Tickets for the Gala Festival Wrestling are now on sale, priced £5
“Portaferry Smackdown” on Thursday July 21st
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Category Archives: Gala 2016
2016 Gala Prize Draw Tickets Out Now
This ticket is bought as a voluntary subscription to Portaferry Gala Festival
Gala Programme
Congratulations to Ryan McGovern of Year 10 in St. Columba’s College Portaferry whose picture was selected for the cover of the 2016 Gala Programme.
Thanks very much to everyone who entered – we enjoyed sifting through the entries and it was fantastic to receive so many great pictures.
4G and TV Reception
While it’s fantastic to finally have widely available 3G and 4G Mobile services here in Portaferry – there is a downside. As 4G uses frequencies formally used by TV channels, the strong mobile signals now transmitting on those frequencies, can cause problems with digital TV reception, especially if you use a masthead amplifier.
If you’ve experienced disruption to any of your Freeview channels, since the 4G “switch on” this week, you can apply for a free filter here: at800.tv
Triathlon in August
Easter in Portaferry
We know it only seems like a few weeks since Christmas, but Easter is already knocking on the door and before you know it it’ll be Gala Week again 🙂
With Exploris re-opening, The Portaferry Hotel up and running and more Pop Up Cinema events we’re hoping it’ll be a great summer here in “The Port”.
Also newly launched this year is The Portico Of Ards – with concerts, classic films and children’s films already taking place, it’s a welcome resource to have on our doorstep, they are also open to ideas and suggestions of what to showcase in the venue. Do have a look at their website and feel free to get in touch with anything you’d like to see coming to the town.
On Easter Monday there will be family entertainment at Portaferry Visitor Information Centre, from 2-4pm.
Come along and see the Party Animals NI Roadshow and the “glitter tattoos”.
From Friday the 25th of March, drop in and find out more about what to see and do around the area plus you can visit the North Down and Ards Family History Society’s exhibition “Searching for Our Roots” in the Saddlery exhibition area.
Over Easter Weekend The Tour of the North cycling event will be taking place, for details click here
Exploris to reopen this summer
Exploris, our aquarium and seal sanctuary in Portaferry will reopen in summer 2016
Exploris Aquarium in Portaferry will reopen in the summer following an investment of almost £1.5M in refurbishment works and with a new operator, the company responsible for the success of Crumlin Road Gaol in Belfast.
Following a special council meeting on 11 February 2016, Ards and North Down Borough Council confirmed that construction work will start on site after Easter to facilitate the centre reopening in the summer. The work represents an investment of almost £1.5M; £914,000 from the Department of the Environment and the remainder is from the council and new operator.
Crumlin Road Gaol Ltd (CRG) will operate the Aquarium and Seal Sanctuary on the council’s behalf. CRG has enjoyed outstanding success with Crumlin Road Gaol, one of the top three visitor attractions in Northern Ireland. They have a partnership with Oceanworld Aquarium in Dingle, County Kerry to assist with the development of specialist educational and conservation programmes about marine life at the Aquarium.
Kieran Quinn, Managing Director with CRG Ltd said:
“It’s going to be an exciting opportunity working with Ards and North Down Borough Council and other stakeholders in the Portaferry area to create a first class visitor attraction that will be entertaining and educational for visitors. With the expertise of Kevin Flannery and his colleagues from Dingle Oceanworld, we will have the right team in place to ensure the aquarium becomes one of the best in Europe. We anticipate this project will be a catalyst for regeneration in Portaferry and the surrounding area and we aim to create 35 jobs at the facility.”
The contract with CRG Ltd is for a minimum of 25 years and offers a long-term and sustainable future for the Aquarium. CRG Ltd has committed to investing at least £2M in the facility during the contract.
Welcoming the announcement, Mayor of Ards and North Down, Alderman Alan Graham said:
“Ards and North Down Borough Council could not be more delighted to make this announcement and confirm details for the reopening of Exploris this summer. We are very pleased to have appointed such an innovative company as Crumlin Road Goal Ltd to operate the Aquarium and Seal Sanctuary for us. Their proposals are robust and promise to deliver a first class visitor attraction that will contribute to public understanding of marine life and make a very strong contribution to the regeneration and economic life of Portaferry, as well as the wider Ards and North Down area.
He continued:
“We are very grateful for the financial support provided by the Department of the Environment for the refurbishment works. We appreciate the support provided by Minister Durkan and his officials throughout the process of securing this grant.”
A very Happy New Year from Portaferry Gala
Happy New Year to all our readers – just over 6 months to go to Gala Week 2016.
As always if you’d like to become involved just get in touch – email us at info@portaferrytown.com or come to our monthly meetings. Just keep an eye on here for details.