The official website of Visit Ards and North Down

You are here: What's on > Event Highlights

Event Highlights

Discover Ards and North Down through our lively events and experiences programme throughout the year.

Annual events are a highlight in our calendar here in Ards and North Down; flagship days out for locals and visitors who travel afar for our renowned programme, which offer free admission and can incur little to no cost.

Please note all events below are for 2024, and more details on each event can be found during the year as the individual event pages are updated.

United Kingdom Pipe Band Championships

The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association Northern Ireland Branch (RSPBANI) in conjunction with the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association is delighted to present the United Kingdom Pipe and Drum Major Championships.

The event will take place at Ward Arras area of Ward Park in Bangor, Northern Ireland, on Saturday 18 May 2024, commencing at 10 am and is supported by and Ards and North Down Borough Council. This free to attend event always makes for a fantastic day out.

The impressive showcase of sound and colour fills the air and is a delight to the eyes. Friendly competition creates a really enjoyable atmosphere for all.

Food and Drink Events

Here in Ards and North Down we can't help but love our food and drink! How can we not, with an abundance of quality local makers and producers who use ingredients from our rich tide and turf, and two local distilleries renowned worldwide for their brews and spirits.

Award winning restaurants and eateries showcase the best of our locally farmed ingredients on plates that tantalise the taste buds.Find out more.

We celebrate this offering with our two Taste Ards and North Down events, one in spring and the other autumn.

Taste Summer, Wednesday 19 – Saturday 30 June
Various events will take place across the borough
Featuring Comber Earlies Food Festival on Saturday 22 June

Taste Autumn, Thursday 5 – Sunday 15 September
Various events will take place across the borough
Featuring Tide and Turf, Portavogie on Saturday 7 September.

More info on both of these Taste events to come.

Keep checking back to our website, follow our facebook page or sign up to our ezine for updates.

Experience Ards and North Down

These events detailed are simply some of the highlights during the year however sprinkled in between is a wealth of independently run events, group tours and private tours of a variety of interests, family fun days and so on.

Every year we put together a programme of Experiences that bring together local businesses to create unique days out for you to enjoy in our place.Our coastline makes for a great adventure playground, treated respectfully of course with safety in mind; our countryside dotted with artists and makers, producers, and historic towns and villages, are a canvas of arts and heritage to be explored.

Highlights of this particular programme, which runs from April to January, can include tours and events held in locations not normally open to the public, on water fun such involving paddleboards and kayaks, opportunities to learn new skills in the way of arts and crafts, a chance to devour some scrumptious delights in our local eateries, serving our local ingredients in the finest way possible sure to have you wanting more.

Find out more about our Experience programme.

Calendar Events

April

Our AND Culture section present the Ards Guitar Festival. A programme of mini events and activities that celebrate guitar music locally and afar. Find out more

May

May Day starts off the events programme with the traditional Merry May Day celebrations in the wonderful boutique town of Holywood, our gateway into the borough from Belfast, Holywood District Community Council organise Merry May Day with support from Ards and North Down Borough Council.

The town centre closes its roads to make way for an on street market, food stalls, children's entertainment, live music and of course the dance performance around the May Pole, as well as the Bonny Baby compeitition and the crowning of the May Queen! Children are encouraged to dress up as their favourite characters which always makes for fantastic fun. Local school children, who practice intently in the run up, gather together to dance the traditional steps using ribbons that form a pattern on what is the islands only May Pole, accompanied by live traditional music.

June

The Sea Bangor Festival, held at the city of Bangor seafront over a weekend in June, celebrates our relationship with the sea and our maritime heritage.

Themed entertainment, children's crafts and play, on the water and off water activities, live music (normally accompanied by the chance to dance!),
displays by the RNLI and so much more make this popular event providing nothing but wholesome memories for all the family.

The location of the event serves the additional bonus of plentiful more activity close by in the centre including Pickie Funpark, just a short walk along the promenade around the marina.

Another highlight of June is the Comber Earlies Food Festival, part of our 'Taste Summer' programme. A weekend that celebrates the locally grown and worldwide famous Comber Early potato, whose claim to fame is the PGI status it holds, protected geographical indication (PGI) status, under European law. PGI status recognises the regional importance and distinctive characteristics of the Comber Early potato and means that only new season potatoes harvested from the fields of Comber and the surrounding area can be marketed as new season Comber earlies.

Celebrity chefs such as Jean-Christophe Noveli, Theo Randall and Paula McIntyre have previously joined us in our Demo Kitchen to share their recipes and tips on how to make the most of your Comber Earlies.

There is a surplus of family fun, from potatoe themed crafts, to chilren's fun fair rides, street theatre, live music, an artisan market that showcases our fabulous local makers and producers as well as tractor displays, and more!

