Beat Carnival Brings 'Beach of Dreams-Our Siren Song' to the Ards Peninsula

Beach of Dreams, the UK-wide walking and coastal arts festival taking place in May, reimagines our relationship with the coastline and inspires creative, community-led action for a sustainable future. As the festival travels across the UK, Beat Carnival will produce Our Siren Song in Northern Ireland, celebrating the Ards Peninsula coast.

Running from Tuesday 13 to Saturday 17 May, Our Siren Song Festival is a coastal journey through Portaferry, Cloughey, Portavogie, Ballyhalbert and Ballywalter, culminating in a festival finale at Millisle Beach celebrating community creativity, coastal connection, artistic and environmental exploration.

Our Siren Song programme has been building momentum over the past seven months through community workshops and creative walks with people across the Ards Peninsula and beyond. “What does the sea sing to you?” is the question underpinning activities in coastal villages, which include storytelling, songwriting and singing, fabric dyeing, print making, carnival drumming, pennant design, and ecological discussions. Responses to that question have guided the composition of the communities' festival song, ‘Watching the Waves’.

Our Siren Song Festival begins on Tuesday 13th May at the two ends of the Ards Peninsula—on the North Down Coastal Path and at Strangford Narrows. A series of coastal walks and rows commence, where festival pennants will fly, portraying stories of the shore, and our Siren will travel from Portaferry (on 13th ) to her procession and performance on Saturday 17th at Millisle. Her song will echo through the villages and beaches of the Ards Peninsula, increasing awareness of our coastal environment, encouraging climate conversations, creative actions and community pride.

Festival highlights include:

- Tuesday 13 May – Strangford & Portaferry - Guided walk through Strangford and Portaferry, accompanied by coastal rowers. Our Siren begins her coastal journey with a joyful celebration in song and silk pennants. Wednesday 14 May – Cloughey & Portavogie – Coastal walk and row from Cloughey Beach to Portavogie north beach. Thursday 15 May – Ballyhalbert & Ballywalter – Shoreline walk with festival pennants, from NI’s most easterly point at Ballyhalbert, to Ballywalter Beach, the Siren’s final stop before Millisle.

- Friday 16 May – Newcastle Geopark - Beach event exploring civic pride and climate action.

- Finale: Saturday 17 May, Millisle Beach. Festival week culminates in a day of community fun, creative activities and music performances at Millisle Beach Park from 3pm:

● Beach installation of over 700 silk pennants

● Music stage and on-site entertainment

● Arts, crafts and ecology stalls

● Finale beach walk and climate-pledge conversations

● Coastal rowing

● 6pm: Our Siren Song carnival procession through Millisle to the beach, with music, dance, Peninsula samba drummers, the Siren, Green Man and sea creatures

● 7pm: Our Siren Song premiere performance of specially composed ‘Watching the Waves’. The four-metre-tall Siren (operatic singer Jenny Bourke) and mass community choir will deliver a message of celebration, warning and hope—and call across the waves to the next Beach of Dreams festival location in Scotland, as a currach sets off with gifts of pennants and climate pledges.

The Mayor of Ards and North Down, Councillor Alistair Cathcart, commenting at the festival launch, said: “Beach of Dreams - Our Siren Song is a celebration of our Borough’s rich maritime heritage and the enduring creativity of our communities. This initiative not only showcases the artistic talents of our residents, it also highlights our shared commitment to protecting the environment. I am delighted to welcome the festival to the Ards Peninsula and I would encourage everyone to come along and lend their support.”

David Boyd, Director at Beat Carnival said: “It has been a pleasure developing Our Siren Song with communities in the Ards Peninsula and North Down. The festival week highlights people’s enthusiastic participation and celebrates their places. Beat Carnival invites residents, visitors, artists and campaigners to walk with the Siren, share in the creative, coastal journey, and on 17th May, be part of the big beach celebration of place, people and planet.”

Our Siren Song programme and events are supported by Ards and North Down Borough Council, The National Lottery Community Fund, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Beat Carnival, and Arts Council England through Beach of Dreams.

For more details and the full programme, visit: www.beatcarnival.com/our-siren-song

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