The Tropical Ravine in Botanic Gardens, Belfast
Three events have been agreed for Belfast Botanic Gardens and Friar’s Bush Cemetery in Stranmillis for later this Autumn.
Elected representatives at a Belfast City Council committee meeting at City Hall this week green lighted the events at the Tropical Ravine in Botanic Gardens and at Belfast’s oldest cemetery, Friar’s Bush, next door.
The Tropical Ravine will host an art exhibition and music sessions while Friar’s Bush will be the setting for filming for a new television series.
Household Belfast will host an art exhibition called Red Sky at Night in the Tropical Ravine from Monday October 28 to Monday November 4.
Household will be working alongside Kanich Khajonsi who will be setting up an “immersive” arts installation in the Tropical Ravine, involving speakers, lights and small objects.
The event is co-funded between Belfast City Council’s 2024 programme and the British Council. It will be free for members of the public to book, and will have time slots between 4pm and 10pm.
Factory 61 will host their Sound of Belfast and The Factory Sessions in the Tropical Ravine on Thursday November 14. The event is a music gig for local up and coming artists and is designed to be a unique and intimate experience for a maximum of 120 people. There will be a charge of between £10-15 per ticket, managed by Eventbrite.
Belfast Council also received a request from Five Down Films to use Friar’s Bush Cemetery to film scenes for the upcoming tv show “Puzzle Lady.”
Friar’s Bush - the oldest cemetery in Belfast
The report for the council’s People and Community Committee states:
“The event organiser wishes to film between the hours of 2pm and 2am and they have provided us with the following information for what the show is about.
“When a strange murder takes place in the sleepy market town of Bakerbury, the local police are baffled by a crossword puzzle left on the body. With their case going nowhere, they turn reluctantly to Cora Felton, a recent arrival in Bakerbury; whose fame as the eponymous Puzzle Lady suggests she can help DCI Hooper and the Bakerbury police solve its first murder case.
“But the eccentric Cora isn’t who she claims to be: she’s the fraudulent frontwoman for her long-suffering niece, Sherry Carter, a puzzle genius who only came to Bakerbury to escape her rock-star turned abuser ex-husband.”
It adds: “The scenes taking place in Friar’s Bush are specifically based around the element of a puzzle. There are three murders that occur, and the bodies are left in the cemetery each containing a puzzle.
“The amateur Sleuth then connects the dots to solve the case. A further scene will include a chase through the cemetery with an imitation gun being used along with undercover police officers.”
The event organiser has requested permission to film on three separate occasions between September 23 and October 17. The council will be paid £70 per hour which will amount to a total cost of £2,520 over the three days filming.