HarFest to be bigger and better

HarFest to be bigger and better

15 October 2014

SAINTFIELD’S HarFest music festival is back and promises to be bigger and better than last year’s inaugural event.
Over 1,000 people enjoyed a feast of music and song in churches and pubs last October and Saintfield is currently gearing itself up for more sumptuous helpings at the end of this month.
The October 24 and 25 event will have something for everyone and the organisers are putting the finishing touches to a varied musical programme.
Last year, a few musicians in the town got together and tried their hand at putting on a local music festival toward the end of the harvest season. Over the course of the weekend, around 1,000 people enjoyed music in local churches and pubs, with choir, classical and rock music on offer. A number of singer-songwriters also entertained large crowds with their own compositions. Down Council is supporting this month’s HarFest, and festival organiser Edward Craig is delighted.
“The ethos of the festival is to involve local musicians from the wider Saintfield community and ensuring that there truly is something for everyone,” he explained.
“There will be music classes for toddlers and a come-try-an-instrument fun afternoon for primary school children at which some of our local primary school music groups will perform.”
“Other highlights include a singer-songwriter demo-doctor event for post-primary children — aged from 11 to 18 — who wish to submit their songs and get some advice from local musicians in broadcasting, composition and from the management side of the music industry.”
The main festival event is a concert on Saturday afternoon, October 25, in the AYC Hall in Main Street called Clap When You Know It when there will be an opportunity to hear great classical hits alongside some easy listening and even some popular tunes from The Beatles to Adele, all performed by the youthful Scála Strings and local-musical-supremos Richard Douglas (flute) and Nuala Murray (vocals).
Organisers say the performances will be in a very relaxed environment suitable for all the family and a far cry from many of the more “stuffy” venues some may associate with classical chamber music.
At Second Saintfield Presbyterian Church, there will be an opportunity to try your hand at the king of instruments, a magnificent Phoenix pipe organ with demonstrations being given by the organ builder, Stephen Hamill.
Saintfield’s bars and cafés also have much to offer with an open-mic in Saints Café on Friday night while you enjoy a coffee and a great supper music club on Saturday evening.
Norr and Brown’s Tea Room at Todd’s Hill will serve afternoon tea on the Saturday as beautiful music wafts through the rooms, while the Rosie Bar will have a night of easy listening jazz on Friday evening courtesy of Fiona Trotter.
There will also be music on both Friday and Saturday in The White Horse with the toe-tapping Lonesome George, an Irish traditional group, playing Saturday evening, while the Rowallane Inn will also have its usual feast of great music on both Friday (Stevie Johns) and Saturday evening (Just Adam).
The festival opens with an informal reception on Friday evening at 7.30pm in Second Saintfield church hall’s reception area to which everyone is welcome. There will be some musical items and light refreshments with an opportunity to discover all that lies ahead over the weekend. The reception will last around 45 minutes and will be a valuable way of showing your support for HarFest.
The Musicians of Saintfield, working with the Saintfield Development Association, are grateful to Down Council for supporting the events and almost everything is free with any voluntary donations welcome to help cover the costs of staging the festival.
Further festival details are available by “liking” the SaintfieldHarfest page on Facebook, the discoversaintfield.com website or by emailing musiciansofsaintfield@gmail.com.