A feast of festival fun nationwide

From Bloomsday for Joycean lovers to al fresco dining in Dublin, from the fun side of the arts in Carlow to the annual Summer Show in Cork, this weekend promises a feast of festivals nationwide.

Bloomsday was first celebrated in Dublin by a ragtag group of artists who followed in the footsteps of the characters of Joyce’s epic Ulysses, drinking and reading as they went. True to that spirit, the day now stretches to a week and includes a number of walking tours.

There will also be a special celebration to mark the 100th anniversary of the publication of Dubliners, with a tour starting from the James Joyce Centre on North Great George’s St and ending at Trinity.

Elsewhere in the city, Taste of Dublin continues in Iveagh Gardens for a weekend of summer eating, drinking and entertainment.

In Cork, meanwhile, the annual Summer Show has evolved into Experience Fest being held this weekend in Curaheen on the city’s west side.

While the popular Show programme remains, the event is being added to, as Cork Food Fest and Cork Music Fest combine three shows into one. The festival showcases the best in Irish food, music and agriculture, with more than 100 artisan producers celebrating the rich tradition of food and craft beers in Cork.

Celebrity chefs Lily Higgins and Masterchef Ireland winner Diana Dodog will give demonstrations and cooking tips. Peter Foynes from the Butter Museum and Alan Kingston from Glenilen Farm will give a demonstration on butter making, while local restaurants, including Fenns Quay and Sage Midleton, will make and serve tasting menus.

The show will also feature more than 1,000 animals, with classes for cattle, sheep, poultry, horses, and goats. Sheep Dog Trials will take place today, while tomorrow Breda Lynch, who came second in the World Sheep Shearing Competition, will give shearing demonstrations.

Carlow has two festivals every June, among them last week’s History Festival at Huntingon Castle in Clonegal. The Carlow Arts Festival, which opened last week and continues until Monday, celebrates not just music and theatre but large-scale visual art, culminating in a street carnival.