Graiguenamanagh Town of Books is on this weekend

Book lovers will be flocking to Graiguenamanagh this weekend for the annual Graiguenamanagh Town of Books Festival.

The festival which is now in its 13th year has flourished over the year evolving from a small experimental event to a fully fledged festival that features art, music, food, crafts and a whole host of fringe activities.

At its core the Graiguenamanagh ‘ Town of Books’ retains its original vision, to transform the town into a book lovers’ paradise for one weekend where booksellers are matched up with a number of empty spaces in the town.

The result is an eclectic collection of books on offer: new and old, bargain and collectible, children’s and specialist, all housed in a variety of units spread around Graiguenamanagh. This achieves several of the objectives originally formulated in 2003. It breathes life back into empty shops in the town centre, while giving visitors and locals alike the opportunity to browse and enjoy a treasure trove of reading.

Books on offer trade from €1 to thousands of euros. It is this mix that makes the Town of Books a festival for everyone.

The festival will kick off on Friday at 10 a.m. with a two hour outside broadcast by KCLR from the Hub Activity Centre in the Pitch and Putt. The bookshops will open at 2 p.m. at various locations around the town while at 7 p.m. there will be a book reading and a talk in the library with author Patricia Gibney and PhD student Ellen Howley whose mother Detta is from Graiguenanamanagh.

On Saturday the bookshops open at 10 a.m. while a food and craft market will open in the Hub at 10 a.m.

From 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. landscape artists will be painting various scenes around the town as part of the Paint en Plein Air festival.

At 11 a.m. Carol-Ann will host a story time at the library where she will be reading The Little Lost Cat’s Big Adventure in Kilkenny. This is suitable for children aged between 2 and 6 years.

At 12 noon she will host an art workshop at the library covering basic drawing, painting and collage techniques with a cat and an owl theme. This is suitable for children aged 4 years plus and places are limited. To book email graig@kilkennylibrary.ie or call the library on 056 77 94178.

At 2 p.m. Funky Kids will be at the Abbey Hall while at 4 p.m. there will be a book themed fancy dress parade from O’Driscoll’s pub to the Hub.

There will be busking on the street from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. as part of a two day busking competition.

On Sunday the bookshops, food and craft market and Paint en Plein Air all take place again while the second day of the busking competition gets under way with the winners being announced at 5 p.m at the Hub.

There will be 5km barge trips along the River Barrow for the duration of the festival while the James Caird 100, an artistic replica of Shackleton’s lifeboat, will be floated on the Barrow as part of the festival.

For more information epic voyage of the James Caird in 1916, and its crew (including 3 Irish - Shackleton, Crean and McCarthy) are available on www. JamesCaird100.org .

The festival takes place from Friday, August 25 to Sunday, August 27.