Belfast City Airport supports Open House Festival’s volunteer programme

Belfast, Northern Ireland, 2021-Aug-03 — /Travel PR News/ — Belfast City Airport has delivered funding to support the volunteer programme of the Open House Festival, a registered charity dedicated to regenerating Bangor through arts and culture.

Open House originated in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter in 1999, and moved to Bangor in 2013, where its core month-long August Festival and Seaside Revival Vintage Festival have become staples on the seaside town’s summer calendar.

As Open House has grown, so has its reliance on volunteers to help deliver events, and the volunteer programme is now a vital element of the charity’s operations. As running it comes at significant cost, receiving the award from Belfast City Airport’s community fund, was both a welcome boost, and an endorsement of the volunteer programme.

Paula Bittles, Executive Assistant at Belfast City Airport, commented:

“Community is at the heart of everything we do here at Belfast City Airport so we are absolutely thrilled to be supporting the Open House Festival which is set to enrich the Bangor area this summer through an exciting programme of arts and cultural events.

“Through our Community Fund, established in 2009, we have forged many mutually beneficial partnerships with arts organisations and witnessed first-hand the positive impact these collaborations can have. The Open House Festival is undoubtedly going to be another example of this.

“We would like to extend our congratulations to the Open House team which has worked tirelessly to make sure the Festival can take place safely this summer following more than a year of restrictions on live events and gatherings, and we can’t wait to attend some of the outdoor events in August.”

Speaking of the Festival, Open House Manager, Alison Gordon, said:

“We are enormously proud of our volunteer programme, which has grown from a handful of people, to the 120 currently registered on the programme.

“They range in age from 18 to 80, and help with a multitude of tasks from stewarding and litter picking, to event set-up and making up-cycled bunting.

“We have a very small core team, and genuinely couldn’t do what we do without them.

“Getting this support from Belfast City Airport isn’t just a financial boost for us, it’s validation of everything our volunteers do to help make both the August Festival and Seaside Revival such successful and much-loved events. We are immensely grateful to the airport, and we know our volunteers will do it proud this summer.”

While last summer’s events were cancelled due to the pandemic, the August Festival is back this year – albeit with a reduced programme, and outdoor events only. Ticketed events will be held in Bangor Castle Walled Garden from 12th – 30th August, and free Music in the Park events will run every Sunday throughout August and September at the bandstand in Ward Park.

Volunteers will be present at all events, wearing their new George Best Belfast City Airport t-shirts – which have already been on display at some Seaside Revival events throughout July.

For details of all events, go to www.openhousefestival.com

Contact:

Tel: 02890 939093
Fax: 02890 939094

Source: George Best Belfast City Airport

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