Countdown to meeting on four-day festival proposals

Countdown to meeting on four-day festival proposals

17 January 2018

A PUBLIC meeting to discuss plans for an exciting four-day summer festival in Downpatrick takes place in the town next Wednesday.

The St Patrick Centre will host the January 24 event at 5pm with an appeal issued to business owners, sport and community organisations to attend to hear what is planned, weigh in with their support and flag up suggestions of their own.

Newry, Mourne and Down Council is providing financial support for the festival and a special promotional video encapsulating the flavour of the event will be shown ahead of next week’s meeting getting underway.

The summer event will be part of a horse racing festival at Downpatrick but organisers say there will be so much more over the course of the four-day June event which they hope will include an outdoor concert featuring a headline act.

A group of local people, including businessmen, community and council officials, have been working behind the scenes on developing the new festival which they hope will grow and develop over the coming years, becoming firmly established as one of the key events on the Province’s tourism calendar.

Those who came up with the idea of staging a multi-faceted festival are now keen to secure wide support to put the meat on the bones of the event they have come up with, focusing on sports, arts, the community and music.

Business owners in particular are being asked to embrace the festival, dressing their windows to coincide with the event, erecting bunting and organising competitions like ‘spot the stranger” to encourage family participation.

It is also hoped to develop a festival logo and branding with those behind the event keen for people across Downpatrick and the wider district to get involved and play their part and be part of an event they are confident will grow and develop.

“We want to excite and motivate people to get involved in a unique event and believe the festival has the potential to become firmly established and attract visitors from across Ireland,” a spokesman said.

“The two-day horse racing festival is a hook to get them here this summer, but there will be so much more than just horse racing.

“We want Downpatrick to be at the heart of a festival the entire community can support and play a full part in. We want to enthuse people to get involved and hope visitors who come this year will come back over following years.”

Organisers say it is critical there is local buy-in to the festival which they are confident can provide the town and wider district with a boost.

“The focus will be on sport, art and the community and we want people to come with their ideas and work alongside the local council. This event is about the community and the key aim is to deliver a series of quality tourism events that will motivate people to come to our area,” said the spokesman.

Plans are being drawn up to produce a festival brochure while it is also hoped to have photographic and other static exhibitions focusing on the area’s rich industrial and Patrician heritage and culture.

There will also be an emphasis on Downpatrick staging Ireland’s first event horse race in 1602, while one suggestion which has been flagged up is local horse trainers staging an open day at their stables in the run-up to race week.

Other suggestions include athletic and cycling clubs organising major events in the lead-up to the festival, while the Magnus Vikings will be staging a re-enactment at Dunleath Park. The Down Museum and Downpatrick and Co Down Railway have also weighed in with their support for the festival.

The spokesman added: “We aim to dress Downpatrick for the festival and want local people to support us. We would be delighted to see members of the business community, sports clubs and community groups at next week’s meeting.

“It is critical they are on board moving forward. We believe the festival will be a success and help put the town on the map and provide the area with a major boost.”