Culture Night Belfast 2015

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2015 is the seventh year Culture Night Belfast has taken over the streets of the capital. It is the one night of the year Belfast truly comes to life and the atmosphere is comparable with Times Square,  New York or Bangkok at night.

Unfortunately, there were proposed cuts to the  NI Events Fund, putting Culture Night Belfast at risk of not materialising at all. Thankfully, due to public support these cuts did not transpire and Culture Night Belfast 2015 was due to be bigger and better than ever. Throughout the afternoon and evening of Friday, 18 September there would be over 250 free events to partake in.

 

Headline sponsor of Culture Night Belfast, Belfast Harbour invited me to Barrow Square and City Quay to kick off the occasion. Until recently, when I thought of Belfast Harbour, I would think of the docks in the north of the city and getting the ferry to Scotland or England. I was pleasantly surprised to learn the Belfast Harbour area was in the city centre, including areas such as ‘The Big Fish’ and extending to Barrow Square within the Clarendon area.

On arrival to the harbour, I made a beeline for the Foodie Folk stand. I ordered a burger filled with cheese and crispy onions (much to the dismay of the two guys, I didn’t have any sauce and they were very concerned my onions would fall out).

Within a few moments, a Samba band appeared from nowhere and set up in Barrow Square.

I spent around 45 minutes listening to the band play. It was wonderful to be able to sit in the sun and listen to some great live music. It was while I was enjoying the music that Debs from SuperBusyMum  joined me with three of her little ones, Ellie, Jacob, and Annabelle.

When the Samba band finished, we walked along the quayside. Here, there was an array of street artists showcasing their talent. In between the artists, An Droichead was playing traditional music.

As we walked along, the kids were stopped by some magicians who engaged them brilliantly. They completed some tricks together which kept them well entertained.

The ‘Psychedelic Cyclo Taxi’ was also operating up and down the quay bringing revellers from one place to another. The man pedalling never seemed to run out of energy and kept going throughout the afternoon.

I tagged along with a German tour group at ‘The Big Fish’, before noticing there was Street Countdown at the edge of the river. The kids got hot dogs and as things were winding down at 4 pm we crossed to Custom House Square to indulge in free samples at the Tesco Taste Festival.

I had a great afternoon at the events in Belfast Harbour for Culture Night Belfast 2015 with Debs and the kids. I love big events in Belfast, especially those which are free for all. I am already looking forward to Culture Night Belfast 2016.

*This post was in partnership with Belfast Harbour. As always, you receive my honest opinions*

What was your favourite part of Culture Night Belfast? Have you been to similar events in any other cities?