News

Mason collects 15th seniors title at the Ryder Cup Wales Seniors Open

26th Aug 2007

Conwy Golf Club played host to the eagerly anticipated 2007 Wales Seniors Open between the 15th to 17th June England’s Carl Mason captured his 15th title in four years on the European Seniors Tour in front of huge galleries at the Ryder Cup Wales Seniors Open on Sunday. Mason, four strokes behind after eight holes of his final round, produced four birdies down the testing back nine at Conwy (Caernarvonshire) Golf Club to win by two strokes from overnight leader Juan Quiros of Spain and Ross Drummond of Scotland. Carl Mason added "This is the second biggest event on the European Seniors Tour and I needed to win this week if I am to challenge for a third Order of Merit title this season," Oficials were delighted with the record attendances over the weekend even though the heavy rain. Praise must be given to the club who responded well to the challenges of poor weather with the Greens staff having to worke tirelessly to deal with the rain.

International Eisteddfod - 2007 highlights

2nd Oct 2007

World class tenor José Carreras and New Zealand's Hayley Westenra, the UK's most downloaded classical artist were one of this years highlights as they performed at the 2007 world music festival - which started with a concert by folk legend Joan Baez. Singers and dancers from around the world also took part in over 20 high quality competitions, which was followed each evening by concerts where the best and most colorful competitors share the stage with professional artists. Over five thousand singers, dancers and instrumentalists from around 50 countries perform to audiences of more than 50,000 over the 5 days of the event.

Gwyl y Faenol Festival

1st Oct 2007

The hills and mountains of Snowdonia were alive ‘to the sound of music’ during the August bank holiday weekend as a galaxy of international music stars grace Bryn Terfel’s Faenol Festival stage. It was again a record success with over 35,000 enjoying the four day festival on the Faenol Estate near Caernarfon, and record TV audiences for the Festival’s concerts thanks to a successful broadcast partnership with BBC Wales. Chart toppers such as Girls Aloud and Shane Ward, artists such as Michel Ball, Carlos Alvarez and Connie Fisher wowed the crowds over the festival weekend. A special Tan y Ddraig conceret was also a highlight to celebrate 30 years of Welsh broadcasting via Radio Cymru. Bryn Terfel added “the event succseeds to develop every year and continues to attract high proffile artists as the festival’s good name spreads intrnationaly.”

"Welsh Banks emptied to pay record breaking prize fund"

19th Oct 2007

Mark Adams and Dean Amesbury from Tredegar won the inaugural Wales Carp Masters at Celtic Lakes resort this weekend, lifting the magnificent trophy and collecting the wallet busting £10,001 cash first prize. The overall prize fund is the biggest in the UK amounting to £20,001. 25 qualifying heats located at 5 different venues in Wales have taken place over the past 6 months from which the winning pairs qualified through to the grand final. The competitors battled it out in a 44 hour enduro which saw a total of 84 fish caught, weighing a total of 681lbs. Sky TV were on site and captured an unusual dance performed by the winners as the realisation that they had won was confirmed at the end of the competition. Congratulations to Llyn y Gors, Anglesey and Llyn Gweryd, Denbighshire for successfully hosting the qualifying heats.

2007 International Cadet World Championships

10th Oct 2007

207 International Cadets made the journey to Pwllheli to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Cadet class. Pwllheli welcomed crews from Australia, Argentina, Poland, Russia, Spain, Hungary, Netherlands, Germany, The Czech Republic, Belarus and Grate Britain. Congratulations to the Poland win Open Championships Congratulations to the visiting team of Michal and Agata Tomaszewski for winning a very competitive championships against 153 competitors.

Conwy Feast – Winner of the best Community Event at the 2007 National Tourism Awards

15th Oct 2007

Gwledd Conwy Feast is celebrating after being named 'Best Community Event in Wales'. The Visit Wales award was presented by BBC's Huw Edwards at a glittering ceremony in Bodelwyddan Castle on October 4th 2007. "Gwledd Conwy Feast is about a great community hosting a great event in a great town, and we're delighted that the judges of Visit Wales have given it the recognition it deserves. We look forward to an even bigger and better event this year." says Organiser Jane Hughes Congratulations to Jane and the team for their success.

