Platinum Jubilee

The Platinum Jubilee Beacons is the first community event of the four-day Jubilee Weekend, 2nd-5th June 2022. Thousands of beacons will be lit by communities, charities and different groups throughout the regions of the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and UK Overseas Territories.

On Thursday 2 June 2022 Ards and North Down Borough Council will light Jubilee Beacons at three locations in the Borough:

• Conway Square, Newtownards - 8.45pm to 10pm
• The Castle, Bangor - 9pm to 10pm
• Burr Point, Ballyhalbert - 9pm to 10pm

Beacons will be lit at 9.45pm.

Find out more about The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Beacons, including the Royal history of this tradiiton, at the official website: 

ABOUT — The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Beacons 2022 (queensjubileebeacons.com)

Sea Bangor Celebrates the Platinum Jubilee

• Saturday 4th June and Sunday 5th June
• 10am – 6pm on Saturday and 12 noon – 6pm on Sunday.

This year’s Sea Bangor will reflect and celebrate the seven decades of the Queen’s reign. Quay Street car park will host a range of activities for all the family, celebrating the food, music and dance of the eras.

Visitors will step back in time as the area is transformed with a seaside holiday atmosphere to include beach huts, vintage fun fair rides and a ballroom featuring music and dance from each of the decades.

Along the Eisenhower Pier a demo kitchen will feature chefs from each of the decades. Serving up iconic recipes, including Coronation Chicken, the Chefs will recreate the classics of their era and will also feature ‘Desert Island Discs’, with their favourite music from the time.

Food and drink stalls will line the Pier with seating areas encouraging visitors to sit and enjoy the holiday atmosphere. Also on Eisenhower Pier, visitors will find The Jubilee Jukebox - an exciting live interactive theatre production.

There will be on-water activities including a water activity section (details to be confirmed).

The McKee Clock Arena will host a display of vehicles reflecting the time period.

Please note - Quay Street Car Park will be closed from Monday 30 May, reopening on Wednesday 8 June to allow for set up and take down of the event.

For full details: Sea Bangor Celebrates the Platinum Jubilee - Family Fun in Bangor, Northern Ireland - Ards & North Down (visitardsandnorthdown.com)

 The Council is calling on all bakers in the Borough to dust down their aprons and enter the Ards and North Down Platinum Pudding Competition! 

The British pudding comes in all shapes and sizes, so you can decide if it is steamed, baked, rolled or layered. The proof of the pudding will be in the eating, as our judges look to shortlist those which taste great and have a contemporary and royal twist.

 Your pudding submission should be sweet. If in doubt, just imagine your recipe being served for afternoon tea or after the main course - but no ice cream please! 

The winning AND Platinum Pudding will be replicated by our talented chefs from South Eastern Regional College, to be served at Sea Bangor Celebrates the Platinum Jubilee on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 June, including the Big Jubilee Lunch. 

There are top prizes up for grabs, including a KitchenAid food mixer, food blender and electric hand mixer. The overall winner will receive an invitation to the Big Jubilee Lunch at this year’s festival and all our winners will get the chance to meet our special guest, Chef Jean-Christophe Novelli MBE, who will be presenting the prizes over the weekend. 

Fancy your chances? Pudding entries need to be delivered to Bangor reception of SERC on Friday 27 May, between 9am and 11.30am. Judging will take place that day with winners notified the following week. Entries must be accompanied by a copy of the recipe and the entrant’s contact details. 

Ts & Cs apply - Platinum Pudding Competition - Terms and Conditions | Ards and North Down Borough Council

In this special one-day Workshop with Diane Lyness Goldsmith, participants will design and make a unique crown themed necklace to commemorate Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee.

Spaces are limited so book early to avoid disappointment.

• Friday 27 May
• 10am - 4pm
• Ards Arts Centre
• £50 (incl materials)

Book online: https://andculture.org.uk/classes/jubilee-silver-crown-workshop

The North Down Museum will be stepping back in time to celebrate Her Majesty’s reign with the Platinum Jubilee Exhibition (1 June – 31 July). It will look at the impact of the monarchy and highlight the highs and lows of each decade, both locally and internationally.

For more information visit Platinum Jubilee - Queen Elizabeth II and her Reign | AND Culture

Celebrate The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee with this interactive family activity in each of our 5 towns. 

 What is the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Beacon Trail?  

 Join Sir Barnaby Beacon on this story trail experience that allows players to visit 7 characters that have come to life from Buckingham Palace, and who are visiting your location on a day out.   

 As you spot each of the 7 characters around your location,  you can use your phone's camera to scan the unique QR codes to engage with the story and answer questions to choose how it progresses. You will learn about a different decade in Her Majesty’s 70 year reign from each character.   

 You will also be able to engage with the characters as they come to life in Augmented Reality (AR). After collecting all 7 stamps,  you will be rewarded with the conclusion to the adventure, and be able to take selfies with digital prize badges ‘pinned’ to yourself. 

So why not come along and and join Sir Barnaby on his adventure through your town! 

Find out more at Jubilee Beacon Trail

The 5 towns in Ards and North Down each have their own trail for you to enjoy:

• Jubilee Comber – High Street Safari
• Jubilee Donaghadee – High Street Safari
• Jubilee Holywood – High Street Safari
• Jubilee Newtownards – High Street Safari
• Jubilee Bangor – High Street Safari

Plant a Tree for the Jubilee

The Queen’s Green Canopy (queensgreencanopy.org) initiative encourages the planting of trees to create a legacy in honour of The Queen’s leadership of the Nation, which will benefit future generations. 

In Ards and North Down, the Council's Parks Department has worked with local community groups to facilitate tree planting right across the borough, from Portaferry to Newtownards to Bangor. The tree planting events have encouraged people, from young to old, to come together to make a positive impact in their communities. It also encourages people of all ages to step outside and enjoy the beauty the Borough has to offer.

The groups involved in these special tree planting events can now look forward to seeing the fruits of their labour for years to come

Platinum Jubilee Park

The Council has named a 3.3 acre park in Ballygown as Platinum Jubilee Park. The former landfill site is now a beautiful community park with an attractive woodland and path network. The planting in this park contributes to the Queen’s Green Canopy, the UK-wide tree planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee.

To mark this celebration, a copper beech was planted by Councillor Mark Brooks, The Mayor of Ards and North Down.

The Park is located off the A21 Comber Road, Ballygowan. Address Link: https://w3w.co/verb.regular.debater

There will be many events and activities celebrating the Jubilee across the UK Commonwealth and beyond in the months leading up to the special extended bank holiday weekend from Thursday 2 to Sunday 5 June 2022.

Are you hosting your own public event, street party or other activity in Ards and North Down?

Then submit the details to the official Platinum Jubilee events website: Events – The Queen's Platinum Jubilee 2022

To celebrate Her Majesty's historic reign, we will be sharing stories from across the Borough and we would love you to take part.

• Have you or someone you know ever met the Queen?
• When was it and what was the occasion?
• What is your strongest memory?
• Do you have any photos or memorabilia you can share?

You can email your stories to: jubilee@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk - please don't send us original photos or memorabilia by post.

By sharing your story, you will be in with a chance of winning an invitation to the AND Big Jubilee Lunch! 

You and 5 guests will be seated to enjoy a delicious picnic style lunch at the Sea Bangor Festival on Sunday 5 June.

Please email your stories by Friday 22 April to be in with a chance of winning. 

We have 10 group tickets to give away, each valid for 6 people. Winners will be chosen at random and announced on Friday 29 April. We look forward to hearing your stories and good luck!

Ts & Cs apply. Social Media Competition - General Terms and Conditions | Ards and North Down Borough Council