Event Highlights

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

** Please note all events below are for 2023, dates for 2024 are coming soon, keep an eye out on this page.**

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.

Events

Food and Drink

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 
Taking place across the borough
Featuring Comber Earlies Food Festival, 24 June            Saturday 17 June – Saturday 24 June

Taste Autumn
Taking place across the borough
Featuring Tide and Turf, Portavogie on 2 September        Thursday 31 August – Sunday 10 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.

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 May Day Celebrations in the wonderful boutique town of Holywood, our gateway into the borough from Belfast, working in partnership with the Holywood District Community 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

Rolling into June, we have the Comber Earlies Food Festival. 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.

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.

July

The annual Ards and North Down Pipe Band Championships, is set for Saturday 22 July this year (changeable year on year). This event is always a spectacular sight and sound! Bands from across the UK gather in Bangor or Newtownards, bi-annually and this years Newtownards Airfield will be the grounds hosting this colourful showcase of talent, awash with Tartan, bagpipes and stunning skill. Highland Dancers  compete alongside the pipe bands on the day too. The whole day makes for a great family event.

Free park and ride buses between Newtownards town and the event at Newtownards Airfield providing opportunity to spend time in the town centre for a bit of shopping or a bite to eat.

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.

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.

Christmas

In November, we welcome in the festive season to the borough with two 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.

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. From Strongmen to traditional music, kite flying to sailing, golfing to festivals,
there is something for everyone!

Find out more about our funded 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.