THE event season - By Andrea McVeigh

THE event season has started up again, with the re-launch of Canvas art gallery on Belfast's Stranmillis Road and the Raspberry Beret relocation party (the fab vintage fashion store has moved from the city centre to Bloomfield Avenue in east Belfast) both taking place recently.
But the highlight of September has to be the Ulster Tatler's own People of the Year awards.
This is the inaugural year of the awards ceremony, which is being held in association with House of Fraser, and which has been launched to celebrate and reward inspirational local people - of which there are many!
There's an abundance of brilliant, talented people in Northern Ireland, as I found out recently when I was asked to be one of the judges for the awards.
There are numerous trophies up for grabs, covering everyone from brides to businessmen, sportsmen to chefs, and all the shortlisted nominees really deserve their place in the final.
I was on the judging panel for two of the categories - and the consensus among the judges was that everyone who had made it onto the shortlist deserves a prize.
Unfortunately, there can only be one winner in each category but I know that I, along with the rest of the judges, had a hard time debating the merits of each nominee.
The beauty of the awards, which will be handed out in Belfast's Waterfront Hall in September, is that it was down to Ulster Tatler's own readers to send in their nominees, so this really is an awards ceremony 'for the people'.
Along with the Canvas and Raspberry Beret parties, another highlight of the month was the catwalk preview for the Autumn/Winter collections at House of Fraser.
The clothes were all gorgeous and, thanks to House of Fraser and the gorgeous clothes on show, I've already planned my new season wardrobe, which will be full of tartans, purples and luxurious fabrics.
Style-spotter Katrina Doran was making lots of notes at the fashion show too. She's the Editor of www.sugahfix.com, which bills itself as a guide to life and style in Belfast and beyond.
The site recently marked its one millionth hit, just three months after it launched, and Katrina told me how thrilled she is that local women are logging on to find out the latest fashion, shopping, beauty, travel, style spotting and entertainment news.
Sugahfix was responsible for the recent poll that gained so much attention in the Press recently, in which UTV's own silver fox Frank Mitchell was in the top three of the most attractive grey-haired men in the world, as voted for by Sugahfix readers, after George Clooney and James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan!
I must confess to especially liking the travel section of Sugahfix.com - because I contribute to it! And, being the inveterate traveller that I am, I'm currently planning my Christmas getaway. I know it seems like Christmas is a long-time away, but there are actually only around four months to go until the big day, and those months will fly by!
My hubby and I try to get away every year at Christmas because there's nothing like spending the festive season soaking up a different culture - in the past we've eaten noodles in Tokyo on 25 December and counted down to New Year's Day in San Francisco.
This year we'll be spending Christmas Day onboard one of the fabulous Star Clipper tall sailing ships on a cruise around the islands of Tahiti. It's our dream holiday, and when we looked into it, it proved to be very accessible, once you fly to LA, all you have to do is head on to Tahiti (not exactly a hardship!), where the Star Clipper ship sails from.
We've been on Star Clipper ships before and loved the fact that they're more intimate than those mega-ships that carry thousands of people. And the prospect of spending Christmas Day onboard a masted clipper ship in one of the most beautiful areas on earth was one we couldn’t resist. Apparently, the cruise is popular with honeymooners, but since I'm already hitched, we'll turn it into a second honeymoon!
Before that though, we're off on a very different trip - an Alaskan cruise. From Alaska to Tahiti via Northern Ireland - we vowed to make 2008 our year of travel and we're certainly sticking to our resolution!