Preview // 10 Awesome Things To Do In Northern Ireland This Week / 21 – 27 January

We’re back for 2019 and kicking things off with the weekly look at what’s good around the province. The awesome guys at the tourist board know there are stacks of fun things to do across NI, from family days out to gigs and cultural events every week. So here are their top 10 exciting things taking place this week (21 – 27 January)

1. Out to Lunch Festival, Belfast, 4 – 27 January. Now in its fourteenth year this festival specialises in lunch-based art solutions in the Cathedral Quarter and beyond. This year’s festival boasts a jam-packed line-up including Britain’s Got Talent’s Lost Voice Guy and DJ Terri Hooley. To see the full line-up visit CQAF.com.
2. Foil Arms & Hog, Derry~Londonderry, 24 January. Former children and regular eaters Foil Arms and Hog are back with their new show Craicling. Best known for their YouTube videos, with over 100 million online hits, their live show is what they are most proud of and it will be performed at the Millennium Forum.
3. Four Last Songs, Belfast, 24 January. Four Last Songs was completed the year before Strauss died, but he did not live long enough to hear its premiere. Inspired by the poets Josef von Eichendorff and Herman Hesse, the Four Last Songs tackles the subject of death with serenity and acceptance, written with Strauss’s characteristic Romantic orchestration and inspired lyricism for soprano voice, with which he had a life-long love affair, performed at the Waterfront Hall.
4. IMBOLC International Music Festival, Derry~Londonderry, 27 January – 10 February. Taking place in Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin, this is one of Ireland’s leading folk and world music festivals. Whilst still firmly rooted in the musical cultures of this island, the festival has grown in depth and breadth and now encompasses music genres ranging from folk, traditional and roots to jazz, contemporary and world music.
5. Mairead Duffy Art Exhibition, Armagh, 2 January – 28 February. Craftswirl at Armagh Visitor Information Centre are delighted to welcome this exhibition of work by local artist Máiréad Duffy from Middletown in County Armagh.
6. Coming Home: Art and the Great Hunger, Derry~Londonderry, 19 January – 16 March. Coming Home: Art and the Great Hunger, the acclaimed Famine art collection, currently on loan from Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum at Quinnipiac University, has been touring the island of Ireland this year.
7. A Costume Cavalcade, Armagh, until 2 March 2019.  This exhibition at the Armagh County Museum tells the story of dress over the last three hundred years showcasing some of the most important examples in the collection.
8. Close To Home, Limavady, until 25 January. Roe Valley Arts hosts this exhibition of work by artists of the Puffin Artists Group CIC co-ordinated by the lovely Puffin Gallery in Ballycastle and including works in ceramics, glass, paintings, jewellery and more.
9. MAC International, Belfast, until 31 March. MAC International presents a snapshot of the most exciting and ambitious art practices from across the world. It is the largest arts prize in Ireland and one of the few major art prizes in the UK, offering artists from around the world an opportunity to exhibit at the MAC in Belfast.
10. A Step Back In Time, Omagh, until 14 June 2019. This exhibition at the Ulster American Folk Park includes almost 100 objects, ranging in date from a medieval brooch to a contemporary diamante embroidered costume for solo dance. Embroidered costumes, medals, and certificates will tell the story of the development of dance schools and the governing bodies for Irish Dance.