Down Arts Centre Launches New Season Programme

Down Arts Centre Launches New Season Programme

Down Arts Centre has officially launched its new season programme detailing all of the Centre’s upcoming performances, events, classes, workshops and exhibitions from May to August.

The new programme offers a wide range of choice catering to people of all ages and interests. May has already seen two sell out shows with the roll expected to continue with ‘The David Lyttle Trio’ and ‘Songs from the Heart’ showcasing the best of home grown music. ‘Songs from the Heart’ will feature a relaxing evening of wonderful original songs written by three of Northern Ireland’s leading female singer/songwriters Bridid O’Neill, Amanda St John and Mandy Bingham.

June will see comedy being back on the agenda, with ‘Handbag Positive’ and ‘Che Guevara’s Night Off’ kicking off the ‘Season of Homegrown Comedies’. These hilarious shows are sure to be a highlight of the new programme.

Although most of the adults one day classes have now sold out, there are still spaces available on the Silk Batik (Saturday 4 June) and Silk Felting (Saturday 18 June) workshops. August Craft Month will also see a range of Adult Workshops taking place including ‘Sewing Machine Basics’, ‘Beginners Glass Painting’, ‘Beginners Crochet’, ‘Creative Cushion Making’ and ‘Fun With Felt and Silk Painting’. The new programme includes a number of children’s one day workshops taking place in July including ‘Sewing for Kids’, ‘Let’s Get Crafty’ and ‘Young Fashion Designers’.

Down Arts Centre’s ever popular Summer Schools are making a welcome return and are now available for booking. These will kick off at the beginning of August with the Arts Summer School for four to six year olds and will be followed by a number of other summer schools for a range of ages including the Preforming Arts Schools who will be putting on a production of Beauty and the Beast and West Side Story as well as the Rock School for 11 to 15 year olds. 

In addition to Downpatrick’s vibrant arts scene, the Newcastle Summer Season will see some fantastic live performances over the summer months, taking place on Friday and Saturday nights in the Newcastle Community Cinema. Highlights include Tributes from Garth Brooks, Elvis and Abba, the fabulous ‘Niamh Kavanagh and the Illegals’, ‘James Huish’ and the extremely popular comedy show, ‘Maggie’s Feg Run’. The Newcastle Summer Season will also include children’s entertainment on Saturday afternoons with live band performances each Sunday.

For the full range of upcoming events and for further information contact Down Arts Centre on 028 4461 0747. The complete Down Arts Centre Season Programme is available to download at www.downartscentre.com.