Something for everyone at the Island Arts Centre

The season programme is on general release from 9am on Wednesday September 1 but Island Members will get priority booking from Wednesday August 25.

Highlights of the forthcoming season include a reading by novelist Glenn Patterson, who published a book entitled 'Once Upon a Hill: Love in Troubled Times', a record of the lives of his Lisburn-born grandparents. Glenn will be joining poet Sinead Morrissey for a reading on Thursday September 23.

The Island will also be welcoming Northern Ireland comedian Tim McGarry in September. Tim, well known for his work on Give My Head Peace, turns his satirical eye on history for his solo stand up show 'Tim McGarry's Irish History Lesson' on Saturday September 25.

There are plenty of musical delights this season, including a tribute to Bruce Springsteen, soul diva Mirenda Rosenberg, pianist Phillip Dyson, The Fureys and Davey Arthur, Andy Irvine and the Illegals. For the first time the Island Arts Centre has chosen a 'Featured Artist' for the season. This season the Island is featuring 'Bellwether State' who play songs of love, loss and betrayal in a gentle folk style.

If you are a lover of dance then don't miss Chrysalis Dance, who return to the Island with their latest production '3 Piece Suite'. The Island will also welcome Ballet Ireland and Ponydance for 'Dance Week' in October.

Drama will once again take centre stage at the Island Arts Centre with firm favourites Ransom and Bruiser Theatre Company returning to Lisburn with their latest shows.

There will also be screenings of popular films, including Calendar Girls, Frost/Nixon and StreetDance.

There are a host of classes and workshops on offer during the coming season, which includes everything from painting to flower arranging, pottery to pilates and photography to dance.

The Island Arts Centre will also play host to a number of exhibitions during the season, including the RDS Student Art Awards Travelling Exhibition and exhibitions by artists such as Catherine McWilliams and Robert Ellison. The Arts Centre will also be hosting an exhibition by local artist David Cleland, who will be exhibiting a series of thought-provoking entitled 'Through the Mill', which captures Hilden Mill following its closure in 2006.

There will be plenty to keep the kids happy as well, with children's theatre company Purves Puppets bringing two new shows to the Island in September. Premiere Circus and The Lyric Theatre in associatiuon with Cahoots NI will also be bringing children's theatrical treats to the Island.

Keep little hands busy with one of the many creative workshops on offer, including 'Aliens, Meatballs and Spaghetti', 'Potty for Pottery' and 'Magical Winter Cones'.

Add to all that a series of community arts training, arts encounters and free public art, exhibition talks and tours of the Island, and there is certainly something for everyone at the Island Arts Centre this season.

For further information on the forthcoming season programme, log onto www.islandartscentre.com or contact the Centre on 9250 9509 or the Box Office on 9250 9254.