POPULAR CARTOON FESTIVAL IS RETURNING TO RATHDRUM
BUMPER LINE-UP TO MARK 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF FIRST FESTIVAL IN 1992
THE Famous International Cartoon Festival returns to Rathdrum at the end of the month 25 years and one month after it was first staged.
Renowned cartoonists, the late Terry Willers along with fellow cartoonist Martyn Turner and a group of local volunteers started the first International Cartoon Festival in Rathdrum.
The festival ran for six years, starting in 1992 and growing in popularity year on year, and was considered the best Cartoon Festival in Europe by many of the cartoonists attending it from all the corners of the world.
The festival will get a new lease of life as it runs once again on July 29 and July 30.
A lot of the old faces like Tom Halliday, Tim Leatherbarrow, Guy Carter, Greame Keyes will be in attendance plus many more. For all you 2000AD fans, Michael Carroll will be holding a number of workshops on script writing. The exhibition of their work will be open all weekend.
A definite must see will the ‘Remembering Terry Willers’ exhibition which will run throughout the weekend situated above Centra on the Main Street. It promises to be very entertaining and might even rekindle old memories of political dramas and cultural events covered by Terry in his unique way over his 60 year plus career.
There will be numerous workshops including a phone-documentary workshop with Eleanor Manion of RTE running over two days.
Brown Bag films will be holding a number of animation workshops.
A gala concert will take place in St. Saviours church on Thursday, July 27, at 7.30 p.m. with music from Liam and James Kinsella plus guests.
Those seeking more music should head to the square where acts such as Big Digger, Paddy Byrne, Ricky Young and many more will perform for the duration of the weekend.
There will be a busking competition on Sunday for all you aspiring musicians so dust of those musical instruments start practising those vocal exercises.
The official opening takes place at noon on Saturday, July 29, followed by a cooking demonstration by TV3’s Burlesque Baker in the square.
Sunday, July 30, will also be jam-packed with activities the highlights include the Caricature face off in the square.
There will also be the very first TriRath-lon which will challenge the competitors both mentally and physically.
The finale of the festival will be the fireworks display kindly moved forward from its normal date by the RDA with music by The Bandits.
Guest should keep a look out for the limited edition 25th anniversary T-shirts which will be available to buy prior to the festival from the Wise Owl and Centra on the Main Street.