HarvesttimeinDuncormick
A Harvest Festival will be held in Duncormick for the first time on Sunday, October 2 to celebrate the work of local farmers and all those who sustain, support and enliven the local community during the entire year.
A day-long programme of events is planned including threshing and a skittles tournament along with harvest team challenges such as bale pitching, tug-o-war, sheep trials, soap box racing and a variety of long forgotten festive games.
The Main Street will close to traffic all day to facilitate the festival and a Food Quarter will be set up featuring local artisan products by Ritchie Doyle Craft Butcher, Kettle Hill Bakery, Simplicity Bakery and Ballycross Apple Farm. A Harvest Kitchen will offer tasty fare from local chef Alice Breen and there will also be a Mobile Chef takeaway.
A Harvest Evening Feast will be held, serving freshly-prepared foods supplied by growers Padraig Odlum and Frank Ronan to complement donations of beef from Nicharee Farm Pasteured Beef, lamb from Geoffrey Barry and Duncormick grass-fed lamb from Els Deitvorst and Orla Barry.
Buskers will provide music in various locations throughout the day while the Forge Music Stage will feature a line-up of talented local musicians and Drinagh Mummers.
Duncormick Church will be the venue for an exhibition of work by local artists including weaver Terry Dunne, potter Patricia Howard, printmaker Orla Bates, basket maker Irene Kelly as well as Padraic Parle of Bramble Crafts and Patsy Flood O’Connor of Mad4Hats.
On the eve of the festival, Saturday, September 30, Duncormick Church will host a ‘Let There Be Light’ musical concert with tickets on sale from committee members and ‘Day Today’ shop in Duncormick.
Among the local groups, organisations and individuals involved in the festival are St. Anne’s GAA Club, Fastnet Rovers, South East Skittle Players Association, Duncormick Area Action Group, Cullenstown Coastal Preservation, Wexford Coast Guard, South East Strollers, Self-Employed Support Group and local businesses including Brogan Tractors, F&M Whelan, Wallace’s Supervalu, Mary and Stephen Parle, Watty and Alice Cullen, the Williamson Family, John Sinnott, Redbridge Stables, Belgrove Bouncy Castles, Craft Yard Barrystown, Odlums Day Today Baldwinstown, K and K, Day Today Duncormick, Crosbie Printing, Moore’s Barn, Markand Sheds, Michael O’ Brien and Naturally Cordial.
The official sponsors include New Ross Urban District Council, Wexford County Council Arts Office and Failte Ireland.
The organisers promise that Duncormick Harvest Festival will be a joyful Autumn event for all ages to celebrate the work of growers, craftspeople, artisans, musicians, sport and business people, schoolchildren and all who contribute to the area.
The organisers thanked Whitford House,The Farmers Kitchen and Devereux Office Supplies for sponsoring the launch.