Well folks it’s that time of year again! I hadn’t been to a Twelfth (or indeed Orangefest) in many a year, but last year decided to go down to Royal Avenue and check it out for an hour or two. I really wanted to see that big ship in the picture below, but alas I was too late or too early and missed it, I was pretty gutted! 2 things that I observed that day though –
1. There were a lot of foreign peeps on the streets, which is excellent because the twelfth being utilised as a tourist attraction and not just an excuse to get pished and cause trouble, is exactly the direction it should be headed. It is one big pomp and ceremony and exactly the sort of thing that visitors want to see (the same goes for the Paddys day parade and Belfast Pride)
2. At the city hall there was a lovely wee artisan market going on with local foods and crafts. they also had street performers, jugglers, stilt walkers and puppet shows. It was a gret are to spend an hour in, getting somehting to eat, watching the shows and learning about the food served on the titanic. And it’s happening again this year. So you should head down and sample food as it was on the titanic, see the festival of fools guys out about, er… making fools of themselves and laugh at the shows. Whatever you do have fun and stay safe!
Where: Belfast City Hall
When: Fri 12th July 2013 – 9am – 4pm
The Damage: Free
As part of the Twelfth of July celebrations this year, 8 artisan companies will be serving up the best of local produce in the grounds of Belfast City Hall. Sample freshly prepared food, watch Titanic menu demonstrations and pop into the fine food marquee. There will be a wide range of of produce on offer from locally farmed beef, salmon and a hog roast, to vegetarian delights and for those with a sweet tooth, homemade preserves and chocolate. In addition to this, discover what second and third class passengers ate onboard Titanic. Children will be entertained with lots of fun events taking place in the grounds of City Hall, including balloon modelling.
The Festival of Fools street theatre group will be on the streets of the city centre & will be staging a range of performances from 12pm – 4pm. The City Hall family fun event takes place from 9am – 4pm & city centre shopping will be available from 12.00 – 4.30pm (please note that Castle Court and Victoria Square will be open 12.30pm – 4.30pm)
