PETER O'Neill started off in Belfast with a comedy festival so I'm not sure if we should read anything into the fact that he has now moved on to a Festival of Ideas and Politics, a seven-day, 130-event extravaganza in March filled with humour, talks, music, theatre exhibitions, tours, discussions and workshops.
Some artists and speakers are invited from previous festivals and there's a call-out for new friends to expand the festival – and this year you are asked to get your thinking caps on. Many of the events are free or have only nominal fees attached to them. Tickets can go fast and registrations will have a waiting list if numbers are restricted. So if you want to get your thinking caps on, here's a way to challenge our perceptions and open our minds.
We have Mike Sullivan with Ojibwe Stories at the Crescent Art Centre, talking about the folklore of the Ojibwe people of North America. Father Martin Magill of St John's Parish has been researching Belfast street names and will launch a new website dedicated to his research at the Linen hall Library, unveiling over 2,000 street names and the people and discoveries behind them.
A talk on Empowering Women in Public Spaces takes place in Pug Ugly's, with deputy Lord Mayor Aine Groogan and a panel of female leaders. The Open University asks why the Irish emigrated in such large numbers to America in a talk at its city centre offices and online.
The dynamic and complex relationship between politics and music is examined by Dr Dave Robb, West Belfast singer/songwriter and activist Joby Fox and the Oh Yeah Centre's Charlotte Dryden.
The assisted studio nomadic group Art is Collective is inviting you to 2 Royal Avenue to meet some of the artists involved and view their most recent exhibition in an event which continues on into the following week. The nine artists have worked hard on moving their ideas forward and are a beacon of inspiration to everyone who meets them, showing just what can be achieved when those who require it receive a little help and support.
Reflections on the Irish Border: Young People, Citizenship and Identity at Ulster University will look at what it means to grow up beside the border in the 21st century as well as engage in discussion about changing perspectives on the meaning of the border today and how it has evolved since the Good Friday Agreement.
There is an opportunity to connect with Ursula Burn, Belfast's 'dangerous harpist', to ask 'How many Bardic harpers does it take to change a lightbulb?' Ursula is asking questions about what got lost in history when Queen Elizabeth ordered 'Hang the harpers and burn their instruments.'
If performance art is your thing, Bbeyond will be back in Writers' Square where you will get the opportunity to experience this highly specialised global phenomenon in your own city.
The textile Mecca that is Jean's Wool Shop on the Cregagh Road is the final location of Jan McCullough Household-commissioned work and you are invited to go on a tour around the area to see artwork made by local children – a lovely way to connect school children with professional artists. Or you can connect to loyalism with Alternative Voices' Shrapnel podcast live at the Crescent Art Centre. Nigel Planer of the Young Ones fame comes to the festival with Henry Normal, BBC Radio 4's 'poet in reticence'.
If you have the feeling that you are overloaded with festivals and ideas, the trick is not to get overwhelmed but see what free time you have and maybe pick something that suits.
I believe Peter O'Neill is retiring this year, but he can rest assured he has developed a festival that is here to stay and his work in bringing diversity and opportunity to the people of Belfast, and in helping us get our thinking caps on, has been an inspiration.
Imagine Belfast's Festival of Ideas and Politics runs from March 18 to 24. For times, venues and tickets, you're invited to go to imaginebelfast.com
