This weekend sees Village Carnival take centre stage in Newmarket-on-Fergus from Friday August 26th to Sunday the 28th.
Music, Arts and Heritage are celebrated in the free three day festival celebrates in the village which was recently named one of the Top 10 Destinations in Ireland by TripAdvisor. Village Carnival is an all inclusive family festival that encourages involvement and volunteering from all ages in the community.
Kicking off on Friday evening from 6pm to 8pm at O’ Regan Park Playground and Recreation Area there is entertainment for all the family. There will be a colourful display from a Galway Community Circuc performer, Bubble Disco with DJ Bubbles, Bean Bag Toss, Juggling, Hula Hooping and Face Painting all to be enjoyed. Children are encouraged to dress as their favourite cartoon character or superhero and there will be a special prize for the best effort!
Jerry Fish follows in the footsteps of Aslan, Republic of Loose, Paddy Casey and Hermitage Green as the headline act for Saturdays “Live on The Green”. Platinum selling artist Jerry Fish is best known in the Irish music industry since the ’90s when he fronted An Emotional Fish (recognised for hit single ‘Celebrate’) and his later jazz project Jerry Fish & the Mudbug Club who had a worldwide hit with “True Friends”.
Support on the night comes from the much acclaimed Paddy Dennehy and the Red Herring. Touted as “ones to watch” for 2016, they created a lot of buzz when they appeared on the The Late Late Show earlier this year performing their single ‘Hard Times’. They have since gone on to capture the attention of Irish audiences with their exceptional songwriting and their talented folk-jazz musicians. As with every year Village Carnival continues to support Irish and local talent and will have Mister Sister opening the event on the evening.
Sunday’s relaxed Heritage Day takes place in the wonderful Mooghaun Hillfort as part of Heritage Week 2016 with the theme being 100 years of our heritage!! The 1916 Commemoration features prominently at Village Carnival with a look back to traditional skills of the time such as butter churning. There’s a chance for the little ones to become Heritage Detectives by taking part in a Mooghaun Gold treasure hunt as well as a simulated Outdoor Archaeology School for those interested in getting their hands dirty! Seanchaí Eddie Lenihan will tell tales in the Ring Fort while a Biodiversity Walk goes through the beautiful woodland, a Foraging Kitchen demonstration will discover the wild in Mooghaun.
For enquiries call (061) 368030 or email villagecarnival@obair.org
