Peppa Pig looks set to be star of the show at Dalriada Festival 2017

Cool FM's Rebecca McKinney and Downtown Radio's Gary Myles launch the seventh annual Dalriada Festival, powered by Camlin, with Strongman Chris McNaughton, to take place at Glenarm Castle from 14th - 16 July. Picture Paul Faith

Attracting over 30,000 visitors each year, the Camlin Group is once again the titled sponsor of th event and, for the first time ever, the official Peppa Pig characters will meet and greet the kids on July 15 and 16.

This children’s favourite is set to equal the phenomenal success of last year’s meet and greet with Nickelodeon’s PAW Patrol which attracted thousands of fans to the event.

Dalriada Festival also welcomes the return of the annual County Antrim Pipe Band Championships, The Nation’s Strongman Championships and an exciting addition to the festival - Northern Ireland’s first ever Wife Carrying Championships.

Another ‘first’ for Dalriada and indeed Northern Ireland is Northern Ireland’s first ever Mussel Eating Competition, sponsored by The Fullerton Arms in Ballintoy!

Due to popular demand, this year’s festival kicks off on July 14, a day earlier than previous years, with the return of Ireland’s favourite country star, Nathan Carter, sponsored by The Sitting Room Hairdressing in Ballymena.

Donna Taggart, whose single ‘Jealous of the Angels’ has received Global success and has now reached 85 million views on Facebook, will be making her Dalriada debut.

The Fureys and Dublin City Ramblers are just some more of the festival’s music offerings on July 15 and 16.

The community of Glenarm will take up the baton from July 17, hosting an action-packed programme of sporting events and other entertainment including a duathlon, triathlon, super-endurocross, rowing regatta and mountain bike enduro race. The festival will culminate with a street fair, carnival and fireworks finale on July 22.

John Cunningham from Camlin says: “Although we are a global engineering company, we endeavour to support local community initiatives and events. The Dalriada Festival of Sport, Music and Food is recognised as one of Northern Ireland’s biggest cultural family events and The Camlin Group is honoured to be once again the titled sponsor of such a fantastic festival.”

Day Passes & Camping Packages for July 15 and 16 are on sale from 9am on Friday 10th March via www.dalriadafestival.co.uk with a whopping 33% Discount on Day Passes purchased before 31st March. Concert Tickets for both concerts are also on sale via www.dalriadafestival.co.uk or www.ticketmaster.ie