Ballysally/Millburn Community Summer Festival success

IN April this year Supporting Communities N.I. invited a number of local groups in Ballysally to meet with the view to hold a collective event within the estate over the summer time.

Over the following months a packed programme of events was organised with several organisations involved. Those involved included, Building Ballysally Together, Focus on Family, Ballysally Youth and Community Centre, Ballysally Youth Football Club, CRUN, and Ballymoney CRC.

The festival kicked off with an Over 50’s cross community bus trip to Enniskillen on August 10. A brilliant day was had by all who attended.

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Surestart organised a Messy Play Morning in Millburn Community Centre for children under 4’s which proved very popular and Dr Bob Curran gave a talk on the history of the Plantation of Ulster followed by a Plantation tour of Coleraine.

On August 18 a good crowd turned out for a Cultural Music and Dance evening in Ballysally Presbyterian Church which included Ballywillan Flute Band and Scottish dancers.

The next day a youth day in the Youth and Community Centre was organised which included NEELB’s climbing wall, graffiti artists, street dancers, henna painting, and Indian dancers. In the evening the youngsters assembled in the centre for more games.

Activities on the Friday centred around Focus on Family with a packed programme which included a fancy dress parade and Mad Hatter’s tea party, teddy bears picnic and pampering sessions.

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The festival concluded on August 21 with a well organised youth football tournament, followed by a fun day with bouncy castles, music, face painting, balloon modelling, PSNI vehicles and barbecue, provided by the local healthy eating caf.

Gary McClean, SCNI’s Community Relations Officer, told the Times: “It was fantastic to see what could be achieved by local groups coming together and organising the Festival. The groups involved are committed to ensure that Ballysally/Millburn Festival now becomes established as an annual event.”

Gary thanked the groups involved in the organising and added, “Without the commitment of the groups involved the Festival would not have been possible.”