(Photography by Darren Kidd and Lawrence Doherty)

Recently SAM had the honour of being chosen as the featured charity for the 17th Hillsborough Oyster Festival, the second largest event on the Northern Irish calendar.

The festivities spanned four action-packed days and nights, opening with a Fashion Extravaganza in the festival marquee showcasing ladieswear from Magowans of Ballynahinch, bridal wear from Wish, menswear from McCalls and an exclusive preview of ballgowns from MaryRose McGrath's new collection for House of Fraser.

The evening was hosted by local media personality and charity patron Emma-Louise Johnston and models from Belfast agency Models-EG were joined on the catwalk by local DJ and presenter Pete Snodden and Sam's mum Tracy. The evening raised over £4,000! 

       
On Friday evening the fabulous Oyster Festival Masquerade Ball took place which this year raised a record amount via donations and an exclusive charity auction. Guests were treated to a champagne reception followed by the best cuisine the village has to offer. Entertainment included a wow-factor in line with the masquerade theme and a fantastic evening was had by all!

On Saturday the whole village came alive with a gourmet market, carnival and the epic Soapbox Derby which this year was held on cardiac hill (otherwise known as Hillsborough Main Street) - a great laugh for the 12,000 visitors and locals who packed the streets of our gorgeous Georgian village for the day! The finals of the World Oyster Eating Championships also took place in the Gig Rig, and music and entertainment for the day's events was kindly provided by Citybeat. The traditional 'big night out' on Saturday evening included a barbeque followed by live music and entertainment by SuperTroopers and XIII in the festival marquee.
     

On Sunday hundreds of car enthusiasts young and old braved the rain to enjoy Super Dreamcar Sunday for an afternoon of motoring exotica, which included Ferraris, Porsches, Aston Martins, rally cars, and a selection of 'superduper cars'.

In all the Oyster Festival events raised a whopping £35,000 and this money will form a substantial part of a second SAM research grant, which will be awarded in early 2010. We are so incredibly grateful for such terrific support from our local community and would like to thank everyone involved in the Oyster Festival for their dedication and hard work