Described as a beacon of creativity in the south of the island, the Erin Arts Centre is celebrating its 50th anniversary this weekend.

The venue, gallery and creative arts space, based in Port Erin, first opened its doors on October 30, 1971 and to help commemorate the landmark anniversary, this weekend will see a string of concerts held by artists with a strong connection to the arts centre.

Friday night will see a celebratory concert, which will take the form of an informal evening of music, and entertainment, featuring many of the stars from the Manx artistic community who have appeared on the stage over the years, or have a strong connection to the centre and its founder John Bethel.

Appearing will be members of the Manx Festival Chorus, led by John Riley. John founded the choir at a similar time to the birth of the Erin Arts Centre, and ran it until 2019.

There will also be a performance by the Manx Ballet Company, of which John is also a president.

Pianist Judith Christian will perform, as will Mandy Griffin, the singing trio of Paul Costain, Jane Corkill and Ruth Tickle and husband-and-wife duo Jon and Karen Elliott.

Poet and Manx bard Annie Kissack will also read some of her work, before a performance by the Service Players, who have appeared many times on the Erin Arts Centre Stage.

The following night will see the British piano musical comedy duo ’Worbey and Farrell’. They were described as a favourite act at the Erin Arts Centre, having appeared previously on a number of occasions.

Classical pianist Ronan O’Hora will bring the weekend celebrations to a close on the Sunday evening.

Ronan, a multi award-winning concert pianist, is one of the patrons of the Erin Arts Centre.

The Centre was founded by John, a BBC musician based in Manchester, in 1971 after he noticed a lack of good arts venues on the island.

He and Manx musical stalwart Sue Bowring bought a disused methodist chapel and, with help from the then-arts council, converted into the venue, with international pianist Clive Lythgoe being the first act to grace the stage.

Since then, John said that the arts centre has crafted an international reputation, largely thanks to its competitions.

The Erin Arts Centre today hosts the Barbirolli international oboe festival and the Lionel Tertis International Viola Festival and competition every two years, attracting some of the best players in their field from around the world.

In 1978, the BBC produced a documentary on the ’Great Double Bass race’, a competition and workshop weekend which ended with John conducting 48 Double Bass players whilst sitting astride a giant, inflatable elephant on Port Erin Beach.

Also, the centre has hosted its annual fortnight-long Mananan Festival of the Arts since 1975, with the exception of the previous two Covid-interrupted years.

The Mananan festival has featured some of the most well-known classical musicians in recent years and, in 2018, featured the Kanneh-Mason trio, who went on to perform at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

That is not the only royal connection, as Prince Charles laid the foundation stone, on display in the gallery, something that the Queen remarked on when presenting John with his OBE.

’When we developed the Erin Arts Centre, there simply wasn’t anywhere like it in the island,’ said John, who has been a volunteer arts director at the centre ever since it opened, never once being paid for his efforts.

’It has been the most incredible opportunity to use my own talents and my abilities to create something that people can enjoy.

’It is hard for me to be able to choose a favourite act as, whether they have been local or international, they have all been fantastic.’