The 4 Corners Festival is one of the successful voluntary and community groups awarded project funding in 2022/23 from The Executive Office’s Central Good Relations Fund (CGRF).
The festival grew from conversations between Fr. Martin Magill and Rev. Steve Stockman, both previous winners of the Community Relations Council Exceptional Achievement Award (peace building) in 2016.
The 4 Corners Festival is an annual series of events held in Belfast, which in 2022, celebrated its 10th anniversary by inspiring people to transform the City for the peace and well-being of all. The Festival features innovative events designed to entice people out of their own “corners” of the city and into new places where they will encounter new perspectives, ideas and, hopefully, friends.
The 2023 Festival, awarded £37,350 from the CGRF, is due to take place from January to February 2023, and will feature discussion, music, drama, poetry and storytelling in venues across the city of Belfast.
Over 3,000 Festival attendees will be encouraged to develop positive attitudes and contribute towards peacebuilding. At least 10 events exploring good relations issues, promoting reconciliation and promoting shared spaces will take place across Belfast, introducing festival-goers from different community backgrounds to one another, and fostering increased levels of comfort in attending such shared spaces.
CGRF Project Lead, Erika Norwood, recently attended a drama workshop delivered by “Play it by Ear” at Botanic Primary School, where P5 participants were rehearsing a play based on the Festival’s theme of Dreams. The play will be showcased during the week of the festival involving pupils from eight primary schools across Belfast.