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Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival

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Description

Featuring readings, live music and performances; Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival brings the streets to life with culture.

The Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival (CQAF) is an annual festival of music, comedy, theatre, art and literature that takes place in Belfast. The festival traditionally takes place in the first weeks of May in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter, so called because of its proximity to St Anne's Cathedral.

Regarded these days for its socially inclusive agenda and its eclectic programming blend of 'big names', emerging acts and fringe performances, The Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival began life in May 2000 attracting an audience of just over 5,000. The Festival now regularly attracts over 60,000 people to over 100 events in Belfast's city centre.

Find out more here.

Tickets can be purchased at the Visit Belfast Welcome Centre.
  • Various Venues
  • Belfast
  • Antrim
  • BT1 5AD

Contact Details

  • Various Venues
  • Belfast
  • Antrim
  • BT1 5AD
+44 28 9023 2403
http://www.cqaf.com
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Current Opening Hours

  • Monday
    08:00-17:00
  • Tuesday
    08:00-17:00
  • Wednesday
    08:00-17:00
  • Thursday
    08:00-17:00
  • Friday
    08:00-17:00
  • Saturday
    10:00-17:00

The Out to Lunch Festival

13 - 26 Jan 2025
See All Dates (14)

A feast of great arts in Belfast City Centre featuring Music, Theatre, Comedy, Books and Film served with a piping hot lunch every day.

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Neil Martin: Bothar an Cheoil + Q&A

1.31 KM
Tue, 14 Jan 2025, 6:30pm

Neil is simultaneously a producer, an arranger, a musician but above all an artist. He thrives on collaboration with performers, writers, and thinkers from all

Queen’s Film Theatre – QFT
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Martina Devlin: Charlotte

Wed, 15 Jan 2025, 1:00pm

Charlotte Brontë, who dazzled the world with some of literature’s most vital & richly-drawn characters, spent her brief but extraordinary life in search of love

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Ursula Burns: The Secret Melodies of Trees Album Launch

Thu, 16 Jan 2025, 1:00pm

Belfast Harpist, Ursula Burns Launches her first record of contemporary harp compositions, “The Secret Melodies of Trees”.

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Josie Long: A Work in Progress About Giant Extinct Animals

Thu, 16 Jan 2025, 8:00pm

Three-time Edinburgh Fringe Best Show nominee, Josie Long tries out ideas and hopes for the best in preparation for a full show next year.

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Katharine Timoney – Extra Show Added

Fri, 17 Jan 2025, 8:00pm

Katharine Timoney is a jazz singer-songwriter from Belfast. Her music combines elements of vocal jazz and retro soul.

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808 State

Fri, 17 Jan 2025, 8:00pm

Mancunian electronic pioneers 808 State come to Mandela Hall as part of Out to Lunch Festival 2025.

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Brìghde Chaimbeul

Sat, 18 Jan 2025, 2:00pm

Brìghde Chaimbeul is one of the most exciting musical minds in the world of Celtic folk today.

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Artist in Residence – Noel Watson

18 - 25 Jan 2025
See All Dates (2)

Alongside his brother Maurice, Belfast DJ and producer Noel Watson has established himself as a pioneer in the intersection of music and fashion culture.

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Ron Pope

Sat, 18 Jan 2025, 8:00pm

Fiercely independent, Nashville-based recording artist, Ron Pope, carved his niche in the digital era’s early days with his breakout hit, “A Drop in the Ocean”.

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Lights, Camera, Belfast!

19 - 26 Jan 2025
See All Dates (2)

Join your guide Andrew Johnston (of Alternative Ulstours) on a walking tour of historic Belfast cinema sites, from luxury picture palaces to fleeting fleapits!

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Launch of The Memorisers by Jo Eliot (AKA Rosemary Jenkinson)

Sun, 19 Jan 2025, 2:00pm

Out to Lunch is delighted to present the Belfast launch of Rosemary Jenkinson’s debut dystopian novel ‘The Memorisers’ under the nom de plume of Jo Eliot.

