Special Displays & Demonstrations
THE THRESHING ARENAS IN THE RALLY FIELD
A display of vintage tractors, threshing mills and stationary balers with demonstrations of traditional corn threshing and straw baling during the Rally by Pat Agnew and his team of willing helpers – and the Ladies Team might just be back this year again! Watch out for the mice as they scamper away from the corn being threshed – don’t be afraid of them, they won’t bite: they’re just trying to escape!
There will also be interesting demonstrations of corn threshing with an ancient mobile horse driven threshing machine operated by a real ‘character’– Johnny Fee: go and have a chat with him, he’ll love it!
Around the Rally Field
1. THE CRAFT MARQUEE
What’s that wonderful aroma as you enter the Craft Marquees? Why, it’s freshly baked bread!!! Come and watch the baker kneading the dough and baking bread in the traditional manner. And nearby they’ll be making butter the way it used to be made. Put the two together and you have hot soda bread with melted butter on top!
As well as a host of stalls selling a huge range of craft and other goods such as badges, old guns, bread, beauty products etc. you can watch in wonder as the Stick Carvers whittle away to produce beautifully carved walking sticks.
Don’t miss the Model Circus and the working scale model of Gallopers!
2. PUNCH AND JUDY SHOW
In front of the Craft Marquee. Take your seat for a traditional Punch and Judy show - with a bit of magic thrown in as well! The kids will be enthralled as Mr Punch and his wife Judy ‘fight the bit out’! The grannies and the granddads – and maybe the mums and dads as well - will remember with nostalgia the Punch and Judy shows they watched many years ago on the sands at Portrush and Newcastle. The show runs for around 25 minutes and will be repeated five times each day.
3. THE MAGIC SHOW
In front of the Craft Marquee. Scott Poleykett, all the way from Kent in the South of England is back again by popular demand to enthral us all with his fantastic repertoire of magic tricks, making all sorts of things disappear and suddenly reappear – just like magic!! He involves the kids in many of his tricks and spoofs – and they love it! And we can all ‘have a go’ at spinning the plates on the sticks.The Magic Show will run five times each day and will alternate with the Punch and Judy Show.
4. THE JOHNNY AND MOLLY POTEEN SHOW
In front of the Craft Marquee. This is a story of poteen making from long ago. Johnny and Molly (a man dressed up as a lady!) get up to some crazy antics as they go about trying to make poteen! It is hilariously funny – a show not to be missed!
Between shows they carry on their antics throughout the crowds in the Rally Field on an old tandem bicycle.
5. KIDZ FUN FARM
To the right of the Craft Marquee. This is one for the kiddies! They have lots of farm animals including ponies, rabbits, chickens, ducklings, lambs, piglets etc. for the kids to admire, stroke and even hold.
6. WORKING MODEL FARM
Against the Craft Marquee. Watch Mal Cowan putting his working models through their paces as they go through a repertoire of farm tasks – ploughing, cultivating, sowing, harrowing, spraying, mowing, hay making, muck spreading, carting and so on.
7. TRADITIONAL COUNTRYSIDE SKILLS
In front of the Vintage Commercial Vehicles. Clive Lyttle will be demonstrating the traditional art of basket making using materials from our hedgerows, woods, bogs, coppices etc. He will also be turning wooden articles using traditional manually operated pole lathes. Also on display will be hazel stick and rustic furniture produced from locally grown materials using traditional skills.
8. VINTAGE COMMERCIAL WORKING ARENA
In front of the Vintage Commercial and Military arena. The Vintage Commercials will be putting on a full scale show each day between 1.00pm and 2.30pm covering items such as reversing trucks with attached trailers and changing a tyre without removing the wheel from the vehicle. They will also have continuous demonstrations and displays throughout the day. The latter will include sheeting and roping loads and specialised painting – sign writing.
9. BLACKSMITH
Beside the Main Arena. Danna Herron our resident blacksmith is off having a baby – we wish her well and hope to see her back next year - with Junior in tow!
In the meantime we have Samuel Logan, a young but experienced blacksmith who assists with the teaching of the classes for budding blacksmiths in the Spade Mill in Templepatrick.
Watch as he make the sparks fly as he beats the white hot bars of metal into all sorts of ironmongery and tools such as hinges, spikes, horseshoes, gates, billhooks, graips, shovels and so on. Wonderful to watch the various items being formed with the heat and the hammer.
10. WWII RE-ENACTERS
NEW! Beside the Main Arena. A display of uniforms, kit, armaments, transport vehicles, tents and war equipment used in various scenarios by a number of the countries involved in the World War II conflict.
11. RANDALSTOWN MOBILE FUN FARM
Beside the Main Arena. This is another one for the kiddies. They have a great selection of farm animals such as chickens, rabbits, lambs, chickens ponies, piglets etc. for the kids to caress and cuddle.
