Events galore in Portadown

A Social Networking Event for senior citizen groups takes place at Ashgrove Community Centre from 4-6pm today (Friday). The event is held to help participants overcome their divisions and learn more about each other. Local representatives from the PSNI will be there.

Welcome Wall takes place tomorrow (Saturday) at Brownlow Library from 10.30am to 1pm to help children gain a better understanding about refugees.

And to round off the weeks events will be a Cultural Fun Day which will take place at Killicomaine Jubilee Park from 12 noon to 3pm tomorrow (Saturday). Members of the Kilcomaine Jubilee Community Centre will gather to celebrate the cultural diversity in the town.

The events are co-ordinated through the Community Relations Council (CRC), and runs from Monday, September 18 – Sunday, September 24, with more than 160 events taking place across Northern Ireland.

The initiative, supports the Northern Ireland Executive’s Together: Building a United Community (T:BUC) strategy, and sees government departments, community groups, local councils, charitable organisations and authorities among many other organisers, host a wide range of events from exhibitions, talks, discussions, concerts, workshops and more – all based this year around the theme of ‘Safe Space: Shared Place’.

Twelve events will take place in the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough.

Jacqueline Irwin, Chief Executive of the Community Relations Council, says: “We have chosen the theme Safe Space: Shared Place to allow us to show how many safe and shared spaces we have here. Not just physical spaces, but space in how we think about each other.

“We want to draw attention to the work that is going on all the time to broaden and deepen our sense of safety and to create even more spaces that are shared by all of us. The week is an opportunity to showcase the ways in which people are making room for each other and getting involved in helping people feel safe to share sport, drama, film, food, arts, culture, music and everything that can make life good here.

“The number of events that are part of the Cultural Awareness Week is testament to the work undertaken by members of our local communities.”