Opera House to roll out the green carpet
OPERA- GOERS are encouraged to wear a touch of green to symbolise how small changes in lifestyle can help protect the environment.
The green carpet will be rolled out for patrons of Wexford Festival Opera on Wednesday, November 1 as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) joins with Wexford Festival Opera to highlight the need for everyone to look after the environment.
The festival and the EPA introduced the Green Carpet Night event last year to show that small changes can have a positive impact on the environment. It met with a great response from the audience and volunteers.
The initiative invites opera-goers on the night to make a small, symbolic change to their attire, signifying a commitment to making small changes in their lives to help the environment.
People are asked to wear a green bow tie, a green piece of jewellery, green shoes or green nail varnish. The possibilities are endless. Patrons will also arrive on a green carpet at the front entrance of the National Opera House which will be bathed in green light.
‘We all own the environment and have a responsibility for its care and protection,’ said EPA director general Laura Burke. ‘Even small changes are welcome. By working with Wexford Festival Opera we hope to inspire people to take some small steps for the environment, in their homes and personal lives, workplaces, colleges, schools and communities.’
Based in Johnstown Castle, the EPA has been part of the local community for over two decades and has worked with Wexford Festival Opera for many years on various initiatives to raise awareness of environmental issues.
Opera chief executive David McLoughlin said that in rolling out the green carpet for the environment and lighting up the National Opera House, the festival hopes to inspire patrons, performers and the public to make simple and practical changes in their everyday lives that benefit the environment.
The EPA’s LiveGreen website provides advice, awareness and education on sustainability at home and in the community. Visit it at epa.ie/livegreen/. AN EXHIBITION with a difference by textile artist Edel Harrison will be on display in Komandor in Cornmarket during the festival.
Edel has been working with fabrics and designers for over 25 years and left her job in London to look after her daughter who has special needs, After returning to her home town of Wexford 16 years ago, she continued to make items for her own home and for friends.
Having originally been taught by her Wexford Technical School teacher Ms Hughes, making, constructing and designing has always been at the core of her work.
On her journey through the education system, health service, the arts and business in Wexford, she was helped along a sometimes difficult road by a succession of people who have inspired DesignerCushions.ie, featuring an eclectic range of hand-sewn cushions in wools, silks, tweeds, linen and cotton which are named after people that Edel wished to pay tribute to.
The range includes the O’Shea, Knights, McCabe, Hyland, K Moore, Tierney, Mulcahy, L&J, Abernaethy, McDonald, RayColfer, Robinson, Abbey Street and Mulcahy collections.
Edel said she would like to thank Paul Beaver for giving her the Komandor window to display her work. WEXFORD Drama Group is presenting a festival production of Little Gem by the playwright Elaine Murphy, about three generations of Dublin women on a wild and constantly surprising journey.
An extraordinary year of courage, comedy and romance is portrayed in the award-winning hit of the 2008 Dublin Fringe Festival, which will be staged at Wexford Arts Centre from October 25 to 29 at 8pm.
The director is Carol Long, who was responsible for the Drama Group’s sell-out run of ‘ The Importance of Being Earnest’ by Oscar Wilde during last year’s festival.
The cast features Hilda Conway, Sinead O’Gorman and Gemma Hore, who interveave their characters’ life experiences as they cope with the daily pressures of modern life and the heartbreaking toll of inevitable tragedies.
Tickets from the Arts Centre.