The ‘All Male Fashion Show’ is an event by Cookstown and Magherafelt Lions Club, inspired by their first female President, Emma McCann.

The event will not only feature the men themselves, but also top class entertainment including the fabulous Whistle Bait Babies burlesque troupe, live music by the Glackins while the compere for the night will be the inimitable Lady Portia Di Monte.

Emma has taken on the huge task of organising this event to raise awareness of the invaluable work that the Lions Club does year in year out, and to promote the pressing need for men to be attentive to their health, in particular the early detection of Testicular Cancer.

“This night is all about the men,” said Emma.

“As well as having a bit of fun and modelling  the latest fashion offerings from Sportique, Next and RA Cuddy’s, we will be highlighting the fact that the most common cancer in men aged 15-45 is testicular cancer.  Men’s health is so often overlooked and the Lions are delighted to be in a position to promote this very worthwhile cause”.

“As President of the Cookstown and Magherafelt Lions Club I hope this event shows the public just how much work we do to promote good causes both locally and internationally.  At the heart of our work is the motto ‘We Serve’ and we are dedicated to raising awareness and money to help those who are less fortunate than ourselves”.

“This event will be central to this year’s work and we are delighted at the phenomenal demand for tickets which has seen all 230 tickets sell-out.”

If you are interested in learning more about the work that Lions Clubs do, or are interested in joining a local group, please email cookstownmagherafeltlionsclub@gmail.com

Watch this space for all the news after the event!!

Please take some time to browse the programme of events. The exhibition is free to attend. Workshops are reasonably priced and marked accordingly.But, remember, this event is strictly TRADE ONLY so please don’t book or turn up if you don’t work in the hospitality industry.

Limited Gourmet Dinner Tickets Available

We have a very limited number of tickets available for the Hospitality Exchange Gourmet Dinner, which will be held in the Culloden Estate & Spa on Monday 17th October. Michelin starred chef, Atul Kochhar, will cook and present an amazing menu combining the best of local ingredients with his unique blend of spices. Each diner at this exclusive event will be treated to wines matched with every course and a signed copy of Atul’s book. Tickets are £130 including vat, wines, book and an amazing seven-course dinner. Please contact the office on 028 9077 6635 for further details or to book a place. This event is a complete sell-out every year so don’t delay.

Ezine

If you would like to sign up to our special Hospitality Exchange Ezine, please click through HERE and complete your details.

Need to print a Mini-Programme? Just click HERE to download a PDF.

Gordons Chemists throughout Northern Ireland would appeal to all women aged 40-49 and 70+ to call into the store on Friday 21 October 2011 during ‘Breast Action Day’.  The Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign is running instore throughout the month of October, however this is the focus day for ladies to sign up for a breast screening with Northern Ireland’s leading local cancer charity, Action Cancer.

Since the partnership began four years ago, 2,000 women have completed request forms instore and, in addition to providing self-referral forms, Northern Ireland’s largest independent pharmacy chain is committed to supporting Action Cancer with instore fundraising.  Staff and customers have raised a vital £130,000 towards the screening programme, enabling more than 1,600 women to be screened, as every £80.00 raised instore provides one screening.

Across Northern Ireland on Friday 21 October, Gordons Chemists will be dressing their stores and staff in pink to celebrate the fact that early detection saves lives.  You can support the campaign by buying a pink ribbon, a raffle ticket or simply by making a donation in store.

Call into your local Gordons Chemists throughout the month of October, contact Action Cancer on tel 028 9080 3344 or visit www.actioncancer.org for further information.

A brand new Swatch Event Showroom has opened its doors to welcome in Belfast’s most discerning shoppers and browsers. Temporarily located in the city’s Victoria Square Shopping Centre, this unique space features the new Swatch & Fashion collection designed by Jeremy Scott, the New Gent 3 collection, the Colour Code collection, among other amazing styles. A selection of interactive devices, situated in the Event Showroom, will enable visitors to discover more about Swatch’s fascinating history as well as its various ongoing projects, events and collaborations. Customers captivated by the various amazing products on display will, of course, be able to purchase them within the Event Showroom.

Swatch has consistently championed and explored the exciting links between Art, Fashion and Sport – three areas which form the pillars of the Swatch brand. More specifically, the convergence of the best contemporary fashion and music is often at the heart of Swatch collections and events. With this in mind, the Swatch Event Showroom purposefully celebrates the relationship between all-things sonic and stylish, and is being launched a few weeks ahead of the much-anticipated 2011 MTV EMAs, taking place in Belfast’s Odyssey Arena, on November 6th. Swatch is one of the main pan European sponsors of this year’s show.

To capture the excitement and spirit of the 2011 MTV EMAs, the Swatch Event Showroom store will be hosting some really amazing competitions. As of Wednesday, October 12th – in the run-up to the 2011 MTV EMAs – participants over the age of 18 will have the chance to win standard tickets to the momentous event!