NORTH WALES OUTDOOR EVENTS CONFERENCE

24th Sep 2007

North Wales Outdoor Events Conference Thursday 8th Nov. 2007 On behalf of the North West Wales Events Commission and NOEA, I am pleased to extend a warm invitation for you to attend this unique and important occasion in the event organisers’ calendar. This year’s conference held at the prestigious Quay Hotel, Deganwy, will cover numerous issues that impact on the event industry including Marketing and Sponsorship Opportunities, Health and Safety, New Legislation and Managing Crisis. Our guest speaker is Jason Harborow, Chief Executive of Liverpool Capital City of Culture, who will share with us the exciting challenges faced by the organisers in order to co-ordinate a successful year of events in 2008 For further information please contact the Events Commission on 01286 685240. .

Anglesey Events given support for 2007

28th Mar 2007

It has been agreed that the North West Wales Event Commission will be supporting 4 events on Anglesey during 2007. St David’s day concert has already taken place at the Mona showground on the 1st of March 2007. We will also be giving our support to the Anglesey Arts Week which will run from the 31st of March to the 15th of April. In addition we will also be backing the annual Mill’s Festival on the 12th of April and the Anglesey agricultural show which is taking place between the 14th and 15th of August 2007.

Events ‘Health and Safety ’ Workshop

2nd Mar 2007

The North West Wales Events Commission held a one-day training workshop for events organizers on aspects relating to ‘Health and Safety within Events’, on the 7th of February 2007 at the Galeri, Caernarfon. With health and safety now an integral part of organizing any event, numerous event organisers from Gwynedd, Anglesey , Conwy and Denbighshire took advantage of the opportunity to attend the training session. The training programme was delivered and developed by Richard Limb from Capita Symonds Ltd. The programme was specifically designed to assist in all aspects of event health and safety. An excellent response was received following the workshop, thus we hope to arrange a similar session on another training theme in the forthcoming months.

Llŷn Food Festival

27th Jul 2006

The highlight of the local culinary calendar took place at Pwllheli Marina on the 7th & 8th of July 2006. The annual Llŷn Food Festival took place near the sailing Club, Hafan Marina, Pwllheli. The event was a huge success and provided a shop window for fresh local produce. This year was the festival’s fifth year and since moving from Nefyn to Pwllheli the event has again expanded and continued to attract more visitors.

Snowdon Race

27th Aug 2006

The 31st International Snowdon Race was held on Saturday the 22nd of July 2006 at Llanberis. Over 600 competitors took part in one of the most physically challenging mountain races in the UK. Coming in at first place was Englishman Andi Jones followed in second by Welshman Tim Davies. The Female race was also won by English representative Louise Taylor followed by Jo Mcgarry from Jersey. This was the first year that the event was under the leadership of the new committee – Dafydd Ellis, Geoff Clegg and Trefor Edwards . Congratulations on a successful first year!

Music Festival hits the high notes – NW Music Festival

27th Aug 2006

The North Wales Music Festival which is a major celebration of classical music hit the high notes in more ways than one with audiences and local businesses. That is the conclusion of an in-depth study into the impact of the annual event carried out by expert Emma Wood, a senior lecturer at Leeds Metropolitan University. According to her research, everyone who attended the festival enjoyed it, with 95% stating that it was excellent. The survey also revealed that local businesses benefited from nearly £26,000 in direct spending by festive-goers. No wonder that the majority of the 15 local businesses that took part in the study believed that the festival was vitaly important for the local economy!

Celebrating Welsh Culture and Heritage - St David’s Day Concert

27th Apr 2006

Welsh culture and heritage was celebrated with a star-studded festival to mark St David’s Day on Wednesday the 1st of March 2006. Anglesey County Council, the only authority in Wales to recognise St David’s Day as an official staff holiday hosted the concert at the Mona showground Pavilion. Around 2,000 people attended the concert who experienced performances from some of the biggest names in Welsh music, including Bryn Fon, Elin Fflur, Rhys Meirion and Brigyn.

Amlwch Viking Festival

27th Aug 2006

Amlwch’s Viking Festival was held on the weekend of the 22nd – 23rd July 2006. It is estimated that in excess of 13,000 individuals visited Amlwch over the festival to experience thrilling Viking displays and battles. On Saturday night the ceremonial boat burning and fireworks was witnessed by thousands of individuals at Amlwch Port.

