Meet one of the moon landing astronauts

Legendary astronaut and explorer Michael Collins will be in Westmeath early next month to receive a special award.

Collins was on the famous Apollo 11 expedition to the moon and stayed in orbit, whilst Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong became the first humans to land on the moon.

Collins will be in Ireland as part of the Word Explorers Bureau Summit Weekend kicks off in Dublin on Friday September 4 before moving to Belvedere House and Gardens on Saturday September 5 for a black tie gala dinner.

The event will be held to honour Collins, who was also the founding director of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, the world’s most visited museum.

The gala dinner will be held at Belvedere House, once the home of the explorer Charles Howard Bury, who led the first reconnaissance expedition to Everest in 1921.

The evening begins with a wine reception, photocall followed by speeches, an award presentation to Michael Collins and dinner.

MC for the night will be explorer, scientist and TV presenter Huw James.

An after dinner party will be held at the James Joyce Bar in The Greville Arms Hotel in Mullingar, with live entertainment.

The Irish Nepal Society will make an urgent appeal for support for a new project co-ordinated in association with the World Explorers Bureau.

The travel writer and blogger, Ami Gigi Alexander, will lead a discussion and workshop on adventure travel writing on Sunday September 6, 11am-2pm, at the Greville Arms.

Ami Gigi has written for numerous travel magazines, websites and has been commissioned to write the first monograph for Ripcord Adventure Journal on Chile. The session ends with a light lunch.

Several world explorers will be talking about upcoming projects, expeditions and activities in the first ever World Explorers On Stage event.

Ice Project’s Mike O’Shea, desert/steppes explorer Arita Baaijens and others take to the podium on Sunday September 6, 2-3.15pm, at the Greville Arms.