A Feast of Fantastic Festivals

A CALL for the development of a strategy to address an increase in the number of festivals in Waterford was made at a recent meeting of Waterford City & County Council.
Cllr Mary Roche (Ind) highlighted that more and more festivals appear to be “coming out of the woodwork” locally.
Certainly, there is merit in the suggestion of perhaps developing a strategy to deal with the increased number of festivals taking place in Waterford.
It’s been an incredible few months right across the city and county with many varied events on offer: Dromana 800, Dunmore’s Bluegrass Festival, the Waterford Viking Marathon, and the Irish Hot Air Balloon Championships to name but a few.
Having attended many of our fantastic festivals myself, I can attest to the wonderful and varied offering which we have here in the Dèise.
In June, beautiful Lismore once again played host to the successful Immrama Festival of Travel Writing.
This year, internationally renowned journalist Robert Fisk attracted one of the largest crowds which this festival has ever seen.
A trip to Lismore is always a special treat and provides a chance to admire the beauty of the award winning town.
In July, Tramore’s Promenade Festival transformed the seaside town and offered plenty of family fun and entertainment.
Featuring air displays, puppet shows, wrestling, demonstrations by the emergency services and stalls of all shapes and sizes, there certainly was something for everyone.
A number of days before the festival began, the official opening of the hugely impressive Lafcadio Hearn Garden on Pond Road took place.
This Japanese garden commemorating writer and translator Patrick Lafcadio Hearn further diversifies Tramore’s offering to tourists and has proven a huge hit with visitors throughout the summer.
Two months later, the town was buzzing again thanks to the annual Tramore August Racing Festival.
Also in August, Spraoi brought colour and creativity to the streets of Waterford as per usual.
Although the weather proved a disappointment on the night of the eagerly anticipated parade, it didn’t dampen the spirits of the participants or the many enthusiastic spectators who lined the city’s streets.
The Sean Kelly Tour of Waterford, held towards the end of August, saw 7,000 cyclists take to roads across west and mid-County Waterford.
This provided a huge economic boost for Dungarvan and the surrounding areas and also showcased the beautiful scenery of the Déise.
As a participant, I struggled to get the balance right between admiring the scenery and pushing myself to my limit!
The event proved to be a hugely worthwhile undertaking and went off without a hitch thanks to the efforts of so many enthusiastic volunteers.
During the same weekend, the Iverk Show took place in Piltown. A firm favourite with locals and visitors alike, the show celebrated its 189th anniversary this year and is going from strength to strength.
The weekend in which the Sean Kelly Tour and the Iverk Show took place (Saturday, August 22nd and Sunday, August 23rd) proved to be one of the busiest for events in the locality.
This weekend also saw the Dunmore East Festival of Food take place as well as the wonderful Waterford Walls visual street art project.
Our festivals didn’t stop in September, as Waterford City was transformed thanks to the annual Harvest Festival in the middle of the month.
The following week saw the Comeraghs Wild Festival take place – a fantastic initiative aimed at showcasing the individual areas of mid-county Waterford.
Rather than restricting festivals to large towns and cities, this festival proves that small communities can also have a part to play in the formation and development of successful events.
The Comeraghs Wild Festival provided a chance to enjoy some truly special events such as the newly-commissioned dramatic work based on the life of Crotty the Highwayman and the intimate Mary Black concert at Curraghmore.
As well as all of our festivals, there have been numerous field days and charitable events which have taken place all over Waterford city and county.
A flick through this newspaper on any given week highlights the huge amount of events which take place in different communities across both the city and county.
And the fact that Waterford can boast so many varied festivals is testament to the great community spirit which exists here.
As mentioned at the start of this article, a call for a strategy to co-ordinate and further enhance our festival offering would surely prove beneficial.
However, as explained by the council’s Director of Economic Development Lar Power at the aforementioned Council meeting, not all festivals receive Council funding.
Therefore, it’s unreasonable to expect them all to abide by a certain timeframe in which to stage their respective events.
But if all of our festivals and various different events were marketed under one umbrella and perhaps co-operated with each other a little more, Waterford’s offering would look even more impressive.
The summer of 2015 proved that there is no shortage of things to do and places to go to here in Waterford. Here’s to another summer of festival fun in 2016!