ACOMSDave

Community Journalist

Crescent Arts – Books Festival

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We are delighted that our annual Crescent Arts – Belfast Book Festival is making a welcome return for 2021 and is running from 10 – 13 June with an online programme of live events for book lovers.  

Covering everything from love and politics to Cinderella as a zombie, this year’s festival covers a wide variety of themes – including feminism, grief, family, disability, sexuality, body image, and the care system.
 
Click here to see the programme
Here is a taste of this year’s programme; 

  • BBC Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac who will be in conversation with writer Wendy Erskine discussing her debut novel ‘Mother, Mother’ which is set in Belfast
  • Ian McElhinney will be joining literary biographer Roy Foster to explore the work of Seamus Heaney;
  • Glenn Patterson will be chatting with author Conor O’Callaghan;
  • Author of the novel Brooklyn, Colm Tóibín, will be joined by Paul McVeigh to read from and discuss the new anthology of Irish fiction, Queer Love
  • Multi-award winning author and Belfast Book Festival patron Lucy Caldwell joins us to talk about her new collection of short stories; 
  • Two of Northern Ireland’s most respected political journalists, Susan McKay and Amanda Ferguson, come together to discuss Susan’s new book, ‘Northern Protestants: On Shifting Ground’;
  • And there will be a specially recorded performance from the official poet of the 2012 London Olympics, Lemn Sissay, who also joins us for a second event where he will chat with political commentator Alex Kane.

Tickets for all events are now on sale and are priced at either £3 or free! 

We hope to see you there!
           Crescent Arts - Book Festival
            
Crescent Arts - Books \festival

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Folk Gourmet Festival – Saturday 24thSeptember 2016

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Folk FestivalMostra Gastronomica Ciutat D’Oliva –

Macrotast – Folk Gourmet Festival

The second event of the festival was on Saturday evening, where on the Passeig you could enjoy tasting some of the best wines of the Oliva and Alforins – nine wineries in all.

Accompanying these wines were food samples of every description. The hosts in all the areas were amiable, happy and excited to show you their produce and let you sample whatever took your fancy, whether it be wine or food!

The event was characterised by the attendance of all age ranges, with families coming out onto the Passeig to mingle, find friends and just relax and be happy.

The entertainment apart from people watching, was provided by the Enric Peidro Quartet whose rendition of jazz classics certainly made me happy, and from what I could see brought out the best in all – some of the younger children as always danced, some just listened – but for most of the attending visitors to the event the music was a welcome bonus, which was unobtrusive but enjoyable.

 

The difficulty in going to such an event, is that making notes about what was available and what you drank is difficult; particularly as the tickets were 10 tickets for 8 Euros, and you only needed one ticket for a glass of wine or a small plate of food.

If the numbers that I saw attending are an indicator, then the event was a great success; and I hope that the sponsors and organisers feel the same and will come back again next year in 2017!

Olivia’s 8th Soapbox Derby

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Oliva’s legendary fictional figure, el Tío de la Porra, announces the beginning of Oliva’s festivals, the fist one on Saturday being the Soapbox Derby. He and his charanga band, dressed in disguise, make the rounds through the schools of Oliva, announcing that the term is over and the festivals are beginning. Over the weekend, you’ll be able to enjoy children’s fairground amusements, a food fair with artisanal and local produce, musical performances, orchestras and singers. Venue: Paseo de l’Estació // Parc de l’Estació

Today on the  Raval and everyone has turned out totake part in the “8th Oliva Soapbox Derby”. Playful fun designed to inspire the imagination and creativity of the participants, as well as the promotion of the Raval neighbourhood. The prize-winning carts will be exhibited at the “27th Industrial Motoring and Machinery Fair”.

There were 18 vehicles, of all sizes and descriptions – everyone is smiling, joking and enjoying a fun, family occasion.

On Saturday evening, there will be a fun run, a dog show and exhibi- tions on police interventions and rescue missions. The programme is as follows: 6pm: Inauguration of the meeting point and start of the workshops with exhibitions of police and rescue dogs. With participation from the Star Wars squadron.

The whole weekend has been given over to ‘family fun’ and the weather is brilliant.

 

Links:

  • Oliva