{"id":11720,"date":"2016-06-07T12:00:30","date_gmt":"2016-06-07T11:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/?p=11720"},"modified":"2016-06-07T12:00:30","modified_gmt":"2016-06-07T11:00:30","slug":"open-house-festival-bangor-2016-celebrating-commemorating-and-creating-a-creative-town","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/2016\/06\/open-house-festival-bangor-2016-celebrating-commemorating-and-creating-a-creative-town\/","title":{"rendered":"OPEN HOUSE FESTIVAL BANGOR 2016 – Celebrating, Commemorating and Creating a Creative Town"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open House Festival Bangor has launched its much anticipated 2016 programme, and with 125 events taking place in more than 40 venues, the seaside town will be the go-to destination for the month of August.<\/h1>\n

\"\"<\/a>This year\u2019s programme of handpicked special events includes music, film, food & drink, theatre, literature, comedy and art, and introduces magic, mystery, dance and lectures to the lineup. The Festival\u2019s trademark diverse list of venues and locations includes pubs and parks, clubs and cafes, boats and a ballroom, as well as a theatre, a courthouse, a church, an island and an auction room.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommemorating anniversaries, celebrating local talent and forging new creative partnerships are some of the themes of this year\u2019s festival,\u201d says Festival Director, Kieran Gilmore. \u201cAnd as this is the Tourism NI Year of Food and Drink, showcasing fabulous local produce in many of the town\u2019s great restaurants will be focal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Highlights include a 40th<\/sup> anniversary concert by The Damned<\/strong>, a 70th<\/sup> birthday tribute to former ACDC front man Bon Scott, and a nod to the 400th<\/sup> anniversary of Shakespeare\u2019s death with an open air performance of A Midsummers Night\u2019s Dream<\/em>. Singer Niamh Perry<\/strong> returns to Bangor for a homecoming concert \u2013 her first local appearance since her success in the BBC\u2019s hit show, I\u2019d Do Anything<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Other local acts include mentalist, David Meade<\/strong>; jazz singer, Dana Masters<\/strong>; and indie-folk band, Ports<\/strong>. They\u2019ll share the limelight with American bands Iron & Wine<\/strong> and Spirit Family Reunion<\/strong>, and familiar faces like Suggs<\/strong>, Tom Robinson<\/strong>, Alexi Sayle <\/strong>and Ian Rankin<\/strong>. There are picnics in parks, gardens and islands, gourmet food tours, whiskey tastings and seafood with sea shanties. There are mad-cap lectures, magic tricks, and even a spot of ghost hunting, plus pub theatre, book clubs and dance classes. As well as the regular Walled Garden film screenings, there\u2019ll be films with wine tasting, with disco dancing and even with a clothes swap. And the Open House Festival Choir, a stand out success at last year\u2019s Festival, returns for its fourth consecutive season, with several performances throughout the month.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year\u2019s programme is really eclectic and we\u2019re hugely proud of it,\u201d says Kieran, \u201cespecially as almost half of the events are free. Many partners from across the local arts and business communities have helped to develop it, embracing the idea of Bangor as a creative town. But Open House Festival isn\u2019t just for locals \u2013 it\u2019s for folk throughout the country and beyond who love live music, enjoy eating out, are game for a laugh, want to be surprised, and crave the feel-good satisfaction that handpicked arts and culture can deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maria McAlister, Arts Development Officer, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, added: \u201cIt\u2019s great to see Open House back again with another terrific programme of exciting events for the 2016 festival.\u00a0 From music to comedy, food, film and theatre, there\u2019s something for everyone, including many free events, offering more and more ways for local audiences to experience high quality arts events right on their doorstep.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eddie Rowan, Events Manager for Tourism NI said: \u201cTourism NI is pleased to once again support Open House Festival Bangor.\u00a0 With such a variety of entertainment on offer, and celebrating Northern Ireland\u2019s Year of Food and Drink, visitors to Bangor will be greeted with a fantastic atmosphere within the town.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mayor of Ards and North Down, Alderman Alan Graham, commented that: \u201cArds and North Down Borough Council is delighted to be supporting the festival for the fourth year running. As the festival grows it continues to bring an eclectic mix of both local and international artists. It is a true success story and, through its inclusive programme of culture and arts, plays a key role in helping to invigorate Bangor by increasing cultural tourism and by engaging and celebrating\u00a0local businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Open House Festival Bangor 2016 is supported by Ards and North Down Borough Council, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Tourism NI and NI Year of Food and Drink. The County Down Spectator is the official media partner for the festival. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

For more information, go to <\/em><\/strong>www.openhousefestival.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Open House Festival Bangor has launched its much anticipated 2016 programme, and with 125 events taking place in more than 40 venues, the seaside town will be the go-to destination for the month of August. This year\u2019s programme of handpicked special events includes music, film, food & drink, theatre, literature, comedy and art, and introduces … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11720"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11720"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11720\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11722,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11720\/revisions\/11722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}