Treat for all tastes at games village

SOMETHING for everyone may be a cliche, but Special Olympics organisers have even managed to arrange a treat that could coax Eddie Irvine out of retirement.

In a tent in the Festival Village, designers, technicians and grease monkeys are working on building a Ferrari like the world has never seen before.

So it’s made of Lego and it won’t actually go, but don’t be surprised if the Formula One star, fresh from the buzz of the athletes parade at Saturday night’s opening ceremony suddenly feels the urge to get back behind the wheel.

The build-a-Ferrari project involving tens of thousands of pieces of Lego and as many contributors, young and old, as can pass by the tent in a week, is just one of many fun activities running at the Festival Village beside the Simmonscourt competition venue sports at the RDS in Dublin.

It opened yesterday to an endless stream of visitors from Special Olympics delegations and the general public who have free admission each day from 10.30am to 5.30pm up to and including Saturday, June 28.

The marquee village has arts workshops, music and drama all day every day as well as a number of special ticketed events such as yesterday’s all-star fashion show featuring outfits by Irish designers modelled by the country’s top professional models assisted by young amateurs from Down Syndrome Ireland.

An exhibition hall has also been erected to showcase the work of disability groups and the products and services of the many sponsors and suppliers of the games, and visitors can buy official Special Olympics caps, t-shirts and other memorabilia or pick up a pack of commemorative stamps from An Post.

A food hall housing eight different eateries is open all day as is a chill-out centre for kids (and parents) who want to escape the crowd and enjoy some time in a giant playroom.

Other events running each day include caricature drawing run by the students of the National College of Art and Design who, by yesterday evening, had already claimed Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali and Pierce Brosnan as victims; Punch and Judy shows and other children’s theatre productions, and a giant wall mural project for which everyone who visits is asked to paint a square.

In addition, today’s events feature storytelling from 10.30-5pm, plaster cast art, 2.30-4pm; the tale of How the elk got to the games, hourly 2-5pm, and street theatre, 10.30-5pm.

Additional events later this week include a celebrity reading with Joseph O’Connor, Marian Keyes and special needs writer Dolores McKeever on Wednesday, June 25 at 4pm; a Dance Craic workshop with Jean Butler of Riverdance fame on Friday, June 27 from 12.30-1.30pm and a concert with renowned fiddler Martin Hayes and celebrated guitarist Dennis Cahill on the same day from 5-6pm.

Events are free of charge, but entry is by ticket only. Bookings can be made through www.ticketmaster.ie.