Ulster-Scots Agency - Coleraine Twelfth Festival of Culture 2008

Coleraine Twelfth Festival of Culture 2008

Coleraine Twelfth Festival is a fun-filled, varied programme of events in the week leading up to the 12th of July. The festival was held for the first time in 2006 and has continued to grow. By showcasing our culture and heritage in an enjoyable and educational way, we hope to dispel some of the myths and misconceptions attached to the Orange Order, and provide an opportunity for everyone to participate in this traditional holiday period.

What type of funding did you apply for from the Ulster-Scots Agency?

We applied for funding to bring different musical groups, such as Ulster Scots Experience, Session Beat, lambeg drums and local bands to play at various events throughout the festival, to demonstrate how the Ulster Scots heritage has been carried down through generations to the present day. This also provided an opportunity to promote the local talent within the community. We also received funding for dancers, an Ulster Scots cookery demonstration, towards the exhibition in Coleraine Town Hall and advertising.

What activities were included in the festival programme?

We included a cultural/historical exhibition in Coleraine Town Hall which featured old photographs, artefacts and regalia relating to local bands & the Loyal Orders in the area; most of these items would not normally be available for the public to see. Many of the items high-lighted the significant role the Orange Order has played in society over the years. The exhibition will be extended to include the strong Ulster Scots links in the local area.

We also included Ulster Scots music and dance, both at an indoor concert and open-air in The Diamond ensuring as large an audience as possible and making the festival as inclusive to the whole community as possible. We had an evening of culture and entertainment in Christie Park where a variety of local bands, including pipe, accordion and flute, playing Ulster Scots music entertained a large crowd. The evening also featured a model helicopter display, a River Rescue display, face-painting, a BBQ and the evening concluded with a fireworks display over the River Bann to welcome in the ‘Twelfth’ celebrations. The programme of events also included a junior 5-a-side football & It’s-A-Knockout competition and a children’s funday, these events were held at The Crescent Playing Fields to ensure the programme offered something in all areas of Coleraine.

The Orange parade on the Twelfth was preceded by a carnival pageant; our culture was represented by King William on horse-back and his foot-soldiers and other cultures within the local community were included. There were clowns and entertainers, there was a children’s funday, with bouncy castles etc., in the ‘12^th Field’. The response from the public over the course of the week was fantastic and we had approximately 50,000 people lining the streets of Coleraine on the Twelfth Day, at times like that it makes all the hard work worthwhile.

Who was the key target audience for the festival?

The festival show-cased our heritage and culture as Protestants and the links to the Ulster Scots movement within the island, this was demonstrated through music, dance and education. By combining education and fun we targeted all age groups from all sections of the local community and also visitors to the area; by ensuring a wide range of events throughout the week there was something of appeal for everyone.

How was the festival advertised / promoted?

The festival was advertised in the local press and on local radio. We also produced a small brochure which was distributed through local tourist information offices, libraries, leisure centres and shops; posters were also displayed in these locations. These brochures were distributed door to door in Coleraine & surrounding areas and also handed out at local events, such as the Ulster Scots day in Bushmills, band parades, etc. We have also set up and developed a website, www.ColeraineTwelfthFestival.co.uk, which is an important portal for information and this received hundreds of hits in the run-up to and during the festival.

Approximately how many people attended / took part in the festival’s activities?

The exhibition attracted over 3000 people over the course of the week and the street entertainment also attracted good crowds, with many shoppers stopping to enjoy the music & dance and the historical exhibition. The junior 5-a-side drew an entry of 17 teams and large numbers of young people attended the It’s-A-Knockout; several hundred children enjoyed the funday at The Crescent. There was a large crowd, of approximately 1000, young and old alike, at the cultural evening of entertainment in Christie Park with even more turning out to watch the fireworks display which rounded off an evening for the whole community.

Police and media estimates put a figure in excess of 50,000 people in Coleraine on the 12^th of July.

Did you receive positive feedback? If so, provide examples.

There were a lot of positive comments received by members of the committee during the week of the festival and in the following weeks, the general view being that this was an event people wanted to see continuing and being further developed in the future.

We also distributed short questionnaires at all events to help establish statistics for age groups etc., these included an area where respondents could record their comments.

There was a visitors book available at the exhibition which also included a lot of positive feedback.

Do you have any plans to run the festival again in the future?

We hope to make the festival an annual event, continually improving and expanding the programme of events. We plan to incorporate the 400^th anniversary of The Plantation, featuring the ‘Lost County of Coleraine’ and demonstrating the strong Ulster Scots links in this area. We are currently working with the local library who will stage an exhibition on The Plantation of Ulster which will run alongside our festival in July 2009, we believe their request to be involved is very positive and significant.

Our group also received an award from Coleraine Borough Council for the work we have put into the community over the last few years and, again, we regard this as a positive move in displaying and promoting our culture.

What advice would you offer to other groups who may be considering running a festival in the future?

The most important thing is to be realistic about what is achievable, especially in the early years; give yourself time and don’t rush into things. Continually appraise your plans and adjust them as necessary, sometimes a second look lets you see something differently. It is very easy to under estimate the work involved, not only during the week of the festival but the necessary planning in the months running up to it. Advertising is very important, and groups tend to under estimate costs involved when budgeting; if people don’t know your event is happening they are not going to attend. Try to prepare for any eventuality but be ready to think on your feet when things don’t go to plan, because believe us this can and do go wrong, but most importantly enjoy the event.

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