X-PO, the social and cultural space in Kilnaboy’s former post office, is reopening its doors in the coming days for a short season of activities so that people locally can “reconnect” after two years of lockdowns.
The brief summer season will kick off with an Open Mic evening at 8:30pm on Friday, 6th May, and will also feature a new book club, a board game evening, film screening, heritage talk and a ‘skill-share’ workshop on how to grow grapevines in Ireland.
William Hederman, a member of the collective that runs X-PO, said: “It’s very exciting to be opening up again after so long and we have quite a range of events. We traditionally close for the summer months but we decided it would be great to open for a few weeks to bring people together to reconnect after two years of our doors being closed.”
“We previously hosted a series of ‘skill-share’ workshops, and this will continue at 2pm on Sunday, 22nd May with ‘Growing Grapevines in Ireland’, led by Robert Dukes. This free event will be an introduction to the 6,000-year-old art of viticulture and how to grow vines in Ireland, both indoor and outdoor, with a free vine for all attendees, to begin the voyage.”
The workshop is free, but booking is essential. Email X-PO to book a place.
A new X-PO Book Club will have its first meeting at 6pm on Thursday, 19th May, at which they will choose their first book. All are welcome.
Another new event will be a Board Games Night, from 7pm on Thursday 26th May. Board games will be provided but you can also bring your own.
Dates have yet to be confirmed for two other evening events – a screening of a documentary about the Burren and a heritage talk.
X-PO will also resume its usual line-up of weekly activities, including Irish language classes, a singers’ group and a local mapping group. Irish classes are on Wednesdays at 8pm – call Mick on 087 216 2351 to find out more.
Founded in 2007, X-PO is a community arts hub run by a collective of volunteers. Just before the first Covid-related lockdown, X-PO ran a hugely successful ‘Folk Radio’ project in February 2020, broadcasting programmes made by and about local people using a temporary community broadcast licence.
For more details on upcoming events and activities at X-PO, keep an eye on X-PO’s Facebook page, where you can also sign up to a mailing list.