The Fermanagh Live Arts Festival (FLive) returns this autumn with a weekend of online and in-person events from October 1-3.

Following its absence last year due to the pandemic, FLive chairperson Ann McDermott is delighted to see the festival back for 2021 but acknowledges that it is a cautious return.

"It's great, you can't put a price on art, you can't say what it means to people but I think everybody over the last 18 months has realised just how [important] the arts and the contact, the getting together to enjoy music and various other types of art is.

It's wonderful just to be back. It's not totally normal yet because we've still got social distancing, which is very sensible coming in to winter and as we know by the numbers in NI, that things are anything but over. We can at least see a light at the end of the tunnel and hopefully 2022 we'll be back to full strength."

Ann went on to outline this year's festival programme at a glance.

"We are kicking off on the Friday evening with an online event (viewable via the FLive Facebook page) which involves music from Gerard McCrystal and Ruth McGinley at 8pm," she said adding that this will be followed by 'A Touch of Indigestion', a 20 minute pre-recorded excerpt from Seamus O’Rourke’s play 'Indigestion'.

"On the Saturday there's going to be a children's event 'Diamond Day' organised by Toni Johnson," said Ann.

The free event, which will feature music and magic, will take place on the Diamond, Enniskillen from 3.30pm. Children from local primary schools have been invited to make a mask which they are encouraged to wear on the day.

This will be followed by the Waterside Ramble - a lough shore ramble from the gates of Portora/Enniskillen Royal Grammar School to the beautiful Portora Castle ruins. Along the way there will be cultural encounters with poetry, art, literature and music.

Over the course of the weekend, a number of events will take place in Fermanagh's theatre by the lake, the Ardhowen. Saturday evening, at 5pm will see the theatre's Gallery Bar host 'Three For Joy', a poetry and music event with Fermanagh based poets John D Kelly and Teresa Godfrey along with internationally acclaimed musician Desi Wilkinson. This will be followed by Victoria Geelan in Concert at 8pm. Victoria is a professional vocalist whose been making a name for herself on Northern Ireland’s Jazz scene for over ten years. Originally from Omagh, she has made Derry City her home, performing to packed audiences at its annual Jazz Festival every year since 2011. For this very special concert, Victoria is delighted to have the opportunity to pay homage to one of her musical icons, curating a setlist of songs carefully selected from across the vast catalogue of work by Sarah Vaughan.

The theatre will also play host to some pre-recorded events. On Sunday afternoon at 3pm, audience members will be able to view a pre-recorded talk from Enniskillen's Richard Pierce - 'The Watergate: A Tale of Tourelles'. Over the years, Richard has enthralled FLive attendees with his informative and thought-provoking talks. This year he will give his own personal views on one of the most iconic buildings in Fermanagh, so iconic that it appears on at least one version our coat of arms: the Watergate.

Richard will share his ideas on the purpose for which it was built, the stages it has gone through in its 400-year-old history and how its style and configuration came from France via Scotland. The talk will be highly entertaining and informative, full of surprising twists and turns. Although the talk is pre-recorded, Richard will be in attendance at the theatre for a discussion following the screening.

"The wrap of the programme will be our very own Brian J Falconer's film Ordinary Love," said Ann.

Unfortunately Brian is not able to attend in person due to work commitments but he is recording an introductory video which will be shown prior to the film screening at the Ardhowen on the Sunday night at 8pm.

"It's going to be small and compact but there will be something for everyone. It's us marking our cards, saying, 'we are still here, we haven't gone away'," Ann told this newspaper.

For the full programme of FLive events, visit the FLive website www.flive.org.uk or the festival's Facebook page.