Financial backing for festivals in Portaferry

Financial backing for festivals in Portaferry

26 April 2017

THREE key tourism events due to take place over the summer in Portaferry have secured financial backing from Ards and North Down Council.

Portaferry Gala Festival, the Sails and Sounds Festival and Portaferry Triathlon, which are set to attract thousands of people to the village, were officially unveiled in the village last night.

This year the spectacular gala festival is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The event is widely regarded as one of Northern Ireland’s longest running community festivals offering local people and visitors a wide range of free events, with the undoubted highlight the colourful float parade. 

An estimated 40,000 people make their way to Portaferry during the week and organisers are hoping to double that number this year. The festival kicks off on July 15 and there will be a special anniversary exhibition in the local authority’s Tourist Information Centre at Regent Street in Newtownards.

The Sails and Sounds festival, which will feature a number of new events this summer, takes place between June 22 and 25 and will bring together traditional Irish and Ulster Scots music and dance and other entertainment. There will be street art workshops for children, bouncy castles, kite making, exhibits, talks and lots more. 

Last year’s event featured the cream of classic yachts and working boats from across the Irish Sea and this year organisers hope to attract an even more exciting and dramatic display of traditional working craft, classic yachts and beautiful motor-yachts. St Ayles Skiffs will also be making an appearance.

There will be yacht racing on June 24, when the skiff rowers will also be in action, with the Lagen Currachs boat rowing from Belfast to Strangford Lough for the festival. With beautiful motor yachts carving through the fleet and stunning Gaff-Rigged yachts from Galway Hookers to Manx Nobbies, the event should provide an excellent spectacle for onlookers from the seafront at Portaferry. 

Also on June 24, the NIOGA Youth Fund, in tandem with Portaferry Sails and Sounds, will be taking children out on to the water for an experience of a lifetime on the spectacular Vilma and Soteria topsail schooners.

On Sunday, June 25, it is hoped there will be a major display featuring combined emergency services personnel, with the RNLI, Fire and Rescue Service and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. If the weather holds, it is hoped to include a search and rescue helicopter display.

The Portaferry Triathlon was a major success last year and organisers have increased the number of participants to 160.

Organised by the Narrows Tri Club, the event will take place on Saturday, August 19. Starting at 11.30am, the triathlon includes a 900 metre swim across Strangford Lough, a challenging 20km cycle route and a fast 5km flat run.

Over 100 people took part last year and hours after the event concluded, competitors took to the Narrows Tri Club Facebook page to congratulate organisers and ask that the event be made an annual fixture. Anyone considering taking part this year is advised to submit their entry early, with the event again supported by Portaferry Regeneration Ltd, Ards and North Down Council and The Portaferry Hotel. 

Organisers say there will be lots of family fun activities on offer, while for further information visit www.narrowstc.co.uk or log on @narrowstriclub.