Festival frolics for young and old

CHILDREN’S festival organisers in Waterford will be finding out who’s nautical and who’s nice over the coming days as the fifth annual Hullabaloo Festival kicks into action.

The family-centred event opens tonight and, with the Tall Ships Race just weeks away, there’s a distinctive nautical theme.

Tonight, Waterford’s 20 piece big band will enthral the audience with jazz, swing and funk at the Theatre Royal. The Opus Pocus show starts at 8pm and a limited number of tickets are still available.

The feature event on Friday is the Bright Stars talent showcase for children at the Forum. Saturday’s programme includes a puppet show and the Hans Christian Andersen programme at Garter Lane. It will include a film programme, workshops, art & crafts and dance.

Children will be able to meet their favourite Hans Christian Andersen characters in John Roberts Square from 3pm. It’s all part of the bicentenary festivities to mark the anniversary of the storyteller’s birth.

On Sunday, the local Council of Trade Unions holds a May Day Festival, which is open to all. Run under the banner of People and Planet Before Profit, the festival takes place from 3.30-6pm in the People’s Park. The event will include music, entertainment, short speeches and information stalls from several organisations.

The highlight for many will be the trolley race on Bank Holiday Monday.

“Off Your Trolley” race will have a maritime theme,” says organiser Noeleen Dooley. “The karts assemble at John Roberts Square at 2pm and will parade to the Park for maritime madness and mayhem.”

Meanwhile, the Guinness Féile na nDéise traditional Irish music and culture festival also gets underway in Dungarvan this weekend. The star attraction is George Murphy, who will be in concert on Sunday night at the Park Hotel. Art and historic photo exhibitions will run daily and festival goers can also look forward to a number of open air concerts.

In Kilkenny, the Rhythm and Roots Festival kicks off with plenty of live music in pubs throughout the city.

It promises to be a hectic holiday weekend in Limerick also for the Riverfest 2005. One of the main events will be the barbecue festival on Sunday.

There will be 50 barbecue stalls and among the groups cooking up will be a team from the Special Olympics.

There will be samples galore and the cooking sizzles off at noon as chefs from local restaurants and hotels pit their skills against each other.

Organiser, Pat O’Sullivan promises that there will be “more teams, more excitement, more judges and more tastings,” than ever this year.

There are a wide range of street events during the Riverfest. The EV+A exhibition continues at the City Art Gallery, The Belltable, St Mary’s Cathedral, Hunt Museum and the old County Council offices.