Celebrating all that’s unique about K-Fest
BUSKING & CLASSICAL CONCERT NEW ADDITIONS TO FESTIVAL
THE public has fallen for K-Fest. It started out in 2013 as a one-off event to coincide with The Gathering Ireland Festival, but its popularity ensured it would be back. And the Killorglin-based music and arts festival has never looked like fading away since.
This year, organisers say the attendance was “probably in excess of 7,000”, its biggest crowd yet. But what has made this event so popular?
K-Fest Chairperson Mike Dowd has always described the festival, with its carnival atmosphere and street performances, as something relatively unique to Ireland and more akin to what you might expect in Bristol or Edinburgh.
He also explains that the festival’s organisers endeavour to promote young, up-and-coming talent. Fair to say those ingredients are part of a formula that’s worked in terms of gathering the public’s interest.
Fairer still to say that this year’s ‘Screaming Pope’ prize winner Niamh Porter is exactly the kind of star this festival looks for.
The 21-year-old recently graduated from Limerick School of Art and Design, and the skills she perfected during her time in the Treaty city were in evidence in her beautiful piece ‘ The Shell Centre’.
“From over 140 visual artists, Niamh was deemed a worthy winner,” Artistic Director Neil Browne said.
“In a slight change from recent years, we brought in an external panel of judges this year to look through all the entries at our bespoke alternative art galleries. They were looking for a piece that was expressive and had great clarity, and Niamh’s piece was deemed to have done that better than any other,” he added. “She won acclaim for her creativity, the quality of her composition, and the design. Everything was spot-on.”
Transforming old, unoccupied buildings into quirky galleries to display the entries for the Screaming Pope prize has been a central feature of this June bank holiday festival but the event itself has always been about providing exposure for exponents of all forms of art, whether it be through performances on the carnival-like streets; competitions; or shows.
“Whether a DJ or a poet, a belly-dancer or a drummer, a master of the old or the new, this festival is open for business,” Mike Dowd said.
And all of those arts and more were showcased from Friday through to Monday, starting with a book-reading at Library Place and concluding with a rambling house at Francie Sheahan’s.
“It’s a pleasure to have provided so many artists with a platform they might not have had if K-Fest didn’t exist,” Festival Head of Marketing Penny Dahl told The Kerryman.
“I recognised some of the participants from previous years, and it’s fascinating to see how their talents have developed and indeed improved over time.
“We would be particularly well-known for showcasing a lot of young starts, and I get a great buzz when I see how much their work has changed from previous K-Fests, how much their confidence has improved, and how much their performances and pieces have improved over time.
“For example, one of our 70-or-so events was an Emerging Classical Concert which provided 11 promising young musicians with a chance to perform in a very professional setting. It’s experiences like that that helps to bring out the best in young, talented stars,” she added.
And Neil Browne was similarly impressed with the efforts of all the participants across the course of the four-day event. He explained that DJ Mark McCabe was “blown away” by the quality on show for the first-ever BreakOut DJ competition, while the inaugural busking contest proved another well-received addition to the roster.
“There was no shortage of talent in the BreakOut competition, but Scott Prendergast was the stand-out, and Mark chose him as the winner– it was a fair achievement for a 17-year-old and he was commended for a maturity that belied his age,” he said.
“Darragh Lynch and ‘Cees and Paddy Beats’ won out in the Busking Competition, which proved a very popular addition in what was its first year.
“It’s a special event. Whether it’s the 18 art galleries around town or the fairy trail for the youngsters, there’s something for everyone. That’s why it’s so popular.”