Ards Borough Council met tonight, Wed 25th, and have decided to postpone the decision on closing Exploris for a further two months. This gives some breathing space to the groups working to save the Northern Ireland Aquarium.

If you feel strongly about this issue, please sign the petition by clicking here.
If you are a facebook user, please like this page : Friends of Exploris on Facebook

Exploris Portaferry is a unique facility for tourism, education and recreation within Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland’s only aquarium and reflects the very special marine environment of Strangford Lough, an Area of Special Scientific Interest, and the neighbouring Irish Sea. It has a seal sanctuary and tends to other distressed marine creatures. 

It provides seawater for the adjacent Queens University Marine Laboratory. While Exploris does not make money and has substantial running costs, it delivers a footfall of 100,000 people a year to Portaferry, which has a tremendous impact for local businesses in an area already suffering from high unemployment and rural deprivation. 

The loss of Exploris will have a devastating effect on Portaferry and the surrounding area.

If you feel strongly about this issue, please sign the petition by clicking here.

Would you like to become involved in Portaferry Gala 2014? Have you any events you’d like to see taking place next July? From The Little Flower of the County Down, through to the Dog Show, from entertainment on the stage to photos and reports for this website or ferry fm – everyone is more than welcome to join us and lend a hand.
If you fancy coming on board the Gala Committee then please come along to our next meeting and we’ll welcome you onboard! We meet the first Wednesday of the Month in Barholm at 7.30pm.

If you won a prize in this years Gala Ballot – you can pick it up from the Action Cancer Shop in High Street.

2013 Winners and Prizes
Meal Voucher for La Mon House Hotel : Martha Tumelty
Candle Basket : Reene
Dundonald Ice Bowl Voucher : Brain Clarke, Emmett O’ Neill, Nancy Braniff, Paula & Fiona Hughes and Ruth Shaw
Wine: Martin McClusky, Fred Kelly, Lisa Smith and Andrew McNeill

A big thank you to all our Sponsors, Volunteers and Portaferry Residents for all your support across Gala Week 2013. We hope you enjoyed the week and if you have any feedback, please do get in touch. Event suggestions are always welcome as are constructive comments on “taking Gala forward”. Well done to all the pubs for their excellent floats, Tilly the Clown and the various Bands who paraded on Float Night. Gala is a team effort, if you’d like to join us, please do get in touch. Here’s to Gala 2014!

The Float Po makes it’s journey to Fiddlers Green

Winners of the 2013 Float Parade

For pictures from Float Night 2013, please click here.

Wow! What a roasting hot Friday afternoon on the Square.

Thanks as always to everyone who came out to support the Children’s Fancy Dress, this event goes from strength to strength and is rapidly becoming a series of “mini floats”.
Pictures are now on line click here.

Ferry FM celebrated its 18th Birthday this year, having launched on 15th July 1995.  Our website www.portaferrytown.com also celebrates its 10th Birthday this year, having been launched in 2005.  To mark these events a special cake was baked which the radio presenters gladly got stuck into………. bearing in mind they demolished Paul Buckle’s birthday cake in seconds!

Gala Friday has arrived and what a warm day it is.  We were joined by Downtown Radio in the square.

Caroline and Susan from the Gala Committee were interviewed by Paul Orr on Downtown.

Producer Dave even posed with the bus.

Congratulations to all who took part.  The winners were:-