Arts Fest 2012 coming to a street near you

BBC personality Ralph McLean will be helping to get Arts Fest 2012 off to a flying start as he presents his show ‘Locals Lock In’ at the Old Town Hall, Banbridge on Friday, 12 October, at 8pm.

Featuring an array of musical talent including singer-songwriter Malojian, Hilltown man Matt McGinn, previous BuskFest winner Warren Attwell, plus up and coming local group 20 Second Century. The performance will be recorded and broadcast on Ralph’s BBC Radio Ulster show. Tickets are priced £5 and are available from the Tourist Information Centre located on the ground floor of Banbridge Old Town Hall. Tel: 4062 0232.

Whilst Arts Fest offers a vast array of creative talent, members of the public will also be able to display their own artistic abilities at a number of workshops taking place during the festival fortnight.

Saturday, 13 October, sees the fantastic Coda Horns make a welcome visit to Banbridge with a fantastic workshop for young people entitled ‘Music Mix Up’. The all-female French Horn group who, as experienced teachers, specialize in making music to inspire young people. In this workshop, that takes place from 3 to 4pm, there will be an opportunity for all 7-10 year olds to learn a variety of weird and wonderful instruments including the French Horn. Cost is £3.

‘Button to Brooch’ is a workshop on Tuesday, 16 October, from 7-9pm offering the perfect opportunity to get some tips and ideas on what to do with all those mismatched buttons cluttering up your drawers. Come along and make a fabulous button brooch to brighten up your wardrobe.

Both these workshops take place in the Old Town Hall, Banbridge and you can book by contacting the Old Town Hall on T: 4062 0232.

For the younger age group storyteller Lexy Higgins will be visiting Banbridge Library from 10.30am – 11.30am on Tuesday, 16 October, telling her entertaining and amusing Enchanted Stories that will be guaranteed to delight the little ones. This wonderful storytelling workshop is offered free of charge. Contact the library on 028 4062 3973 for further details.

If you have an old piece of furniture and need some ideas on how to give it a new lease of life then the ‘Junk to Funk’ workshop on Thursday, 18 October, will give you tips and ideas on how to ‘upstyle’ by using techniques such as painting, stenciling and fabric. This workshop takes place from 6-9pm in the Camera Club room of the Old Technical building in Banbridge. To book a place contact Banbridge District Council Leisure and Development department on T: 4066 0605.

These are just a few highlights of events and workshops on offer. For a full list of festival activities pick up an Arts Fest programme available at a number of locations throughout the district or download a copy from www.banbridge.gov.uk.