The Alley goes "Back to the Future"

In celebration of the forthcoming screening of that classic time travel adventure “Back to the Future” on July 18th at 2 p.m., Strabane’s Alley Theatre, supported by Harte and McGarrigle Estate Agents, took delivery of a iconic DeLorean sports car for the day.

It was a busy Thurday and the owner of this mint condition car travelled down to Strabane from Lisburn, not knowing he had a press pack waiting to interview him (and his father who built the machine!). The DeLorean was in top condition, 6500 miles on the clock, original tyres and a body work to die for!

The photo shoot had been annouced in some of the major papers, including the Derry Journal, so we have some real DeLorean fans travelling miles to see the car, with some even jumping into the drivers seat to recreate that "Marty McFly" magic!

Pictured with the DeLorean was Sophie from Electric Candy Boutique, one of the new fashion retailers based in Castle Street, Strabane, just 2 mins walk from the Alley Theatre. She was a great model and didn't seem to mind the crowd gathering to watch the event.

If I could do it all over again would I change anything about the shoot? Not a thing!

We had Radio Foyle, the Strabane Chronicle, Strabane Weekly and the Derry Journal all down for interviews and pics, so the coverage next week will be fantastic. If Carlsberg did photo shoots - this would be a pretty damn close thing!

Happy Birthday Facebook

Strabane’s Alley Theatre is leading the birthday congratulations to one of the worlds largest social networking sites, namely Facebook, who are celebrating their 5th birthday this year. The popular North West arts venue has capitalized on the growth of this fantastic social networking site, developing “The Alley Theatre Facebook page”, which is now officially one of the largest theatre Facebook pages in existence within Northern Ireland.

Facebook is now a world leading company, however it beginnings are far removed from the world of big business. Created in the dorm rooms of Harvard University, student Mark Zuckerberg designed this revolutionary site so he could keep in touch with his friends. From those humble beginnings, Facebook is now a world leader on the internet, with over 150 million users worldwide.

The Facebook “phenomenon” knows no boundaries in its ever increasing presence on the web, and has now even reached Strabane and the patrons of the Alley Theatre Strabane. "Facebook and other social network sites are practically still in their infancy” commented Nathan Flatman, Marketing officer for the Alley Theatre, “In the future, sites like Facebook and Twitter will be essential sites for internet users to visit, allowing them to keep in touch with friends, family and colleagues who are based not just regionally, but internationally. I speak to friends in the UK, Australia and Korea at the click of a button via Facebook and we are delighted to see the Alley Face Book Page becoming one of the most successful theatre based pages within Northern Ireland”.

At the end of 2005, Facebook expanded into the UK and Ireland, with the site now translated across 35 languages with another 60 in development. Everyday more than 15 million users update their status to tell their friends what they are doing, showing off photographs, uploading videos, chatting, making like minded friends, meet old ones, join causes, groups, and have fun. For more information on the Alley Theatre’s Facebook page and other Alley related social network sites visit www.alley-theatre.com/about-us/alley-social-network-sites