Carlow Gearing Up for the International Pan Celtic Festival 2016!
Craic, Ceol and Celebration in Carlow Town for the Easter Holidays
Carlovians are getting ready to welcome thousands of visitors to the town for this year’s International Pan Celtic Festival which takes place from March 29th-April 3rd. In the region of ten thousand visitors are expected to enjoy the celebration of Culture, Music and Dance from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man during the festival which is expected to be worth up to €2 million to the local economy.
All corners of the community have come together to make this year’s festival the best the town has ever seen, in particular due to the timing of the festival which coinsides with the Easter Holidays and 1916 Centenary Celebrations. Local businesses, organisations, schools and community groups are busy preparing for the festival with colourful flags and bunting going up across Carlow town and preparations underway for the Pan Celtic Festival Parade which promises to be a colourful, visual and musical feast.
The festival will officially open with a celebratory concert featuring the best of each nation’s talent on Tuesday March 29th at 8pm in VISUAL and the George Bernard Shaw Theatre. There will also be informal entertainment in the grounds of VISUAL and Carlow College from 7.30pm. The event will be free to the public but tickets must be booked in advance through the VISUAL box office. Proceedings in the Theatre can also be viewed live on a large screen in VISUAL’s link gallery which will be open to the public once all seats in the theatre have been filled.
Close to two thousand people will take part in the competition side of the festival which will see the six nations competing in Choral Competitions, Traditional Singing and Dancing Competitions and Inter-Celtic Music Competitions. A festival Club will be hosted by a different nation each night in the Seven Oaks Hotel which will give a taste of the very best each nation has to offer. Highlights of the official programme of events include an Inter-Celtic Choral Concert in the magnificent Carlow Cathedral on Friday April 1st and The International Pan Celtic Song Contest on Thursday March 30th.This contest is a great night’s entertainment which will see each nation enter a song in their traditional language in a Eurovision style competition which will include traditional, folk, rock and pop. Donegal singer songwriter Eve Belle will represent Ireland following her win at the National Song Contest in Carlow last month.
A huge programme of Fringe events has also been organised which promises to deliver fantastic craic, ceol and atmosphere to the streets of Carlow with something for all the family. A massive Pan Celtic Trad Trail will see the finest musicians from around Ireland descend on the town playing sessions in local pubs, day and night! Other fringe highlights will include the Pan Celtic Folk Club in Teach Dolmain, a Street Busking competition with €400 in prizemoney up for grabs, an Open-AirCéilí and of course the ‘Celtic Taste of Carlow’ food and craft market which runs in the Potato Market on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd of April where some of Ireland’s finest craft and food producers will showcase the very best in Irish produce and gastronomical delights! The market will have something for all the family with funfair attractions for kids and maybe even a craft beer tent! Many of Carlow’s finest artists and crafts people have come together to organise the Pan Celtic Art and Craft Gallery at Court Place which will be open daily from March 28th-April 3rd.
The 1916 Centenary celebrations will also take centre stage during this year’s festival with a packed programme for the Carlow Remembers 1916 events on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd April featuring Dublin Street as it was one hundred years ago as well as the replaing of the 1916 Club Finals hosted by Carlow GAA on Saturday April 2nd. Finally the official Commemoration Ceremony at Carlow Town Hall Plaza on Sunday April 3rd at 3pm will draw the Pan Celtic Festival to a close.
There will be entertainment for all the family with music and dancing in the open-air on the streets of Carlow daily from 12 noon as well as storytelling, art exhibitions and workshops for young and old. With something for everyone and a fantastic family fun atmosphere, Carlow is the place to be during the Easter Holidays! For the full programme of events check out www.panceltic.ie, join us on facebook and follow us on twitter @PanCelticCarlow Follow us up to Carlow for the International Pan Celtic Festival 2016!