Portadown Festival Association
FESTIVALS OF - MUSIC – SPEECH – DRAMA – IRISH FOLK DANCING – DANCE
103[rd] Annual General Meeting Wednesday 24[th] September 2025
Chair Report 2025
Mr President, office bearers and committee members.
Welcome to the 103[rd] AGM of Portadown Festival.
May I start by saying that it continues to be an absolute pleasure to serve as Chair of Portadown Festival in what has been a very busy but thoroughly enjoyable year.
The 2025 Festival Season commenced on Wednesday 19th February and concluded on Saturday 10[th] May and while each Section Secretary will have detailed their own thoughts in their respective reports, I will just make a few general observations.
All sections had happy and successful runs despite a few issues with venue bookings, which actually started this time last year when the AGM was double booked, and we had to hold it in the cold main hall surrounded by painter’s scaffolding-not ideal!! Karen had a really stressful time leading up to the Speech festival due to another double booking which led to having to move mid festival to the Civic Centre for one day. I can assure you this process was not straight forward and involved hours of extra time and effort. Thank you, Karen, for seeing this through as I know it was not easy. The booking system is problematic and moving forward we need to keep in close contact with the townhall staff and check and double check bookings.
In the Speech section for the first time some bursary awards were handed out and we hope the winners will find this money useful to further develop their skills and talents. Again, can I thank the pupils from Portadown College and St John the Baptist’s College, they did an amazing job in the school’s section. While the adjudicators provided excellent feedback, we felt that they were extremely slow leading to a few very late sessions. Also, I felt that some of the marking was extremely high which is worrying as we will be applying the new mark scheme in 2026, where marks will be lower.
The Drama section continues to bring an eclectic mix of plays to the stage, sometimes focusing on very challenging topics. Unfortunately, we have no control over the plays the drama groups choose, and they are not always to everyone’s taste. I thought Michael Poynor was an excellent adjudicator with a wealth of knowledge and expertise. On the final night Susan paid a very fitting tribute to the late Stanley Liggett who had been a valued member of the drama team for many years. Stanley was kind, courteous, enthusiastic and always willing to lend a hand.
The Irish dancers had a fabulous week and the competition for the Lorento Breen award on the final night showcased some unbelievable talent. Two ladies who need special mention are Colette and Keillie who not only provided refreshments and a tuck shop all week but helped to ensure the auditorium was left clean and tidy every night. They even got roped into duties at the Music Festival. The one thing I took away from the Irish Folk Dance festival was the positive comments from the competitors, their families and friends – they just love coming to our festival as they love the venue and the friendly and welcoming environment.
The Music Section entries were up by about 200 and it was very encouraging to see some schools returning. I contacted Sonia Kenny from the EA Music Section and moving forward we can hopefully work together to encourage more to enter the instrumental classes- she is very keen to help. James from the new music shop in town is also very keen to get involved. One highlight for me was the Friday evening where we witnessed two wonderful musical theatre productions, Mary Poppins by the O’Hagan School of Performing Arts and Newsies by the Shelley Lowry School. Jonathan Rae deserves a special mention as he did a fabulous job in very trying circumstances, as his son became very unwell, but as a true professional it didn’t affect his work in the slightest. At the end of the Gala Concert, I made a
Portadown Festival Association FESTIVALS OF - MUSIC – SPEECH – DRAMA – IRISH FOLK DANCING – DANCE
103[rd] Annual General Meeting Wednesday 24[th] September 2025
small presentation of flowers to Joy to mark her stepping down as secretary after 15 years – she has done a fabulous job and has been an absolute delight to work with. She will continue to help out in any way she can and of course perform with her choirs.
As Yvonne alluded to in her report our big day at the Civic Centre didn’t start too well with a major sound issue. We had paid £200 to use their sound system and when it didn’t work there was no member of staff there initially to sort out the problem- very frustrating. However, after the initial hiccup we had a fabulous day. I love this day – not sure if the teachers are just as keen. Joanne Fletcher was an excellent adjudicator and was very partial to Arlene’s wee buns but then aren’t we all. Can I also thank Katie who got us up and running on Instagram.
There are so many people to thank but I want to particularly thank the secretaries. The work you do is so valuable not just for our organization but for the future of our young performers. A huge thank you to all the committee members who lend their support across all the sections and to all the volunteers, without them the festival just couldn’t run. I did a rough count and there are more than 700 slots that need filled to run our festival. So, a huge well done to all our volunteers. This year I put together a newsletter to thank all those involved, and this was placed on the Facebook pages and sent out to the committee. Moving forward we are hoping in 2026 to have an event at the end of the festival season to thank our volunteers- ideas welcome. Can I also thank all our sponsors, the ABC council staff in our venues and the Deputy Major Kyle Savage who attended many of our festivals this year.
To conclude I wish to thank everyone who made this year’s Festival so special.
A word of thanks to all of you who undertook new roles. You were all incredible and have already proved your worth. Thank you.
To all section secretaries and teams, my thanks and congratulations once again for making the 2025 festival such a success.
To Alex who sorted out the new website and has done a fabulous job as treasurer. It is a massive job and she would be the first to say a huge learning curve. Well done, Alex!
To Trevor without whom we just could not function. He is the heart and soul of this festival, and I thank you for all your help and guidance this year and the invaluable support you give to all the secretaries.
Thank you to everyone for their kind words and encouragement throughout the year. I thoroughly enjoy being part of PFA, but it is the commitment of you all that makes this Festival a success.
It gives me great pleasure to present my report.
Diane Kane