SOMUCHGOING ON IN WICKLOW THIS WEEKEND

WICKLOW town is the place to be this weekend with a myriad of events taking place including Taste of Wicklow, Live at the Abbey and the Round Ireland Yacht Race.

On Saturday at 2 p.m. the Volvo Round Ireland Yacht Race will set off with a record 64 entrants from all the world taking part.

The Round Ireland is Ireland’s premier offshore yacht race, and the second longest race in the Royal Ocean Racing Club calendar.

There will also be a family fun day at the Black Castle on Saturday with a climbing wall, bouncy castle, obstacle course, Pure Fitness Inter-Club Challenge, abseiling on the cliff, drumming workshops and displays from Volvo and the Emergency Services.

Live At The Abbey is a new addition to this year’s festival and kicks off from 5 p.m. in the historic Abbey Grounds.

Some of the acts performing on the night include local band Look to the Lady, Music Generation from Greystones and Xquisite Dance who shot to fame on Ireland’s Got Talent.

Also performing will be Caffolla and Engel and Seo Linn will be the headline act. The evening of entertainment runs until 10 p.m. and there will be a full bar and ten food stalls.

On Sunday the entertainment continues with Taste of Wicklow which will see demonstrations from Wicklow’s own Catherine Fulvio, as well as Kevin Dundon and Paul Kelly from the Merrion Hotel.

Local chefs Paul Smith from the Mystic Celt and Tomasz Wrobel from the Lighthouse Restaurant will also be cooking up a stom ensuring there is something to tickle everyone’s tastebuds.

This year the Taste of Wicklow has become the County Wicklow Food Festival thanks to support and funding from the County Wicklow Partnership. There will be over 30 artisan food stalls, ten craft stalls and seven workshop demonstrations representing the best of food and crafts in County Wicklow.

Tickets for Taste of Wicklow and Live at the Abbey can be purchased from www.tasteofwicklow.ie.