Staff from Preston City Council will be taking part in a day’s fast to raise awareness of Ramadan, alongside colleagues from the NHS and the Police.

After working alongside Muslim colleagues and celebrating Eid with friends when Ramadan ends, around 10 members of staff have chosen to observe one day of fasting to help understand the principles of the fast.

Ramadan is the holiest of months in the Islamic calendar. Fasting in the month of Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam and Muslims fast during the daylight hours from dawn to sunset.

James Christian Charters AKA DJ Ironik.

Ironik was born on 18 January 1988 in London, England, he decided on a career in music at an early age he began his early career at age 13 when he worked as a DJ at clubs, first in his home country but his talent was quickly spotted and he moved around in Europe .

Ironik’s admirers include Tom Cruise, Sir Elton John and even Prince Charles. He has mentored and produced some of the biggest, new names in British pop, his debut album spawned hits everywhere from India to Sweden squeezing in over 370 performances in to his hectic schedule last year alone. His self-titled, second album, due out in November, is a pop gem sprinkled with surprising special guests.

What DJ Ironik has achieved so much by the age of 22 seems staggering.  At least it does until you discover the passion for music that drives him.

Among those who have work alongside DJ Ironik were Lethal B, Wiley, Tinie Tempah and Chipmunk, who came up to the producer at a party and handed him a demo. It was only when he turned 19, however, that Ironik took to the mic himself.

The doors of Preston’s new ACER Experience Centre will open for a preview evening on 8th September. Attending will be specially invited guests from Preston’s top businesses, Mayoral Dignitaries, ACER UK Country Manager, Bobby Watkins, and his team.

Wine and cheese will be served whilst business owners get the opportunity of hands-on demonstrations of ACER’s newest technologies. This is an ideal opportunity to meet the ACER Experience Centre staff, and catch up with other business owners. Marc Burrow of Black Box Computers will lead the evening presentation on “The Top 10 Ways Businesses Can Save Money on I.T.”.

The company, headed by TV presenter Jason Karl, will host the remaining five at locations in Yorkshire, Ireland and at Samlesbury Hall, Preston.

The Ribble Steam Railway, on Chain Caul Road, Preston, is getting all ‘Steamed Up’ ready for a very exciting event as the Friendly Engines visit over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

Many of the engines have big smiling faces for the three day event.

One of the Friendly Engines has been picked to top & tail the train rides together with the class 05 diesel, which run across the Dock Swingbridge past the Preston Marina and runs for a three mile return trip alongside the River Ribble, every hour – on the hour from 11 AM to 4 PM each day.

As well as hourly train rides the Railway Centre has a few extras lined up to make it a fun day for families & kids. There is free face painting, a big free train bouncy castle, a large Garden Railway layout and the Big Narrow Gauge Diesel will be chugging up and down the full length of the main museum.

There is now less than a month to go until Preston City Council’s ‘Preston Together’ event, a week-long celebration of the city’s diverse culture.

Preston Together kicks off on Saturday 18th September, with ‘Preston’s Got Diversity’ at the Guild Hall. Organised with Sahara, this women-only event will provide an exceptional evening of fashion, dance, and entertainment, with refreshments included in the £8 ticket.

From Monday 20th to Friday 24th September Preston Together will set up shop in the Guild Hall Arcade, providing a week of activities and information inside one of the units. Each day will have a different theme:

Over 100 million people from around the world tuned into ‘America’s Got Talent’ last season, to see THE TEXAS TENORS, who were voted “2009’s Vocal Group of the Year” - now, for the very first time, they are touring the UK, performing at Preston’s Guild Hall on Friday 3 September.

These classically trained Tenors - JC, Marcus and John - perform the most romantic songs of the last Century and bring their unique blend of Gospel, Country, Classical and Broadway to the stage with breathtaking vocals, humour and a hint of cowboy charm. 

JC is the ever romantic Tenor with his interpretations of classic Neapolitan love songs; Marcus brings a contemporary feel to the group; and John is simply…The Tenor!

Thursday, October 7th sees The Continental fling open its doors once again for another celebration of the best in real ales, cider, and bottled beers from around the world. The Continental’s 5th Beer Festival takes place over three days with over 100 beers, music, entertainment and a range of specialty foods on offer. 

This festival will see the emphasis squarely on the beer, with a distinctly Germanic ‘Oktoberfest’ theme in evidence. The entire range of Oktoberfest specials, brewed specially for the famous festival, will be available along with a selection of German sausages, or “würstl”, to complement them.

Grime pioneers Roll Deep, return to assail the UK Charts with their new single, 'Green Light', on August 15th on Relentless / Virgin Records.

Roll Deeps new single, 'Green Light' continues the London collective's more popular direction.  The song contrast's Roll Deep’s street savvy lyrical twists with a throbbing electro bassline and the guest vocalist's hook driven vocals.   Add them all together and they have themselves another sure fire hit. 

Roll Deep’s line-up has continued to evolve since the 2005 release of their debut album ‘In At The Deep End’, yet the collective still boasts the talents of founder members Wiley, Breeze, Scratchy, Flow Dan and Danny Weed, as well as crew veterans Brazen, Manga, J2K and Target.

The installation of the company’s newest piece of kit, which segregates a mix waste stream of hardcore, soil, wood, plastics, paper, cardboard, cloth, plus ferrous and non-ferrous metals, has seen seven employees specially trained to use the equipment.