Marconi Festival a great success

This was the fifteenth year that the event has been held and organised by the Marconi Radio Group.

The event marked the work of Marconi, Kemp and Granville in 1898 when the world’s first commercial signal was sent from Rathlin to Ballycastle across water.

The club was sending signals across the world on Sunday from the seafront in memory of the work of the great Marconi that was pioneered in Ballycastle and Rathlin Island. Contacts were made with several countries from all over the world.

The day got off to an early start with live music, car boot sale and a variety of entertainment to include Teddy Bears Picnic, Dog Show, Sand Castle Competition and Bonnie Baby Competition.

The Coastguard was promoting a safer sea journey and the Community Rescue Service had their Command unit on display to allow people to have a look around it.

There was a full range of musical entertainment throughout the day, with displays from Ballymoney Old Vehicle Club and the North Antrim Model Aircraft Club based at Armoy Rugby Club

Naturally North Coast and Glens Artisan Market were supporting the Marconi Festival again this year!

Fresh aromas, there were vivid colours, eclectic treasures, buzzing crowds – a mere stroll amongst the many stalls of an Artisan Market were enough to invigorate the senses and whet the appetite.

With an aim to keep things authentic, providing a rare but enchanting opportunity to meet the many food and craft producers and suppliers from the North Coast and Glens area.

It was a haven for anybody who cared about the quality and provenance of the food they eat, and for those that seek something different from what is found on supermarket shelves. It provided a cornucopia of exquisite handcrafted, artistic items and an opportunity to interact with the artisan who has produced them.

But it wasn’t just the sheer quality of the items on offer that made the Artisan Market so special. It is also about the people and the place, locally based craftspeople and producers who are passionate about their products represented on the North Coast and Glens area.

The stall holders were primary producers – people who grow, make, create, style, rear, craft or bake the products that they sell. As a result, the Artisan Market was a vast repository of culinary knowledge, artisan craftsmanship and skills from previous generations. It was a place to explore, to ask questions, to discover new flavours, stumble upon raw talent, unearth entrepreneurship, nurture bygone mastery, and to savour a unique, buzzing atmosphere.

The day closed with the Tug o war organised by Paul Kerrigan from Ballycastle Development Group with Rotary and friends winning this year’s title and Ballycastle Coastguard coming in second.