A Wild West parade few will forget

WATERFORD celebrated its hurling victory in style last night, with the annual Spraoi parade in the city becoming something of a victory celebration.

The event had been staged a little later than usual this year, to allow Waterford fans time to travel home from Croke Park, for what has become one of the annual highlights of Waterford’s cultural calendar.

While the prospect of rain might have scared off some spectators, there were still crowds lining the banks of the River Suir to watch the stagecoaches, wagons, puritans, cowboys and indians in this Wild West-themed jamboree staged by Spraoi.

The spectacle took one hour to pass down the Waterford quay, where families stood with waterproof gear and umbrellas at the ready, as the 250 Spraoi volunteers staged a street extravaganza all would remember.

The event was crowned with a spectacular fireworks display that lit up the dark Waterford skies, courtesy of sponsors Sun Life Financial. The display brought to an end a weekend of free street theatre and performance that marks the Spraoi festival out in the crowded calendar of summer festivals.

“We had to move some of the street performances indoors because of the weather,” said Spraoi programme director Miriam Dunne.

“But Sproai doesn’t cancel events — no matter if it’s raining or not,” she said.

But if ever the weather did its best to destroy an event, the appalling downpours of the weekend came close to making Spraoi a washout. And yet the sunshine broke through yesterday afternoon on cue, as luck shone on Waterford, at home as well as in Croke Park.

Still, over the festival weekend outdoor shows like Storm Bringers, in Lombard Street car park, relied so heavily on water as a stage effect that it was made almost redundant by the water tumbling on everyone from the heavens above. And, indeed, the show drew only a dedicated fraction of the potential audience on Saturday night.

Many of the other Spraoi shows also suffered from the weather over the weekend. But judging by the craic had all over Waterford City in the past few days, it seems only a Biblical flood could stop this city from having a good time — particularly with a ticket to the All-Ireland Hurling Semi-Final under their belts to shout about.