The Swatch Event Showroom offers yet another confirmation of Swatch’s ongoing commitment to the crossover of fashion and music in the 21st century. Just like the 2011 MTV EMAs, it also promises to be a lot of fun!

Foursquare Check-in

Customers who want to have a chance to win tickets to the 2011 MTV EMAs can visit the Swatch Event Showroom and do a check-in on Foursquare. A Foursquare Check-in Special will allow people who have checked-in to the Swatch Event Showroom to enter a sweepstake by filling an online form. Two winning tickets will be allocated every second day to a participant and his or her guest of choice. The sweepstake will be running from Wednesday, October 12th, until Friday, November 4th, with 24 tickets in all being offered as prizes!

Herewith the link to the Swatch Event Showroom on Foursquare:

http://swatch.me/eventshowroom

Snap Dance

Another opportunity for customers to win tickets to the 2011 MTV EMAs is by them visiting the Swatch Event Showroom to record a short video of themselves performing their own Snap Dance routine! Two winning tickets will be allocated every second day to one participant and his guest of choice, between Wednesday, October 12^th and Friday, November 4th, with 24 tickets in all being offered as prizes!

Winners’ names from both competitions will be published on swatch.com and they will all be contacted by Swatch, re-verifying that their age is 18 years old or over.

It is a theatrical phenomenon that has travelled around the globe; now ‘The Vagina Monologues’ returns to Northern Ireland courtesy of Premier Theatrical Productions, and premieres on Friday 25^th and Saturday 26^th November at the Burnavon theatre, Cookstown. The brand new production stars local comedian Carol Doey; National TV broadcaster Pamela Ballantine and the much loved Olivia Nash star of Give my Head Peace.

“The Vagina Monologues” were written in 1996 by performance artist Eve Ensler. In drafting her early monologues, Ensler conducted interviews with 200 women on the subjects of sex, relationships and violence against women. Since then, a new monologue has been added to the performance each year to highlight a current issue affecting women around the world.

Searingly funny, sometimes shocking, moving and unashamedly honest, these potent stories from a range of ages, ethnicities and sexualities will make for a jubilant night at the theatre. It’s certainly one for an ultimate girl’s night out (though it has to be said, men in the audience may learn a thing or two!).

Producer Aisling McElhone is excited about bringing The Vagina Monologues to Northern Ireland again in her debut role as a producer. “It’s a number of years since the last professional production of the show in Northern Ireland, which means there is a large audience who won’t have seen this fantastic piece.”

Veteran Director Sean Faloon is looking forward to working with Olivia, Carol and Pamela in such a famous global theatrical phenomenon, saying “You can sure trust theatre to throw up a show that’s something different. The Vagina Monologues fits the bill!”

Laughter and comedy aside (which there is plenty of in the ladies performances of the monologues), there is a serious side to the evening. The proceeds from the play go to the V-Day Charity. V-Day is a global activist movement to end violence against women and girls inspired by The Vagina Monologues.

The movement was started in 1998 by author, playwright and activist Eve Ensler, who has been quoted as saying that it was women’s reactions to the play that launched V-Day. In twelve years, the V-Day movement has raised over $75 million and reached over 300 million people. The 2011/ 2012 campaign is for “the Women and Girls of Haiti” to highlight the high levels of violence against women and girls in Haiti, and will focus on the increased rates of sexual violence since the devastating earthquake that took place in January 2010.

On the night representatives from local charities and support groups will be at the Burnavon to share in the excitement, comedy, drama and pathos that the show will bring.

Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased at the Burnavon Box Office, Burn Road, Cookstown, by phone on 028 8676 9949 or online at www.burnavon.com, and are priced at £18 / £16 (concession). Keep up to date with the production and other events at www.burnavon.com

Lough Erne Resort are celebrating Ladies Golf with Europe’s recent victory at The Solhiem Cup! We are holding a special Ladies Golf Retreat 19^th & 20^th October.

This fantastic event includes

• Luxury Overnight stay
• Full Irish Breakfast
• Welcome Lunch in The Loughside Bar & Grill
• Golf School at The Faldo Academy with Lady Professional, Lynn McCool
• Pre-Tournament Dinner in The Loughside Bar & Grill
• Tournament on The Faldo Championship Course with great Prizes to be won, all for only £150 pps.

UK singer-songwriter superstar James Morrison has just announced a return to Belfast with a date at The Ulster Hall, Belfast on Saturday 28 January.   Tickets priced from £35 inclusive of booking fee go-sale Friday October 7th from Ticketmaster outlets nationwide and www.ticketmaster.ie.

James Morrison’ incredible third album “The Awakening” has just been released on Island Records.