Look out for associated events over the weekend including food tours, guided historical walking tours and more.

This festival forms part of our 'Taste summer' programme of events and markets.

August

Every August, the Open House Festival launches a month long programme of arts and culture events ranging from live music sessions, to book clubs, food tours, boat tours and Music in the Park on Sundays in local Ward Park.

In 2022, Open House opened The Court House Bangor, a venue for live music and the arts. Here you will find an all year programme, bringing people together for the best time! Find out more about Open House Festival.

Our own AND Culture produce a fantastic programme of events throughout the year too including workshops and classes, Friday Night Live sessions, theatre, children's crafts and so much more. Find out more about Culture - Ards and North Down.

September

'Taste Autumn' sees us through the end of summer and welcome in the autumn season at the end of August and into September. Tide and Turf Portavogie Food Festival serves as the flagship event to this programme of events and markets that showcase our fine food and drink. The location of this event, in Portavogie, celebrates the world class seafood that arrives to these docks, shipped over the island and afar, from the renowned 'Portavogie prawn' to fresh lobster, mussels and fish catch.

Christmas

In November, we welcome in the festive season to the borough with two council-run family fun events, in Bangor City and in Newtownards, with the Switch On events. These occur normally on the third and fourth Saturdays in the month. Join us for artisan markets, food, entertainment for the little ones and those young at heart, live music and more.

Throughout the borough, the remaining towns and villages choose to welcome in the season their own way. Look out for even more family fun dotted around Ards and North Down in November and December.

Craft workshops, Christmas markets and family shows put the additional sparkle into the festive season in our place.

Find out more about Christmas in Ards and North Down.

Tourism Grant Aided Events

We are also delighted to be supporting a number of local organisations through funding which has contributed to creating a programme of events for all in the community, visitors from inside the borough and outside.

Find out more about Grant-Aided Events.

And there's even more happening in between...

Find out what else the year has in store for you should you visit our part of the Isle, there is something for everyone!

What's on listings

Please note

This serves as a guide to a typical year of events highlights in Ards and North Down, however, details and events subject to change.

There will be a small charge for some activities at events.

Photography and videography may take place at some or all of the above events. Please be sure to inform a member of staff on site if you wish not to feature in stock imagery collected for the promotion of the borough and it's events.

Number of results: 864

, currently showing 381 to 400.

Sort By A-Z Lowest A-Z Highest

Canoe and Cake Experience

Killinchy

Address

52A Ballymorran Road, Killinchy, County Down, BT23 6UD

Telephone
+44 (0) 28 9754 3224

info@traceysfarmhousekitchen.com

Type

Type:

Food Experiences

Enjoy the beauty of Strangford Lough from your own canoe and relax in the serenity of your surroundings before tucking into tasty treats in an 18th century thatched cottage in an area of outstanding natural beauty just 40 minutes from Belfast.

Dates

More Info
Facilities

Provider Preferences
- Dogs accepted by arrangement
Hilltop Lodge

Belfast

Address

85 Whinney Hill, Dundonald, Belfast, Co Antrim, BT16 1UA

Telephone
+44 (0) 7759 830 165

info@slipwaycottages.com

Type

Type:

Self-Catering

Self catering accommodation situated at the top of the Holywood Hills, three miles from Holywood and Dundonald and six miles from Belfast, Bangor and Newtownards. Hilltop Lodge is a detached, level access, single storey with open plan living/kitchen.

More Info
Facilities

Provider Preferences
- Dogs Welcome Inside
Facilities

Parking & Transport
- On site parking
Facilities

Leisure Facilities
- Wifi
The Bradley Gallery

Bangor

Address

105-107 High Street, Bangor, County Down, BT20 5BD

Telephone
+44 (0) 28 9147 3508

info@terrybradley.com

Price
Free

Type

Type:

Art Gallery

Destination spot for Terry Bradley collectors and art enthusiasts from across the globe. Whether you are passing through or spending the day on the beautiful Peninsula, be sure to pop in and experience all that Bradley Art has to offer.

Price
Free

More Info
Facilities

Provider Preferences
- Dogs accepted by arrangement
Facilities

Provider Preferences
- Free (parking charges may apply)
Parking & Transport
- On site parking
Facilities

Leisure Facilities
- Wifi
St Mary's Comber

Comber

Address

St Mary's Parish Church, The Square, Comber, County Down, BT23 5DU

Telephone
+44 (0) 28 9187 3963

comber.parish@btinternet.com

Type

Type:

Churches & Sacred Sites

St Mary’s Parish Church stands on the site of a Cistercian Abbey built in 1199. It was of similar size and architecture to the one in Greyabbey and survived until 1543 when it was closed by order of Henry VIII. The present church dates from 1840.

