Belfast Festival at Queen's was established in 1962 and ran successfully for over half a century,…read moreuntil 2015, when Queen's University Belfast (QUB) announced they could/would no longer fund it. Thus QUB effectively pulled the plug, handed festival staff redundancies and turfed them out into the cold. Undeterred, this dedicated festival team carried on, securing funding from Ulster Bank, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and many others sponsors. They found new offices, a fresh international focus and morphed the Belfast Festival at Queen's into the phenomenon that is now known as Belfast International Arts Festival. Hence a truly great thing was born. Belfast International Arts Festival aims to give all people affordable access to dance, music, film, art, theatre and literature of a contemporary nature and international stature. It's a fantastic three-week-long programme occurring annually in October which offers something for everyone. I never really got into this festival until last year (2015) when I attended the breathtaking AniMotion Show, an outdoor event of music, sound and visual art which totally blew my mind. Being a fan of visual art I also adored Belfast Open Studios where 20 artists studios allowed full access to the general public. Additionally the Annual RUA Art Exhibition is a show I visited numerous times and an absolute treat for the eyeballs. This year I secured my festival brochure as soon as it was available and have circled a long list of events to attend. I love that there are plentiful free and economically priced events. Plus there are many Irish/UK premieres and internationally renowned Artists to enjoy. Belfast International Arts Festival is cutting-edge, brilliant and the granddaddy of them all in Northern Ireland. If you attend only one festival this year, make it this one - it's far too good to miss!

Given that I just picked up the programme for this about an hour ago, it seemed only fitting that I…read moreshould share my thoughts with the Yelping world. The Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen's (to give it it's full, but never used title) is on every year for two weeks in October, and 90% of the time it's made of win. It's the big daddy of the countless festivals in this city, and it's easy to see why. It gives equal billing to music as it does to film, drama, dance and visual arts, and every year they attract a few heavy hitters to pull in the crowds. This year, for example, I'm particularly excited about an evening with Michael Palin and the Dublin Gospel Choir. Possibly the only downside to the Fesitval is that to go to everything that I wanted to would probably involve me selling a kidney! Most of the events are around the £10/£15 mark, but some run as high as £20 or £25. I'm not complaining, I mean, that's just what it costs to have the Festival work, it's just frustrating when you can't afford to see everything!

Belfast Fringe Festival is being arranged this year for the first time ever! After a round up of…read morepublic support and petitions the Belfast Festival is now including its very own Fringe element. This is in support of local artists/performers/ singers, comedians/ poets, circus performers, anything and everything at all! The aim is to provide a non-censored, accessible, and available to all festival for the people of Belfast and beyond. Hopefully this year we will gather support for the Fringe cause and then be able to set up a permanent society which represents all of the arts. Come show your support for this fantastic cause from 14th-17th October 2010. In their own poetic words; Sample from a buffet of sumptuous offerings, delivered by a collection of Northern Irish artistes given full rein to dish up a portion of their finest creations. You will be dazzled by the unfettered creativity which is unleashed.'

This place has a lot of functions to do with different community projects. However, it's best known…read morefor being the ticket office for all events at the West Belfast Festival, a.k.a. Féile an Phobail, a.k.a. the "Fla". Every year, for about a week and a half, there's a festival organised which starts at the end of July. It's reputedly the biggest community festival in Europe, and attracts tourists from far and wide. It has a whole host of events - live music gigs; lectures; comedy nights; photographic/art exhibitions; debates... the list goes on, and the events are held in a huge variety of venues from schools and community centres to pubs and marquees. It's amazing how many visitors this attracts every year.

Belfast Mela (Mela; Indian - to meet/ gathering) is the annual festival of international culture…read morewhich celebrates traditional arts, dance, music and fun from over thirty countries. Each year the Mela is given different themes which has previously been; Bollywood, Health & Well-Being, Caring for our Environment and Asian Fashion. This year we are being treated to a traditional Indian circus! The event aims to promote the understanding of different cultures and runs workshop and information days relating to this. This year it's being held on Sunday 29th August, 12-6pm on the Great Lawn at Botanic Gardens, Belfast. The festival is organised by ArtEkta (Northern Ireland's leading ethnic arts organisation) and is run entirely by local volunteers. It's hugely popular, having attracted over 50,000 visitors in the past three years. It's a great cause so any support is much welcome. If you wish to find out more information about the festival, email info@belfastmela.org.uk or call 028 9023 1381

I remember this festival being advertised when I started college this time last year and this time…read morearound I'm planning on taking advantage of all the great acts on offer. I just SOL'ed (that's Screamed Out Loud) (and erm I just made it up) when I checked the website for the line up there and saw that Dublin's finest Villagers are sold out!! Mercury Music Prize 2010 nominees Villagers are the cream of the crop. If you're lucky enough to have gotten a ticket you are in for a captivating show. Seriously. Another top tip (take my word for it) is the lovely Isobel Anderson who is playing the No Alibis Tent (at Custom House Square) on Sunday Sept 12th at 12:00pm. There seems to be a real buzz around this spellbinding folk singer at the moment. She plays an autoharp and guitar to back her intensely personal folk songs. A cut above the rest. Out of the other big acts there is Wilco who are superb live, Mumford and Sons (unfortunately sold out), Seasick Steve, Modest Mouse, Iron&Wine and some great local acts like Kowalski. (If you would like some more music tips, visit my music blog on my profile here) Anyway the Open House festival is a tip top festival comprising of little gigs dotted around Belfast's finer venues from the 6th to 12th September. There are loads of little quirky events going on too- are you brave enough to enter the chilli eating contest? There's also the intriguing sounding Strictly Come Barn Dancing, vintage clothing, a Beard grooming comp, Helium karaoke, a Cupcake Corner, Black Market and the highly recommended Vintage Rocks hairstyling (see my next review) to pick from. There's also some traditional Irish music if you enjoy a good aul session!

