SERE are the driving force behind Hillsborough Oyster Festival

SERE are pleased to sponsor the Hillsborough International Oyster Festival for the third year running.

With festival goer number’s increasing, organisers promise that this year’s festival will be even bigger and better with more new and exciting events taking place from September 1-4.

Managing Director Stanley Edgar says, “Anyone who has attended the festival in the past will know what an enjoyable weekend it is, but the festival has a serious side. It is held every year to raise funds for worthy charities.

”This year the charity is RNLI Lifeboats, the charity that saves lives at sea. The lifeboat crews are almost entirely volunteers, men and women who come from all walks of life to give up their time and commitments to save lives at sea. All the funds raised during the festival will be used to fund crew training. I think everyone will agree that this is a more than admirable cause and one that SERE is proud to support.”

The Festival will have events to suit all, making it a great weekend of fun for all the family. Kicking off on Thursday evening when we see Hillsborough come alive for the first events in the festival calendar with a truly enjoyable evening of fashion for all the ladies. If gorgeous fashion isn’t enough, the evening also plays host to the crowning of ‘Miss Pearl 2011’ including a drinks reception, followed by some scrumptious delights from the best of local ingredients. Thursday is the ultimate girlie night out!

Not to leave the men out, Thursday evening also sees the Iron Oyster challenge. The Iron Oyster Challenge is an exciting team event which takes place in Hillsborough forest park. It’s a dynamic event which tests leadership, endurance, and team spirit. It promises to be an electrifying night of competition and action for all those involved. So why get a team together and join in the excitement?

On Friday evening the village will roll out the red carpet for the Pirates of the Caribbean Gala Ball which opens with a drinks reception followed by a night filled with the finest cuisine the village has to offer. Rounding off the evening with extraordinary live entertainment, the ball promises to be a fabulous night out.

On Saturday the crowds will descend on the village for an all day gourmet market celebrating the finest local produce, street entertainment and not forgetting the ever popular and exciting soap-box derby. Hillsborough will be a hive of activity! This year’s soap-box derby has some new and exciting features for anyone who is brave enough to enter, for the rest of us it will prove to be an entertaining and thrilling event to watch.

Lets not forget the oysters ! Saturday afternoon will see the highlight of the festival, the finals of the World Oyster Eating Championship which will have competitors from around the globe. The record is currently held by local hero Colin Shirlow who also holds the world record for oyster eating, standing at 233 in three minutes!

On Saturday evening the tables of the gourmet market and cake boxes will be cleared to make room the glitter balls and disco lights as the ever popular BBQ and live music event takes over in the festival marquee. So why not get your glad rags on and enjoy the music from a Kings of Leon tribute band along with a few other surprise acts to keep you entertained.

To round off what is no doubt going to be a fabulous weekend, Sunday brings all the Super cars to the festival. This years Super Dream Car Sunday will be held at the Sprucefield park and ride. Due to the vast numbers attending the event in previous years the Sprucefield park and ride has been selected as the perfect place allowing for even more cars including S2 Audi Quattro, a Ferrari `430 Scuderia, Aston Martins, Porsche’s to mention but a few. You will be able to see all the ‘super dream cars’ on display and even get the chance to be taken for a drive.

For further information on the festival and how to get tickets for any of the events or to take part in any event visit www.hillsboroughoysterfestival.com

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