VISION AND PURPOSE

The purpose of the event is to encourage young people to reflect on issues that confront them in their social and spiritual development and engage with the world and contemporary culture. We support the exploration of values and beliefs in ways that relate to young people's experiences, needs and faith outlook.

 

Young people come to the event with widely different experiences of church, faith and life and we aim to create an atmosphere in which everyone feels comfortable and is able to ask questions as well as have a lot of fun! We welcome campers from all denominations as well as those with none.

 

WHO, WHY, WHAT..

Summer Madness had grown to become Ireland’s largest annual Youth Festival, reaching groups from across the denominational spectrum as well as the Church of Ireland, North and South. The camp has always targeted young people in the late ‘teens’ and twenties and over the years it has broadened its scope significantly to include younger and older. The festival has gradually become a focus of inspiration for many leaders, their families and the youth groups coming to the camp.

A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY

The first Summer Madness camp began in July 1987; the blend of seminars, workshops, outdoor pursuits, music worship and drama proved extremely popular. The early years saw exponential growth; having begun as a canvas camp for some 250 young people, leaders and staff, in just 3 years the numbers attending had risen to just over 1500. (The Festival now attracts over 4000 people – camping and visiting throughout the week-end.)

 

The camp was based initially in Castle Archdale Country Park, Co. Fermanagh and was introduced by John Kee, then Church of Ireland Youth Officer as part of the C. of  I. summer youth programme. It moved location to Gosford Forest Park in Co. Armagh in 1992 to facilitate the early expansion and joined forces with the New Horizon Festival to buy a 3000-seater Bit Top in 1994. The event continued to grow despite some significant ebb and flow during the tense times of the Drumree stand-off. Then due to the ‘Foot and Mouth’ crisis in 2001 the Festival moved to the King’s Hall complex in Belfast.

 

The Summer Madness then embarked on a five year programme of community outreach entitled ‘StreetReach’ which lead eventually to over 2000 young people offering a whole range of social programmes, community clean-ups, etc. While the StreetReach part of the Kings Hall programme finished in 2007, the idea has sparked off similar initiatives across the province in over a dozen towns and villages which continue to encourage thousands of young people to connect with the needs in their communities and areas.

 

The Festival has always been a place for young people to challenge their assumptions about faith, culture and society and the debates have over the years have generally provoked a healthy discussion and provided some inspiration and hope for the future.

 

We fully expect that this year’s DARE TO SHARE theme will provide the stimulus for us all to consider how we can respectfully share what is most important to us and provide an opportunity for us to grow together in our understanding and compassion for one anther.