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Natalie Haynes

Sun, 19 Jan 2025, 2:00pm

Natalie Haynes is a writer and broadcaster and – according to the Washington Post – a rock star mythologist.

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Dani Larkin

0.56 KM
Sun, 19 Jan 2025, 7:30pm

Dani Larkin is a songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist currently based in Belfast.

The Deer’s Head & Bell’s Brewery
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Catherine Bohart: Again, With Feelings

Sun, 19 Jan 2025, 8:00pm

Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee Catherine Bohart’s back and ready to talk about her feelings (again)…

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John Craigie

0.56 KM
Mon, 20 Jan 2025, 8:00pm

John Craigie has mastered the art of creating live shows that feel more like intimate conversations than performances.

The Deer’s Head & Bell’s Brewery
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The Special Consensus: 50th Anniversary Tour

Wed, 22 Jan 2025, 1:00pm
See All Dates (2)

Chicago-based bluegrass outfit Special Consensus has covered a lot of musical territory in the half a century since banjoist Greg Cahill founded the band.

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Ed Hall and Craig Oldham In Conversation

Thu, 23 Jan 2025, 6:00pm

A banner-maker and trade unionist for the best part of 40 years, Ed Hall’s work shot to artistic fame as a collaborator with Jeremy Deller in…

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Tim O’Brien & Jan Fabricius with Dermot Byrne and Seamie O’Dowd

Thu, 23 Jan 2025, 8:00pm

In concert, the quartet features selections from O’Brien’s extensive repertoire of traditional and original music.

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Emily Barker with Special Guest Liz Stringer

0.56 KM
Thu, 23 Jan 2025, 8:00pm

Emily Barker is an award-winning singer-songwriter, best known as the writer and performer of the theme to the hugely successful BBC crime drama ‘Wallander’.

The Deer’s Head & Bell’s Brewery
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Craig Oldham: The Tools of Protest – A Talk on Visual Dissent

Fri, 24 Jan 2025, 6:30pm

40 years on from the Miners’ strikes, Craig Oldham has published In Loving Memory of Work through Rough Trade Books.

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Joel Harkin and Band play ‘I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning’

0.68 KM
Fri, 24 Jan 2025, 8:00pm

Joel Harkin will be joined by a seven-piece band and special guests to perform the classic album in its entirety.

Oh Yeah Music Centre
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Lindisfarne

Fri, 24 Jan 2025, 8:00pm

Legendary 70s folk-rock pioneers LINDISFARNE return to form with a classic five-piece line up of long-time members.

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Explosion Sound System meets MC Cheshire Cat: A Night of Reggae, Dub, and Jungle

0.56 KM
24 - 25 Jan 2025

Get ready to immerse yourself in a sonic journey of bass-heavy beats and lyrical prowess as Explosion Sound System meets the legendary MC Cheshire Cat.

The Deer’s Head & Bell’s Brewery
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Nature Boy by Sean Ronayne

Sat, 25 Jan 2025, 2:00pm

Seán Ronayne in conversation on his book ‘Nature Boy’. Seán will also play birdsong audio clips throughout the event.

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New Street Adventure/Carmy Love/The Gold Tips/Aaron Craig

0.68 KM
25 - 26 Jan 2025

Enjoy live performances at The Oh Yeah Music Centre as part of Out to Lunch Festival 2025.

Oh Yeah Music Centre
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Curepedia: An A – Z of The Cure

Sat, 25 Jan 2025, 8:00pm

The acclaimed book, Curepedia, written in 2023 by music journalist Simon Price, was described as an encyclopaedic biography and homage to The Cure.

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Dreamgun Film Reads – The Shawshank Redemption

Sun, 26 Jan 2025, 2:00pm

“But I didn’t do it! I was Andy Duframed!” Dreamgun bring their Film Reads parody of The Shawshank Redemption to Belfast for the first time.

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Shaparak Khorsandi: Scatterbrain

Sun, 26 Jan 2025, 8:00pm

One of Britain’s most beloved and most scatterbrained stand-ups lets you back into her mind (warning: it’s cluttered in there).

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