The Young Farmers’ Clubs of Ulster (YFCU) held their annual Arts Festival Heats, in association with NFU Mutual Charitable Trust at Ballymena Academy on Wednesday 26th, Thursday 27th and Friday 28th February 2025. The event hosted a sold out audience with 400 people attending each Heat for a night of song, dance, drama and comedy.
There were ten performances from thirteen different clubs across Northern Ireland, where members took to the stage to show their creative talent and vied for a place at the coveted Arts Festival Gala. These clubs were Finvoy YFC, Garvagh YFC, Holestone YFC, Kilraughts YFC, Glarryford YFC, Randalstown YFC, Coleraine YFC and Moneymore YFC. Curragh YFC & Kilrea YFC came together for a joint performance and County Armagh YFC also had a joint performance which included members from Collone YFC, Mountnorris YFC and Newtownhamilton YFC.
The opening night acts were compèred by the quick-witted Gary Wilson who warmed up the crowd for performances from Finvoy YFC, Garvagh YFC, Curragh and Kilrea YFC and County Armagh YFC. Finvoy YFC brought up the curtain with ‘Flamin’ Hot Kidnap’, a thrilling edge-of-your-seat mystery tracking down a dangerous criminal with some seriously questionable detective work. Second to the stage was Curragh and Kilrea YFC, who combined for a second consecutive year to bring a production of ‘Top Drawers’ in which chaos unravelled in a factory threatening to bring production to a halt. County Armagh YFC were third up on the opening evening and provided a mix of laughter, mishaps and heartwarming moments between city Girls and country Boys in ‘Over the Sheugh’. Garvagh YFC concluded the first night with a performance of ‘Life’s Too Short Not To Dance!’.
Thursday evening’s proceedings were again hosted by Gary Wilson who kept the audience entertained. Holestone YFC were first to take to the stage with ‘Lest We Forget’, produced by Tammy Hoy and Melanie McClean. Glarryford YFC followed with ‘Your Health Is Your Wealth’, a production full of heartfelt moments and vibrant energy and Kilraughts YFC offered the last performance of the night, appearing full of energy as they danced and sang for their act titled “Stodge City Clean Up’.
On the final night, Bob Esler (Past Honorary Treasurer) took on the role of compere and kept the show flowing with comical yarns throughout the evening. Randalstown YFC took the stage to open the final evening with a musical extravaganza on the high seas in their ‘Rock the Boat’ act. Next to the stage was Coleraine YFC with ‘Mayday Alert’ which seen a plane to Nashville crash deep into the jungle. Moneymore YFC had the honour of bringing down the curtain with their performance of ‘Sleep Tight’ which seen a family farm embrace change as they welcomed their first guests to the Tulnagee Camspite.
Expert judges John Trueman and Emma Tsang assessed performances each night and in his closing remarks, John commended the clubs for their efforts, noting there had been “excellent singing, dancing and acting” which made their task of judging rather difficult. John further recognised the uniqueness of YFCU in having the capacity to “bring young people of such an age range together to perform on stage and to do so with great confidence, an impressive achievement for YFCU as an organisation.”
President of the YFCU, Richard Beattie, thanked all the clubs for their creativity, energy, and dedication in bringing their show to the stage, entertaining and engaging audiences over the three nights. He took the opportunity to thank the staff at Ballymena Academy for the use of their facilities, judges John Trueman and Emma Tsang for their expertise, and NFU Mutual Charitable Trust for their continued support of the event.
Emma Tsang took to the stage to reveal the five finalists. YFCU were delighted that Curragh & Kilrea YFC, Kilraughts YFC, Glarryford YFC, Coleraine YFC, and Moneymore YFC were announced as the five finalists to perform at the 2025 Arts Festival Gala which will be held at the Millennium Forum Theatre in Londonderry on Saturday 22nd March 2024 at 7:30pm. Tickets for the event sold out at 10:30pm on Friday 28th February 2025.