Libraries NI Showcases Culture and Connection During Good Relations Week

Libraries NI is delighted to be part of Good Relations Week 2025, taking place from 13 – 19 October, with a wide-ranging programme of free events in libraries across Northern Ireland. This year’s theme, Connect, celebrates how people, planet and prosperity come together through peace, understanding and shared community.

Libraries, as trusted and welcoming spaces, are ideally placed to bring people together through culture, conversation and creativity. Events taking place across the week will feature storytelling, music, history and art, providing opportunities to explore identity and celebrate diversity in local communities.

Among the highlights of the programme are six headline events in Lurgan, Ballymoney, Dungannon, Downpatrick, Bangor and Antrim Libraries, featuring Piret Annus, Estonian dancer with ArtsEkta. Piret will deliver a short talk, a dance performance and an interactive workshop exploring Estonian traditions, giving audiences the chance to connect with a different culture through movement and participation.

Headline Events with ArtsEkta’s Piret Annus

•    Downpatrick Library – Tuesday 14 October at 1:00pm

•    Ballymoney Library – Friday 17 October at 2:00pm

•    Antrim Library – Monday 20 October at 2:00pm

•    Bangor Carnegie Library – Saturday 25 October at 11:00am

•    Lurgan Library – Wednesday 29 October at 2:00pm

•    Dungannon Library – Thursday 30 October at 11:00am

Alongside these flagship events, libraries will also host a variety of local sessions during the week showcasing storytelling, talks and community conversations. For example:

•    Greenisland Library will host a Meet Your Neighbour: Connect Over a Cuppa session on Monday 13 October at 10:00am where old and new residents in the area can come together, share stories and build new connections one cup at a time.
 
•    Tullycarnet Library will present an evening of stories of magic and superstition from Hawaii, Japan and Korea with international storyteller Alton Chung on Thursday 16 October at 7:00pm

•    Banbridge Library will host a special Rehearsed Reading with Csilla Toldy, Sinead Lunney and Speech and Drama students, featuring extracts from Csilla’s book Enemy Alien on Saturday 18 October at 3:00pm

Karen Moreland, Libraries NI Senior Services Manager said:
“Good Relations Week is an important opportunity to bring people together, to listen, share and learn from one another. Libraries across Northern Ireland are proud to play their part by offering events that connect communities and celebrate culture in its many forms.”
All events are free and open to all. Click here for full details of the full Good Relations Week programme