07/08/2026
⚓🎶 THAT’S A WRAP FOR SAILS & SOUNDS 2026! 🎶⚓
The sails are down, the shanties have quietened… for now… and what a weekend it has been! 💙🌊
From the first note sung to the last boat home, Portaferry Sails & Sounds 2026 has been a fantastic celebration of maritime heritage, sailing, sea shanties, music, dance, Ulster-Scots culture, community and good old fashioned Portaferry hospitality.
A massive THANK YOU to everyone who helped make this year’s festival such a success.
To the strangers who arrived as visitors, the familiar faces who return year after year, our local community, families, sailors, shanty lovers and everyone who travelled to Portaferry thank you for coming along and being part of it.
It was especially wonderful to see so many new visitors to the area, discovering Portaferry, enjoying our waterfront and taking in everything our town and beautiful Strangford Lough have to offer.
🎶 A very special thank you to all our entertainers and participants our sea shanty groups, musicians, Ulster-Scots musicians, dancers, pipe bands, storytellers, street performers, sailors, heritage contributors, workshop leaders and activity providers. You brought the streets, venues and waterfront to life and created a wonderful atmosphere throughout the festival.
A huge thank you also to everyone involved in our Ulster-Scots music, dance, heritage and information activities, including those who staffed the information booths, spoke with visitors, shared knowledge and helped us celebrate and promote Ulster-Scots culture as an important part of the Sails & Sounds programme.
💙 SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR FUNDERS 💙
We are extremely grateful to the Ulster-Scots Agency and Ards and North Down Borough Council (ANDBC) for grant aiding and supporting the festival.
Without this financial support, we simply could not deliver a festival of this scale, quality and variety. Their support allows us to bring professional performers, activities, heritage, music, culture and high-quality service providers into Portaferry while keeping so much of the festival accessible for families and visitors.
Our sincere thanks to both organisations for believing in the festival and helping us continue to develop and raise the standard of Sails & Sounds year after year.
🏘️ We must also thank our wonderful local businesses, cafés, shops, hospitality providers and community organisations. Thank you for welcoming our visitors, supporting the festival and helping to showcase the very best of Portaferry hospitality.
Huge thanks to our fantastic service providers, contractors, safety teams, first aiders, marshals, stewards and everyone working behind the scenes. Your professionalism, patience, flexibility and hard work helped us deliver a safe, welcoming and enjoyable experience for everyone.
❤️ AND TO OUR VOLUNTEERS…
A particularly special thank you goes to our hard working volunteers "you know who you are!"
The people who arrived early, stayed late, set up, took down, carried equipment, staffed booths, welcomed visitors, directed people, helped performers, supported activities, solved problems, answered endless questions and quietly got on with the hundreds of jobs that have to happen behind the scenes. To St Patrick's GAC seniors for assisting with the set up and take down of the festival it was a massive support to the team and we thank you.
You all are the backbone of Sails & Sounds, and we genuinely could not do it without you.
Many people see the finished festival but we know the hours, planning, preparation and hard work that happen before, during and after the weekend. To each and every one of you, THANK YOU. 💙⚓
Sails & Sounds is about much more than a programme of events. It is about community, maritime heritage, Ulster-Scots culture, music, dance, friendship, hospitality and bringing people together.
📸🎥 And we’re not quite finished yet!
Over the next few days we’ll continue uploading photos and videos taken by our own team, along with the many fantastic images and clips that performers, participants, local businesses and visitors have kindly sent in.
So keep watching the page there are plenty more Sails & Sounds 2026 memories still to come!
If you have photographs or videos from the weekend, please send them our way. We would love to see and share the festival through your eyes too.
For now though…
⚓ Sails & Sounds 2026 over and out!
🎶 The songs may have finished…
⛵ The sails may be lowered…
🥁 The pipes and music may have quietened…
🌊 But the memories will be floating around Portaferry for a long time yet!
Thank you to everyone who played a part, however big or small, in making Sails & Sounds 2026 such a special weekend. 💙⚓🎶
Bring on 2027!
Ulster-Scots Agency
Visit Ards and North Down
Ards and North Down Borough Council
