It's time once again to scour the charity shops and your mothers wardrobe to find the ideal costume for the Erne Music Collectives (EMC) fancy dress extravaganza.

This year's Ball will be held in Willie Ramblers and will feature live music from the best the local scene has to offer, with contributions from: Asylum (no nonsense metal), Nemesis (Celtic tinged metal), Setting Off Sirens (progressive punk), Nice 'n' Sleezy (Moxy rock - glam 80's) and, from Dungannon, A Little Bitter (as part of their 'Bloody' tour to promote their new album 'Blood'). With such a variety of rock genres on offer there's sure to be something to please everyone. Should you require a souvenir of the evening, most of the bands will have CDs available at a modest price. This is the EMC's primary fundraiser, with all money raised on the night going towards the cost of running the Collective and buying and repairing equipment. The EMC also wish to encourage all the musicians in the local area to join up or indeed renew their subscriptions. Enniskillen has a music scene to rival that of Belfast and is probably better than any other provincial town - let's keep it that way!

The Erne Music Collective was formed seven years ago to help local musicians develop a more professional approach to playing and recording their original music and to help them reach a wider audience. To that end they have provided rehearsal facilities, a recording studio, limited run CD duplication, PA hire and set-up, technical advice and oodles of encouragement. With this help, several collective bands regularly play in Belfast, Dublin and at Festivals all over the country.

Several bands also have commercial releases under their belts. It's only a matter of time before one of these bands put Fermanagh back on the music world map. In addition, the Collective has made it's expertise and equipment available to several local community groups.