International Harp Festival

27th May 2006

The first International Harp Festival took place at the Galeri Caernarfon between 16th – 23rd April 2006. The festival was created by Elinor Bennett (Founder and director of Canolfan Gerdd William Mathias) with the soul purpose of celebrating the harp and it’s music, and particularly to share the rich heritage of the harp in Wales with people abroad. The week long festival included concerts from world renowned harpists such as Isabelle Moreti of France, Catrin Finch from Wales and Zi lan Liao from China and the legendary Deborah Henson - Conant. Numerous music workshops also took place during the week giving local aspiring young harpists the chance to gain valuable experience. Five competitions for varying ages formed the backbone of the festival, with over 100 competitors from 21 counties competing against each other and making friends through music.

Bluegrass Festival

21st Aug 2006

The 18th annual North Wales Blue Grass Festival took place in numerous venues around Conwy including Bodlondeb Park and the Civic Hall, between the 7th – 9th July 2006. The 2006 event saw Conwy welcoming Carmel Sheerin & the Ravens from Ireland, who were nominated top Bluegrass music band at the European World of Bluegrass Festival in 2005. Also back by popular demand to dazzle the crowds were the ‘New Section’ from the Czech Republic who were supported by the cream of the current British Blugrass Music scene.

Llandudno Kitejam

14th Dec 2005

Over 150 of the UK’s top power kiters provided a spectacular display for spectators on Llandudno's West and North Shores over the weekend of Sept 10th and 11th. Organised by Turbulence Extreme Sports Llandudno Junction the festival included kite boarding, kite surfing and kite buggying. Many of the competitors and their supporters camped at nearby Bodafon fields and enjoyed the hospitality of the Llandudno and Conway valley area. It is hoped now that this event will develop to become a major extreme sports festival.

Welsh Ploughing and Fencing Championship

14th Dec 2005

The Bodorgan estate Anglesey was the venue for this years All Wales Ploughing and Fencing Championship. This was the first time ever for the event to be held on the Island. More than 80 tractors turned out as well as 16 teams of Shire horses. Over 250 local school children were invited to take part in various activities which included building scarecrows. Over 2,000 spectators enjoyed the festival and catch a glimpse of bygone rural traditions. The winners of the event will now go on to represent Wales in the World Championship

Celtic Winter Fayre

1st Dec 2005

Over 70 stallholders selling a wide range of crafts, foods and wines took part in the second Fayre to be held at Llandudno. Although the weather was not particularly kind the four day event proved to be a success amongst locals and visitors alike and it certainly helped to create a festive atmosphere in the town

Conwy Feast

23rd Nov 2005

The second “Conwy Feast" Festival was held on October 22nd and 23rd and was hailed to be a resounding success by both visitors and local food producers. Over 60 local produce stalls attended and a full programme of events took place at various locations around the historic town. Beer tasting, cookery demonstrations and hog roasts were extremely popular. www.conwyfeast.co.uk

THE FUTURE OF EVENTS IS LOOKING GOOD IN WALES

5th Oct 2005

A conference organised by the Events Commission in conjunction with the National Outdoor Events Association was deemed to be a great success by delegates. Presentations were made on a wide variety of subjects ranging from Security and licensing issues to Crowd Dynamics and the background to organising the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Greece. Throughout the day there were opportunities to view various exhibitions by event services as well as network with other delegates or simply inspect the excellent facilities of the Pavilion, home of the Llangollen International Eisteddfod. A keynote speech by Alun Pugh, Minister for Culture and the Welsh Language, Welsh Assembly Government “The Economic and Cultural Importance of Events in Wales “ was warmly received by the enthusiastic audience. (In the picture Hugh Edwin Jones Chief Executive Events Commission Alun Pugh Culture Minister and Richard Limb NOEA President)

Festival Market at Faenol

3rd Oct 2005

This year as part of the ongoing growth and development of the Bryn Terfel Faenol Festival a festival market was organised.

The market was organised by the Event Commission in partnership with Menter Mon , Faenol estate and the Bryn Terfel Faenol Trust. It gave local businesses an opportunity to get involved in the Festival and also provided an extra fringe element for the audience.

The initial response to this new initiative has been extremely positive and it is planned to make this a permanent addition to the event.