Saturday 27 April 2013, Time: 11am – 5pm

Four hundred years ago, on 27 April 1613, Belfast became a town. On 27 April 2013 we’ll commemorate this significant anniversary in the grounds of Belfast City Hall with a packed programme of free activities including films, exhibitions, tours and family entertainment. Come along and mark this great anniversary with us!

The BIG highlights

On the lawns

St George’s Market on tour
11am – 5pm

Join local food and craft traders selling a range of produce including artisan foods, antiques and collectibles, crafts, jewellery and much much more.

Live music 
11am – 5pm

Sit back and enjoy an array of live musical performances.

Ramprage Extreme Sports Crew
11am – 5pm

The RampRage Extreme Sports Crew from the T13 Urban Sports Academy will take to the legendary TITAN half-pipe to showcase freestyle BMX, skate and blade.

Urban art demonstration
12pm – 4pm

Watch Kev Largey, one of Northern Ireland’s leading urban artists create a unique piece of urban art on the side of the extreme sports skate ramp.

BBC community archive film footage
Big Screen, Belfast City Hall grounds
11am – 1.30pm

Enjoy a rare screening of films from BBC NI’s community archive.

Film screening: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) PG
Big Screen, Belfast City Hall grounds
2pm-5pm

Bring along your picnic and blanket and enjoy a special screening of the much-loved children’s classic telling the story of four young children who are evacuated during the Blitz to the countryside and find a wardrobe leading to the fantasy world of Narnia. There they ally with the lion Aslan against the forces of Jadis, the White Witch. This film is based on the novel written by famous Belfast novelist and poet CS Lewis.

Children’s activities 
11am – 5pm

No event would be complete without the ever popular face painters, arts and crafts and street entertainers.

Inside the building

Belfast 400 Photographic Exhibition: A Journey through Time
11am – 5pm

Trace the tale of Belfast’s landscape as it grew from boggy river crossing to famous city, the ever-changing vistas that roll out the city we know today. Using maps and landscape images this exhibition shows some of the familiar, and not so familiar, landmarks of a city that is continuing to expand and evolve.

City Hall Tours
Stepping through time: Belfast 400 years ago 
Belfast City Hall (meet at reception)
12pm, 2pm and 4pm

Join our City Hall tour guides for a tour with a dramatic twist. Be transported back in time as our experienced guides and surprise guests tell tales of old Belfast.

Tours lasts approximately two hours. Recommended for those aged 12 years and over.
Tours are free but limited spaces are available. Booking essential To book call 028 9027 0456 or email civicbuildings@belfastcity.gov.uk.

Out and about

Walking tours: 400 years of Belfast
The streets and buildings in the heart of Belfast have many a story to tell. Put on your walking shoes and join our experienced guides to hear tales of the characters that built our city.

The walking tours are free but you’ll need a ticket. Limited spaces available.
Tickets are available from the Belfast Welcome Centre: call 028 9024 6609.

Belfast: An Urban Walk 
Departs from Titanic Memorial Garden, Donegall Square East, Belfast City Hall.
12 noon (tour lasts approximately 2 hours).

Explore 400 years of Belfast’s urban development with PLACE Built Environment Centre. This walking tour highlights how landscape, industry and wealth, poverty and conflict, peace and more have influenced and shaped the architecture of Belfast.

Ruairí O’Baoill’s Hidden History Walking Tour
Departs from Titanic Memorial Garden, Donegall Square East, Belfast City Hall.
3pm (tour lasts approximately two hours)

Below the streets of Belfast lies buried a hidden history which archaeologists have been exploring for years. Join Ruairí as he brings Belfast’s archaeological, historical and architectural heritage to life with stories about some of the interesting characters who have lived and worked here over the years.