‘SUMMER Jamm’ took over Strabane at the weekend as large crowds attended events from Friday 9th until Sunday 11th June.
The event brought the best of rock, pop, country, Irish folk and brass music to town alongside family friendly events, a local market, arts and crafts and workshops throughout the three day festival.
Thousands turned out over the long weekend to enjoy the events, which were organised by Derry City and Strabane District Council and supported by SGN Natural Gasand the Strabane Business Improvement District (BIDS).
The year’s celebrations featured Strabane’s finest brass bands, a country music festival and an outdoor music festival featuring top acts such as; The Blizzards, Ryan McMullan, Roisin O, David James, Cliona Hagan and Johnny Brady.
The Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District, Councillor Maolíosa McHugh, joined crowds around town on Saturday afternoon.
He said, “I was delighted to attend the Summer Jamm celebrations in Strabane. As one of my first engagements as Mayor it was a great opportunity to meet the people of Strabane and those visiting the town for festival.
“Council is dedicated to providing high quality, family friendly events to ensure people of all ages can enjoy them.
“It was great to see crowds out enjoying and supporting the festival programme and what a way start to our summer season.
“The town was transformed with music, song and dance throughout the weekend and I was glad to see so many young people involved in the festival and hear everyone was enjoying it.
“I would like to congratulate and thank all the event sponsors, those who organised the event and of course everyone who took part.”
There were lots of free events and activities throughout the weekend with street entertainers, market stalls, live music and kid’s zones.
Local talent was also out in force to compete in the annual busking competition, organised by Martin Gallen of the Strabane Chamber of Commerce.
The competition offered a top prize of £1,000, won by ’1980 Something’, and second and third prizes of £400 and £200.
Michael Kelly, Strabane BID Company who provided Summer Jamm’s Saturday evening concert said BID in Strabane was delighted to provide high profile acts for the concert, she added:
“We are very pleased with the feedback we have received on Saturday night’s concert. To attract acts such as The Blizzards, Roisin O and Ryan McMullan to perform was a real coup for us and we were delighted to bring an event of this scale to the town to help develop our tourism potential and inevitably build our local economy.
“This year’s festival is hopefully the start of a showpiece annual event for Strabane, we’re already excited for what Summer Jamm 2018 will bring!”
Darren Young, Head of Business Development at SGN Natural Gas said:
Irish singer Cliona Hagan who played at Strabane’s Summer Jamm Festival
‘This summer marks a significant milestone in the Gas to the West development as we will soon be connecting our first domestic customer. Getting involved in the Summer Jamm has been a great way to celebrate this achievement.’
‘We are delighted to be actively involved in local events such as the Summer Jamm which highlights our commitment to the Strabane area.
“We very much look forward to supporting this event next year and have every confidence it will further build on the success of this year.’
Mr Young concluded ‘Residents in Strabane wishing to be updated on Gas to the West can find further information at www.sgnnaturalgas.com.’
For more information on Derry City and Strabane District Council’s forthcoming events, visit www.derrystrabane.com.
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