Young Farmers take to stage in the Villa



THE Young Farmers will stage their popular annual concert in the Royal Hall of the Villa Marina in March.

The change from the usual venue of the Gaiety Theatre comes after government agreed to bring production of a big budget Hollywood movie to the Isle of Man last month.

For six weeks from mid-February, filming will take place at the Gaiety Theatre and all plays, shows and concerts which were due to be held at the Gaiety during that time have had to be rescheduled to a later date or moved to an alternative venue.

The Gaiety will earn £75,000 from the film booking and there are hopes the Manx economy will benefit to the tune of £2 million.

A series of meetings were held between delegates of the Federation of Young Farmers' and officials from the Department of Tourism and Leisure and the Department of Trade and Industry to find an alternative venue for the Young Farmers' Concert which sees 200 people between 10-36 years taking part.

Chairman of the Federation of Young Farmers Lucy Webster said: 'The Young Farmers were keen to work with the government to find a solution which would enable the Isle of Man to take advantage of this fantastic opportunity which will be of great financial benefit to the Island.

'Members are now looking forward to the challenge of performing at the Villa Marina and will continue to embrace the true spirit that the concert brings each year.'

She added: 'This year's concert, which is kindly sponsored by the Isle of Man Bank, will be held for two nights only on Friday, March 28, and Saturday, March 29, due to the larger capacity the Royal Hall can hold and we hope demand for tickets will be as popular as ever.

'Anyone who has ever been to the Young Farmers' Concert will know it's a show definitely not to be missed – it's full of humour, talent, professionalism and a great deal of hard work.'

Tickets, priced £13 - £15, go on sale from Saturday, February 16, at the Welcome Centre, Sea Terminal, Douglas, from 9am and will be available to book by telephone on 694555 and online at www.villagaiety.com from noon that day.