Oh look, another festival in Belfast…read more.. Sometimes it annoys me that we have so many festivals, but then, when you look at it, each of them brings something worthwhile to the city, so I shouldn't' really moan. This festival brings a more bluesy, country and traditional music to Belfast, and while none of those genres particularly excite me, it's great to see them being catered for. Plus, this year they got Mumford and Sons and Wilco, both of whom I love, so it's a very enthusiastic 4 stars from me!

Not just for culture vultures, The Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival (aka CQAF) is for everyone. It's…read morean annual celebration of visual art, comedy, theatre, music and literature. A lively and exciting festival with 150 events happening in 30 venues across Belfast but mainly concentrated in the Cathedral Quarter and Custom House Square. I absolutely love it and you'll find both popular and more obscure events happening. One of my favourites from a couple of years ago in 2014 was South Saharan band Tinariwen. A fabulous music concert and a band who I would never even have heard of if it weren't for CQAF. This year the 2016 program looks amazing and I'm already circling dates in my diary for the following events: ~ Vegstock, a vegetarian festival 02/05/2016 ~ Guy Garvey in concert 01/05/2016 ~ Ursula Burns, comedy harpist 04/05/2016 ~ Seeing Through Your Eyes: The Photographs of Peter Dressler 1972-2003, 01/04 - 14/05/2016 ~ Late Night Art Walking Tour 05/05/2016 ~ Monochrome in Cathedral Studios, 6 Artists respond to the theme 'monochrome' 05/05/2016 ~ Wet Plate portraits by Matthew Gordon and Jim Maginn 28/04 - 28/05/2016 ~ Rumpelstiltskin Revisited, knitted paintings by Jacqueline Wylie 29/04 - 10/06/2016 ~ The Death of Orpheus and Other Myths, screen prints by Leo Boyd 28/04 - 28/05/2016 There are a lot more events happening between 28 April and 8 May 2016, so go check the programme out online at http://cqaf.com/2016/

The Cathedral Quarter is a bit of a cultural monster in Belfast at the minute, and the Cathedral…read moreQuarter Arts Festival showcases the variety of arts on offer in Belfast to perfection. It's slightly less mainstream than the Belfast Festival at Queen's, so you might not recognise that many names when you go through the programme (I know I don't, anyway!), but don't let that put you off. Most of the events are very reasonably priced, so take a chance and go see a blues artist, or a stand-up you've never heard of, or a debate on modern architecture in Belfast - you might just be surprised! Belfast is fast becoming a city of festivals - we have one for everything! But the Cathedral Quarter has managed to separate itself from the crowd by providing a programme that is at once populist and alternative, providing support and inspiration for the arts in Belfast, and that can't be a bad thing, right?

It is great to have the Belfast Beer and Cider Festival back on the horizon. As we all know in the…read morewake of smoking regulations and with cheap supermarket booze, our local pubs and brewers have been taking a bashing, so events like this are a real shot in the arm for local brewers. The event used to be held in the Kings Hall complex, but has this year moved to the Ulster Hall after no event being held in 2009.This is a great move as not only will the surroundings be more plush, but it will be in a much more convenient location to draw a bigger crowd in the centre of town! With over 100 beers and ciders available in a range of styles and traditional pub games and live music, the festival is a great night's craic.I am not the biggest beer fan, but I love me some cider, and the time I went with a few pals in 2008 I sampled some of the best cider I ever had, before becoming rather inebriated to put it gently... Ticket prices are £3 in the daytime and £6 in the evenings, with a discounted £2 rate for Campaign For Real Ale members!

There's always an air of excitement when Belfast Film Festival begins and this year has been no…read moredifferent. With the Northern Irish film Industry booming it seems like this year's festival will be a celebration of the talent that we have on these shores. The Belfast Film Festival organisers are excellent at promoting local venues and businesses. For instance last night I attended a special screening of Network aptly shown in a BBC studio at Balckstaff House. The venue was a perfect compliment to the movie and this is the beauty of The Belfast Film Festival - it provides a cinematic experience. The local promotion didn't stop there as Fratelli's hosted the pre movie drinks. It's fantastic to see a festival and local businesses work together to promote all Belfast has to offer. Venues include QFT, The Black Box and Moviehouse on the Dublin Road. This is the 15th year of The Belfast Film Festival and it's running from 16th April - 25th April - so if you want to see some local talent in the big screen or just want to see some local venues in a different light then look no further.

Belfast Film Festival takes place every year in April for two weeks…read more The programme is usually very varied, so it's hard to describe it exactly. Basically though, you can expect every kind of film; comedy, sci-fi, art house, horror, classic and there's usually a strong local or Irish feel about it too. The movies are screened in venues all over the city, some conventional cinemas and some more unconventional venues (like on a boat going on the Lagan for instance!) For proper film buffs, there are talks and workshops as well. There's generally something for everyone and it's a great chance to see some interesting films in unusual settings. There are also special events that take place during the rest of the year, so it's always worth keeping an eye on the website to see if there's anything on.