More Info
Saintfield Antiques & Fine Books

Ballygowan

Address

49 Vestry Road, Ballygowan, County Down, BT23 6HQ

Telephone
+44 (0) 28 9752 8428

home@antiquesireland.com

Type

Type:

Arts & Crafts Shop

Six-thousand rare and antiquarian books and fine bindings, and a small general stock.

More Info
Environmental Storytelling

Bangor

Address

Bangor Castle Walled Garden, 6 Valentine Road, Bangor, Down, BT20 4BN

Telephone
+44 (0)300 013 3333

andparks@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk

Price
Free

Type

Type:

Talks/Lectures

Environmental Storyteller Janice Witherspoon will host two family storytelling events throughout Bangor's Castle Park and Walled Garden to celebrate Love Parks Week (28 July to 6 August).

Dates

Price
Free

More Info
Facilities

Parking & Transport
- On site parking
Ulster Folk Museum

Holywood

Address

153 Bangor Road, Cultra, Holywood, County Down, BT18 0EU

Telephone
+44 (0) 28 9042 8428

info@nationalmuseumsni.org

Price
Price £11.50 Per Ticket
Gradings
- Four Star Quality Assurance
Type

Type:

Visitor Centres & Museums

Refresh the connection at Ulster Folk Museum, a place where traditions and heritage skills are preserved and celebrated to help shape future generations.

Dates

From:

1 Oct 2024to28 Feb 2025Various Opening Times
Price
Price £11.50 Per Ticket

More Info
Facilities

Provider Preferences
- Dogs accepted by arrangement
Facilities

Parking & Transport
- On site parking
Ballywalter Beach

Ballywalter

Address

Springvale Road, Ballywalter, County Down, BT22 2PE

Telephone
+44 (0) 28 9182 6846

ardsvic@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk

Price
Free

Type

Type:

Beach

A long sandy beach which offers enjoyment for all.

Price
Free

More Info
Facilities

Provider Preferences
- Free (parking charges may apply)
Parking & Transport
- On site parking
Donaghadee - Harbour & Lighthouse

Donaghadee

Address

The Harbour, Donaghadee, County Down, BT21 0HF

Telephone
+44 (0) 28 9182 6846

ardsvic@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk

Type

Type:

Lighthouse

Donaghadee lies on the Irish Sea coast and as such is popular with water enthusiasts, anglers and those who simply like to be beside the seaside.

More Info
Facilities

Parking & Transport
- On site parking
Not So Scary Halloween: Storytelling Event

Castle Park Avenue, Bangor

Address

North Down Museum, Bangor City Hall, Castle Park Avenue, Bangor, County Down, BT20 4BT

Telephone
028 9127 1200

museum@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk

Price
Price £2.50 Per Ticket

Type

Type:

Halloween

Join our spooktacular storytelling session led by Storyteller, Karen Edwards, of the Armstrong Storytelling Trust.

Dates

From:
31 Oct 2024Open 10:15 - 10:45
From:
31 Oct 2024Open 11:15 - 11:45
From:
31 Oct 2024Open 12:45 - 13:15
From:
31 Oct 2024Open 13:15 - 13:45
From:
31 Oct 2024Open 14:15 - 14:45

Price
Price £2.50 Per Ticket

More Info
Facilities

Parking & Transport
- On site parking
WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre

Comber

Address

Castle Espie, 78 Ballydrain Road, Comber, County Down, BT23 6EA

Telephone
+44 (0) 28 9187 4146

info.castleespie@wwt.org.uk
Gradings
- Four Star Quality Assurance
Type

Type:

Nature and Wildlife

WWT Castle Espie is an extraordinary day out for the whole family. Escape the everyday, reconnect with nature, and experience the wonder of wetlands on the picturesque shores of Strangford Lough.
Visit Castle Espie all year round and discover new…
More Info
Facilities

Parking & Transport
- Parking (free)
Facilities

Leisure Facilities
- Wifi
Establishment Features
- Wi-fi available
Feel Good Festival: Come On and Sing, Get Happy!

Portaferry

Address

The Portico of Ards, Steel Dickson Avenue, Portaferry, County Down, BT22 1LE

Telephone
028 4272 8808

Verity@porticoards.com

Price
Price £20.00 Per Ticket

Type

Type:

Concert

Sing uplifting Harmony songs with charismatic community Choir Leader Una McCann. Guaranteed to make you feel good!

