SOUTH Belfast's Holylands residents are staging an event to celebrate an "alternative, family-friendly" St Patrick's Day.
The Spring Gathering hopes to showcase a positive image of the mainly student area, which has become notorious for drink-fuelled anti-social behaviour over the holiday period.
Now in its fourth year, the annual festival is being held for the first time in Botanic Gardens.
It will include food stalls, roots music, a ceili, arts and crafts, and tours of the area by historian and Irish News columnist Dr Éamon Phoenix.
The festival is being organised by Forward South Partnership in conjunction with organisations within the Holylands and wider university area.
Briege Arthurs, CEO of Forward South Partnership, described it as a "fantastic event that is going from strength to strength each year".
Bríd Ruddy, chair of College Park Avenue Residents Association, said they were "delighted" for the Holylands to "put its positive side forward through this inclusive cultural event".
The festival is being held on St Patrick's Day from noon to 4pm. Visit facebook.com/events/1983000185328134/ for details.
Earlier this week the PSNI said it has budgeted around £100,000 for its policing operation relating to St Patrick's week in central Belfast and the Holylands area.
Superintendent Muir Clark said the cost estimate accounts for around 5,000 policing hours, but he said this operation is reduced from previous years.
