive Pike fishing calendar the Upper Lough Erne Pike Fishing Festival will be boat based and is set in the scenic surrounds of Lough Erne.

• Craft and Collectables Fair, The High School, Ballynahinch, Co Down, April 12, 10am – 3pm.  Come and browse and buy some unique and interesting collectables and craft items which are being sold to raise funds for Newcastle based, Mourne Mountain Rescue.