The album, his first for the label, was produced by Bernard Butler and was recorded at Konk studios in London. It follows the huge global success of James’s previous two albums which, together, have sold more than 4.5 million copies worldwide. His 2006 debut album “Undiscovered” topped the UK album chart whilst the 2008 follow-up album “Songs For You, Truths For Me” included “Broken Strings”, the collaboration with Nelly Furtado which sold in excess of 1.5 million copies.
“The Awakening” also includes an amazing collaboration, this time with Jessie J on the track “Up”. This, and one other track, was produced by Mark Taylor. All other tracks were produced by Bernard Butler.

James Morrison said; “Working with Bernard Butler on this album has brought a whole new dimension to the songs. For me this album combines influences stemming from my deep love for classic soul – Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding – with a sound that is contemporary. Making the album coincided with some very big changes in my life and I think it’s very evident from the music that this is the album I not only wanted to make but that I actually had to make right now”.

For more see: www.jamesmorrisonmusic.com / www.mcd.ie / www.ticketmaster.ie

Now in it’s forth year, National Trails Day takes place on Sunday 2^nd October and with over fifty free family-friendly activity events on offer on local trails throughout Northern Ireland, National Trails Day 2011 is set to be bigger than ever.

Aideen Exley from the Countryside Access and Activities Network (CAAN) explains, “National Trails Day is all about getting people outdoors and discovering the wealth of opportunities available to us on our local trails. These could be nature-themed scavenger hunts, ‘have a go’ canoeing trips, off-road cycling trail rides or horse-riding trails. We want to showcase the wide variety of trails we have on offer to us all here in Northern Ireland and hope to do this with a whole host of exciting and informative free events this Sunday.”

These free events include a unique opportunity to get up close and personal with the much loved red squirrels in Glenariff and Gortin Glen Forest Parks or join expert guides from the RSPB to catch a glimpse of some unique birdlife on trails in Tollymore Forest Park.

For those after a little bit more adventure, there are no less than nine guided canoeing trips on a variety of Northern Ireland’s renowned canoe trails. These family-friendly canoe trips will teach you the basics of canoeing and allow you to explore the nooks and crannies of Lough Erne, the River Foyle and River Lagan to name just a few waterways open for exploration.

Aideen continues, “All events on offer this National Trails Day will be guided by local experts and completely free of charge with all safety gear and equipment rental included. The National Trust and Forest Service are also waiving park entrance fees to those taking part in National Trails Day events meaning that those who wish to get involved will not have to spend a penny.”

As well as providing a unique opportunity for us all to try our hands a new activities, National Trails Day is also about highlighting the great work of organisations which develop and maintain our trails and aims to educate trail users on ongoing sustainability issues.

Kathleen Conlon from the Department of Culture Arts and Leisure, comments “We are incredibly fortunate to have such a wonderful variety of trails in Northern Ireland and we want to use National Trails Day to celebrate these trails. We hope that families across Northern Ireland will take this great opportunity to enjoy these trails as well as learn about the history of their local area and how we can all conserve these great resources for future generations.”

National Trails Day has been funded by Waterways Ireland, the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, SportNI and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board with support from the Northern Ireland Forest Service, British Horse Society and the National Trust. There is a full list of all the free events taking place on www.nationaltrailsday.co.uk and places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

The wacky and wonderful children’s dance theatre show Undercurrent is coming to a venue near you this autumn to delight local children with fairytales, superheroes and blue monsters.

Created and performed by Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company, known as Northern Ireland’s leading dance company, the show will tour the province in October and November to Belfast, Derry, Omagh, Letterkenny, Donaghmore, Limavady, Newtownabbey and Downpatrick.

Undercurrent is aimed at primary-aged children and families and was the brainchild of Associate Artistic Director of Echo Echo, Ayesha Mailey. She was inspired by all the superhero greats, comic book vocabulary and Grimm fairytales.

The show has previously been performed at the Hidden Treasures Children’s Festival in Derry, the Pick N Mix Festival in Belfast and Imaginosity Children’s Museum in Dublin.

Jane Coyle from Culture Northern Ireland described Undercurrent as:

“A colourful piece that invites children and their parents or adult companions into a madcap world of fairytales and nursery rhymes, inhabited by strange creatures and colourful toys. The company takes delight in breaking the rules and having a laugh and the joy on the emerging audience’s faces after the production speaks volumes for what they have just experienced.”

Having been performed for hundreds of children and adults alike, Echo Echo hopes that Undercurrent will tickle local audiences pink with its playful movement, imagination and illusion.

Echo Echo’s Development Officer, Sarah Bryden said:

“Echo Echo is incredibly excited about performing Undercurrent at eight different venues across Northern Ireland. This tour is one of the company’s biggest since 2007 so the dancers have been in intensive rehearsals since early September to ensure that audiences get a fantastic show.”

Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company is based in Derry-Londonderry and regularly produces and tours internationally with original new performance work for an ensemble of local and international dancers. The company also has a strong commitment to developing dance as an accessible art form maintaining a busy dance education and outreach programme for people of all ages and abilities.

For full details of the Undercurrent performances and associated venue workshops, visit www.echoechodance.com

Echo Echo is supported by The Arts Council of Northern Ireland.