Summer Madness
Summer Madness is Ireland's largest [1] Christian festival. It usually takes place over the first weekend in July at the Glenarm Castle, Ballymena.
Origins
The festival was commissioned nearly twenty years ago by the Church of Ireland Youth Department. It started out first at Castle Archdale, Lisnarick, County Fermanagh, then held in Gosford Forest Park, County Armagh, but due to the foot-and-mouth crisis in 2001, the festival relocated to the King's Hall, where it has remained until 2011. It has since moved to the Glenarm Castle for the 2012 festival.
Target audience
The festival is aimed at young people, and consistently targets those aged 15–25, and also caters for ages 5–11. The festival generally attracts around 5000 visitors a year, and many of these choose to camp on site.
Amenities and facilities
- Seminars
- Debates
- Arts Workshops
- Sports and activities programme
- Internet cafe
- Cinema
- Exhibition hall
- Christian rock groups
- Worship meetings which are the focal point of the festival are held twice-daily
In 2008, a similar programme under the banner of 'Urban Soul' began in Dublin. In January 2008, Summer Madness started in Australia.