One of the things I love, love, love about the Titanic Quarter is that we’re building a new cultural life for Belfast – one in which the countless thousands of us who are looking for cultural experiences that unite us, rather than divide us, can take part.

So how’s this for starters…

Next Saturday (24th Aug) is the TQ Colour Run – a 5K mini-marathon during which all the runners (who all agree to wear white at the starting line) get pelted with paint as they complete the course, ending up dripping with colour as they cross the finish line!  There are 13 ‘Dockers’ joining the race – and the rest of us will be busy putting out plastic sheets on the seats in the cafe for when they arrive back in!

More details here or check out the video:

The following Saturday (31st), Sustrans are organising Pedal On Belfast – a cycle ride starting in Holywood, Lisburn, Newtownards or Comber – with each route pedalling its way towards a finish line at the ARC, right outside Dock Cafe.

There will be stalls, refreshments, jugglers, BMX displays, face painting and the whole works on site to greet them when they arrive – and of course the kettle will be on, and the comfy sofas awaiting, in The Dock!

More details here

Then in September, work will start on a massive public art installation called ‘Wish’ by internationally-renowned artist Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada.  The huge artwork will be assembled throughout September by volunteers and community groups – so that the finished piece, which launches the Belfast Festival at Queens, can be seen from the air (and some high vantage points in the TQ!) on selected dates in October.

The best part is – again, this is all happening right on the doorstep of Dock Cafe!  The art will be assembled on the green area beside the Nomadic, right opposite us – so we’ll very much be part of putting it all together.

Here’s the description from the website – sounds cool eh!

A new face for Belfast on the old face of the city. Is this just wishful thinking or a genuine hope for a brighter future for all of us who share this land?  A first for the UK and Ireland, a large scale portrait with a gaze towards the future will be created by internationally acclaimed artist Jorge Rodriguez–Gerada. Making history with local volunteers and community groups, the biggest spectacle of land art to be seen in Belfast to date will evolve at the Titanic Quarter, questioning who we want to be, rather than who we currently are.

More details here.

Then in October, it’s Belfast Restaurant Week – and as well as many other foodie delights around the city, The Dock is going to be part of a gastro walking tour – a tour around the TQ where you get a different course of an amazing meal at each different venue as you make your way through the Quarter.  We’ll be your starting point and soup course!

And then, in November, it’s time to mark the passing of one of Belfast’s unsung heroes: C.S.Lewis.  50 years ago, on 22nd November 1963, old C.S. had the bad timing to pop his clogs on the same day that JFK was shot, thus ensuring that the news of his death became a rushed footnote.  (He also missed, by one day, the broadcast of the first ever episode of Doctor Who – but he probably would have complained that they nicked his idea and the TARDIS was basically just a glorified wardrobe to Narnia).

Plans are well advanced for candlelit processions, readings, storytelling and a whole host of events to mark the man who gave us, not just the priceless stories of Narnia, but a wealth of unmatched work on his Christian faith as well.  (try finding any modern book on Christianity which doesn’t use a C.S.Lewis quote at some point.  You will fail.)

So if you can’t find something to interest you in that lot, check your pulse… What a line-up!  Music, art, food, exercise, history, imagination, creativity, colour.  And nothing (surely…?!) that’s going to be exclusive, offensive, provocative.  A new cultural identity for a new Belfast.