12. ULSTER WOODTURNING
NEW! In front of the commercial Arena. Live demonstrations of woodturning, polishing and finishing of turned items and articles. They will also have on sale an array of finished gods for sale to the public.
13. TRADE STANDS
There are upwards of fifty Trade Stands including autojumble, tools, clothing, toys, models, furniture, plants and everything else under the sun! A mecca for browsers and collectors.
14. CASTLEWOOD HOLIDAY PARK
NEW! Castlewood Holiday Park is being installed at the Antrim end of Shanes Castle Estate. It is the latest addition to Blair’s Caravans of Portrush holiday parks and is scheduled to open shortly..
They are a new and very welcome sponsor of the Steam Rally.
Visit their huge Stand with three models of the static caravans available in their latest park.
15. FAIRGROUND
You couldn’t possibly miss it! It’s huge! There will be something to amuse, entertain, thrill - even frighten - everyone from three to ninety three years old!
In the Main Arena
16. BIRDS OF PREY FLYING DISPLAY
Watch in wonder as John Carmichael and his team fly the eagles, hawks and buzzards etc. around the arena, into the crowd, out around the rally field and even up into the trees! A truly wonderful display, don’t miss it!
17. FIRE & RESCUE DISPLAY
The Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service will be demonstrating how they deal with a serious RTA (Road Traffic Accident) where a person is trapped inside a vehicle and has to be cut out. This is a simulation – but it is quite frightening!
18. WWII RE-ENACTORS
The World War II Re-enactors will be putting on a demonstration in the Main Arena.
In Front of the Trade Stands
19. ARMY RESERVE RECRUITMENT CENTRE
Rocky Mallon and his team will be displaying a huge selection of Army vehicles and equipment including Scout Cars, Land Rovers, Guns, trucks of all types and lots more. And for the kiddies they will have lots of games and perhaps even paintball!
20. PSNI
The Police Service Northern Ireland will be back again. They will be giving out free advice on crime prevention and home safety.
21. MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT
Stephen Beckett will be serenading us with his great selection of musical items.
22. ULSTER AVIATION SOCIETY
They will have on display their latest acquisition which is the Cockpit and Nose Section of a Tornado F3 Jet Fighter Plane plus pictorial displays of their collection of aircraft and associated equipment.
23. DONEGAL SPITFIRE
Beside the Ulster Aviation Society. In the marquee with the pointed top, Jonny McNee will be displaying a collection of WW II memorabilia including bits of the Donegal Spitfire and U Boats etc.
Around Shanes Castle Station & Castle Lawn
24. TIMBER SAWING BY TRADITIONAL MEANS
Demonstration of the art of traditional timber sawing into planks using a vintage wooden saw bench driven with belts by steam engines and vintage tractors.
25. STONEBREAKING
A demonstration of stone breaking with a mobile Stonebreaker driven by a repertoire of steam engines.
26. ROAD BUILDING
A demonstration of country road building utilising vintage road making equipment and ago old traditional practices.
27. ARCHERY
Muckamore Company of Archers will have their bows and arrows and targets at the ready for you to have a go at hitting a ‘bull’! They will be on hand to give instructions, advice and help on the right way to use a bow and arrow.
28. STEAM ENGINE RIDES
There will be full size Steam Engines towing big trailers with seats for passengers. Come and have a ride behind a real steam engine and enjoy the smell of the smoke, steam and hot oil! The rides are only £2.00 per person.
29. STEAM ENGINE VIEWING PLATFORM
Climb up on to the platform to see the workings of a steam engine up real close. Watch as the cams, piston rods, valves, gear wheels, shafts etc. move slowly in unison as the engine “ticks over” and marvel at the power of just fire and water!
30. BIRDS OF PREY
Come and admire magnificent birds such as American Red Tailed Hawks, American Barn Owls, native Barn Owls, Harris Hawks and many more. It will also be possible to handle some of the birds under the watchful eye of John Carmichael and his team.
On the Saturday and the Sunday there will be full scale flying displays in the Main Arena, a spectacle not to be missed! See the Main Arena programme elsewhere in this programme for details.
31. BALLYMENA AMATEUR RADIO CLUB
Watch and listen to the crackle and the craic as the radio enthusiasts call up and chat with their counterparts all around the globe. It makes the world seem a much smaller place as they talk to folk in Paris and Panama and Peru and Patagonia!
32. ‘D COY’ CAMP – A DISPLAY OF WARTIME VEHICLES AND MEMORABILIA
A very interesting and informative display of Landrovers, jeeps, motorcycles, uniforms, guns, equipment and other paraphernalia from various wartime scenarios.
33. GUIDED HISTORY TOURS OF THE SHANES CASTLE RUINS
NEW! Many of our visitors have asked about the history of Shanes Castle.
So this year we are going to experiment!
History tours will start from the platform of the old Railway Station.
There will be a nominal charge which will go to our chosen charity which this year which is again
NI Air Ambulance.
34. MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT
On our Stage beside the Station.