To celebrate the Autumn Equinox, Fri 20th – Sun 22nd Sept, Brink! has teamed up with Climate Craic to bring the best of climate and environmental workshops, panels and events to the heart of Belfast.

• Brink! and Climate Craic have brought together over 60 speakers and organisations for a weekend of workshops, panels and events
• The Autumn Equinox weekender runs for 3 days from Friday to Sunday, hosting daytime and evening events to bring a wide range of people together to discuss climate and environmental issues and solutions
• By raising the profile of speakers and organisations the intention is to shine a light on the momentum of change happening across our city and our country

 

For thousands of years the Autumn Equinox has been a celebration of food, of harvest and preparation for the darkening winter. The harvest moon, taking place this week, was named due to farmers using the moon’s light to harvest their crops. This year it is a super harvest moon, with a partial eclipse, so this rare double event sets up the Autumn Equinox Weekend to be a special one.

Topics will centre around food, waste, fashion, climate justice, and the importance of culture in inspiring change, and all events are free for the weekend, but we advise booking tickets for workshops. The venue is the Brink! site at the corner of Union Street and Kent Street. The space has been cleared to make way for Belfast Stories, a high-profile visitor centre that will celebrate the narrative of this city.

As a meanwhile project Brink! are creating a space that can demonstrate what can happen when we look at our city centre differently – how we can connect with it, make it grow, find space to play, experiment and educate ourselves about how we can make changes to our city in the face of climate change.

 

Friday: From 11.30am enjoy a selection of workshops, screenings and panels largely focused on the topics of food, with speakers from the Climate+ Co-Centre, Belfast Food Partnership, Grow NI and quarto. Belfast Funk Foundation kicking off the Friday evening fun, followed by a house and disco set from Night Division Official to get folks on the dancefloor.

 

Saturday: Daytime kicks off at 10am and comprises of workshops around the themes of waste and fashion, alongside some heavy hitting panel discussions on Climate Justice and Lough Neagh. Panels will include speakers from Bryson Recycling, Friends of the Earth, Ecojustice Ireland and Queen’s University Belfast. Saturday evening will be an evening of music to let the hair down, from traditional music to the wonderful Bea and The Belfast Groove Collective, rounded off with another set from Night Division Official.

 

Sunday: kicks off at midday with a market with food and craft traders, workshops and a tiny cinema screening short environmental films through the day.

 

Gawain Morrison, co-director of Brink! said “Over this last year we have found so many people at a grass roots level making a difference in their communities, and so many people in business and government hungry for change, and so the opportunity to work with Climate Craic to amplify this sense of change, and to bring people together, was at the core of our partnership for this weekend.”

Jacinta Hamley, Founder of Climate Craic said “Climate and environmental challenges are serious, but our response to them doesn’t have to be heavy. This festival is about celebrating the world and people we believe in. By bringing people together and partnering with Brink!, we’re creating a space for fresh ideas, meaningful connections, and a growing movement of people who care.”

‘Come a little bit closer, hear what I have to say’ is what Neil Young wrote of his beautiful song Harvest Moon, and for this harvest moon we invite you to come a bit closer and hear what our friends have to say about climate, food, and getting back in touch with nature at this special time of year.

 

You can find out more about the event & book your free tickets on the website https://www.playthinkbrink.com/autumn-equinox, on socials @playthinkbrink & @climatecraic, and on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/free-event-autumn-equinox-weekend-festival-20-22-sept-tickets-1008348165507