Festival of Family Fun

Enjoy a day out with family and friends, soak up the atmosphere, make all your garden purchases, listen to the Jazz with a glass of wine, indulge in cream teas, enjoy the artisan foods and browse among the local crafts whilst the kids have a lot of fun!

The unique Allianz Garden Show Ireland atmosphere in Antrim Castle Gardens is enhanced with live music. The Jazz Band is always a popular stop for visitors and pop-up artists wander the site to entertain.

Threading its way through the Show is the artistry of local Craftsmen. Demonstrations of Traditional Countryside Crafts include the skill of a blacksmith artist and wood turner. And new in 2018, are workshops from arborists on conserving our trees and demonstrations by professional tree climbers.

The Heritage Craft Pavilion is the place to browse and buy! From wood crafts and wicker baskets to paintings and pottery.

Take time to introduce yourself on arrival at the Show to some of the Nursery Rhyme Characters inhabiting Scarecrow Avenue brought to Antrim by primary school children from the Integrated Sector! And enjoy the Nursery Rhymes in the miniature gardens created by primary school children around Northern Ireland. Find out how your school can get involved in our Schools Garden Challenge.

Teams of amateur gardeners in the Team Garden Challenge supported by the Enkalon Foundation this year create gardens that are “Something old, Something new”. Find out how to get involved in our Team Garden Challenge.

RHS Schools Champion Sharon McMaster will be on hand to keep young gardeners of all ages busy getting their little green fingers dirty planting seeds for wildflowers, herbs and vegetables and creating garden art to take home while NIGFAS members share their flower arranging skills so posies can be taken home. Learning how to attract wild birds to the garden, make insect hotels, or kites as well as having a go at archery, wall climbing and scavenging in the parkland woods are all part of the fun!

… and after using up all that energy, explore the parkland and gardens of Antrim Castle Gardens, and chill out in the ‘hammock hideout’ under the trees!

Children under 16 are FREE accompanied by an adult.

And there’s more…

Festival of Flowers & Gardens

Festival of Food