Cairde festival to bring Sligo to life

Cairde Sligo Arts Festival will take place this year from July 9th to 15th and once again Sligo will come to life with an excellent range of music, theatre, dance, children’s and family events, visual art and more. Each year the festival holds a fundraising auction which raises essential funds towards making the festival happen.

Some of this year’s festival highlights include the annual massive outdoor celebration Park Fest on July 9th, the addition of a closing street fest on July 15th and the annual Cairde Visual open submission show which this year is presented by the Model from Thursday July 6th to Sunday August 6th. Music highlights will include The Walls Have Ears, Nava, guitar duo John Walsh and Redmond O’Toole, New Road, a Kieran Quinn Songwriters Night and the Clandestinos. Highlights for kids include Caterpillar, a magical performance by Kallo Collective, the wonderful Kila Kids concert and One World Disco.

The annual big auction fundraiser for Cairde Arts Festival takes place on Thurs 1st June at 8pm in the Riverside Hotel, Sligo. This always proves to be a great night out with some amazing donations and unbelievable bargains! Items can be viewed from 7pm and bidders will be treated to glass of punch on arrival and delicious sweet nibbles courtesy of Berenice Cooks.

Festival Director Tara McGowan says: “We are always blown away by the level of support shown to the festival by local business and individuals. The festival is still run on a voluntary basis; we receive some funding from The Arts Council and Sligo County Council but without the fundraising efforts of our committee and the incredible support from local people, the festival could not go ahead. Niall Canning is our auctioneer and he will bring a great deal of humour to proceedings”.

Some of the items for auction this year include art work by Cormac O’Leary, Kate MacDonnagh, Michael Wann, Leonora Neary, Lorna Watkins and Heidi Wickham; jewellery and accessory donations from the cat and the moon and Cait and I; as well as vouchers for Cafes, restaurants, piano lessons, gym membership; a wonderful range of holistic treatments; a myriad of indoor and outdoor activities; festival and concert tickets, and much more! Check out the festivals Facebook event for a more comprehensive listing. For more information about Cairde SAF check out the website: www. cairdefestival. com