Clonakilty's annual Samhain Festival promises to be a visual spectacle that should not be missed.
CLONAKILTY’S annual Samhain Festival promises to be a visual spectacle that should not be missed.
The six-day festival, which traditionally marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, culminates in the Samhain19 Parade featuring other worldly creatures, followed by a massive drumming session and a fire show at Emmet Square, on Sunday, November 3rd.
The parade is curated by Geata Arts, which is made up of a core-group of artists, designers and creatives who organise, facilitate, and host community art projects and festivals throughout West Cork.
This year’s Samhain19 festival includes talks, music gigs, storytelling, film screenings, shows, plays and events that celebrate Irish traditions, folklore and mythology.
The highlight will be the massive street parade at 5.30pm on November 3rd because it will be a showcase by more than 200 performing artists in incredible costumes and props.
Geata Arts and countless volunteers have spent months preparing for this event, gathering materials, and putting an incredible amount of work into the costumes, as well as the staging of this event.
The programme opens on Tuesday October 29th with a reception at Spiller’s Lane followed by a candlelight concerts featuring Liam O’Maonlaí. For the rest of the week there will be talks, plays, old time games on the streets of Clonakilty, film screenings and documentaries, as well as a Friday night Samhain Extravaganza of music and dance. The writer and television presenter Manchán Magan will also be in Clonakilty offering insights into the wonders of the Irish language.
There will be plenty of traditional music sessions too, plus a podium discussion on the subject of climate change, and a closing party for everyone to enjoy.