Dates

Price
Price £20.00 Per Ticket

More Info
Facilities

Parking & Transport
- On site parking
The Echlinville Distillery

Kircubbin

Address

62 Gransha Road, Kircubbin, County Down, BT22 1AJ

Telephone
+44 (0) 28 4273 8597

info@echlinville.com

Price
Price £23.00 Per Ticket

Type

Type:

Distillery

Discover how Echlinville Distillery captures the flavour, colour and mouthfeel of their spirits, before settling down to relax and enjoy them in the bar.
Special Offers
- Tour & Tipple
  From £23 per person
  Experience the sights, sounds and smells of Ireland’s first farm distillery. Enjoy a stroll through the historic Echlinville Estate on our new visitor walkways. Sample our award winning premium Irish spirits, crafted at Echlinville with Excellence Instilled in every drop. Visit our distillery shop and browse our full range spirits, gifts and merchandise. Add coupon discoverechlinville to your order when booking onto a Tour & Tipple and receive an extra drinks voucher per booking on the day This entitles the customer to 2x extra drinks on the day of the tour.
  Book Now
  More offers like this - Activities Offers
Price
Price £23.00 Per Ticket

More Info
Facilities

Parking & Transport
- On site parking
Bangor Aurora Aquatic & Leisure Complex

Bangor

Address

3 Valentine Road, Bangor, County Down, BT20 4TH

Telephone
+44 (0) 28 9127 0271

chris.kelly@serco.com

Type

Type:

Swimming Pool

Bangor Aurora Leisure complex is situated in the heart of Bangor. Featuring 3 swimming pools, leisure waters and extensive gym facilities the Aurora offers a great family fun day out.

More Info
Facilities

Parking & Transport
- On site parking
2 Harbour View

Donaghadee

Address

Apt 2 Harbour View, Bow Street, Donaghadee, Co Down, BT21 0HD

Telephone
+44 (0) 28 9188 3940

mac.973@btinternet.com

Type

Type:

Self-Catering

Recently refurbished to a high standard Harbour View luxury apartment offers everything required for a comfortable self catering stay. Situated in the heart of Donaghadee close to all amenities the two bed, two bath apartment is the perfect place.

More Info
Facilities

Parking & Transport
- On site parking
Facilities

Leisure Facilities
- Wifi
Barnwell Farm Cottages- Clover Cottage

Greyabbey

Address

8 Ballybryan Road, Greyabbey, Co Down, BT22 2RB

Telephone
+44 (0) 28 4278 8488

info@barnwellfarmcottages.co.uk
Gradings
- Four Star Quality Assurance
Type

Type:

Self-Catering

1 of a group of 7 cottages that can accommodate parties of up to 34 people. Clover Cottage is the perfect hideaway for up to 4 people. With 2 bedrooms (2 double beds) and a bathroom comprising bath and shower, it is quaint and comfortable.
More Info
Facilities

Parking & Transport
- On site parking
Facilities

Leisure Facilities
- Wifi
Ava Restaurant & Vin Café

Bangor

Address

132 Main Street, Bangor, County Down, BT20 4AG

Telephone
+44 (0) 28 9146 5490

info@theava.co.uk

Type

Type:

Restaurant

Situated in Bangor's town centre directly opposite the bus and train stations. Cosmopolitan in style the Ava Restaurant & Vin Café offers a tapas menu along with a traditional grill menu and fantastic choice of wine.

More Info
Sip and Solder: A Coppersmithing Workshop with Lake and Oak - Millisle

218A Abbey Road, Millisle

Address

Lake & Oak Coppersmithing Studio, Beside Eden Pottery, 218A Abbey Road, Millisle, County Down, BT22 2DH

Telephone
07926 121 282

lakeandoak@outlook.com

Price
Price £90.00 Per Ticket

Type

Type:

Workshop

Create your own copper cup at Lake & Oak Coppersmithing's Sip and Solder workshop. No experience needed - just bring your enthusiasm! Sign up now for a fun and creative experience with complimentary coffee, tea, and treats.

Dates

Price
Price £90.00 Per Ticket

More Info
Made in AND Late Night Christmas Shopping

Castle Park Avenue, Bangor

Address

North Down Museum, Bangor City Hall, Castle Park Avenue, Bangor, County Down, BT20 4BT

Telephone
028 9127 1200

museum@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk

Type

Type:

Christmas Events

North Down Museum is hosting a special Late-Night Christmas Shopping event at its Pop-Up Christmas Shop. Join us for an evening of music, artists demonstrations and shopping.

Dates

More Info
Facilities

Parking & Transport
- On site parking
Amy's

Bangor

Address

11 Godfrey Avenue, Ballyholme, Bangor, Co Down, BT20 5LS

Telephone
+44 (0) 12 8482 9123

amys@serius.co.uk

Type

Type:

Self-Catering

Amy's accommodates up to four adults plus a child. It offers an ideal base for a holiday, being only 150 metres from the beach at Ballyholme, from where there are wonderful views across Belfast Lough as far as the Mull of Kintyre.

More Info
Facilities

Parking & Transport
- On site parking
Facilities

Leisure Facilities
- Wifi