All set to go for 56th Birr Vintage Week & Arts Festival

THE 56th Birr Vintage Week & Arts Festival will get underway this weekend and final preparations are now being put to what promises to be another great festival.

There is a packed programme of events planned for the nine day festival, which includes many of the old favourites plus a number of new events as well.

The parade on Vintage Sunday, (August 4th) is always a major highlight and attracts large crowds to the town to enjoy the parade of vintage vehicles, floats and colourful entries.

This year the parade has a new route with a slight change of direction when the parade reaches the top of Main Street at Emmet Square, turning left and proceeding across Green Street and finishing as normal at the Marian Hall. It won't be going up Emmet Street this year.

John Carroll, who has contributed so much to the community of Birr, will give the Opening Address. John served as an elected public representative from 1985 until his retirement in June this year and has been a committed community activist for many years.

Emma Nee Haslam returns as Parade MC.

Birr Vintage Week & Arts Festival will have Accessible Viewing Areas at the parade for people with additional needs. Space is limited. Access will be by pre-registration only. All of these areas have limited space. If you would like access to any of these areas, please register in advance. To register, email birrvintageweekparade@gmail.com, or contact the Festival Info Line on (089) 242 4379. They will do their best to find space for everyone who contacts them in advance.

The 56th edition of one of Ireland’s longest-running community arts festivals will include over 100 events taking place in over 40 locations across nine days featuring visual arts, theatre, music, street theatre, workshops, exhibitions, together with a whole host of community events.

This year’s festival theme is Going with the Flow, which will celebrate the beautiful waterways of Offaly. The multi-site Visual Arts Trail is enriched with additional river-themed events, including Plein-Air Painting on the Camcor, a lecture by John Feehan, the River Witnessed by Mark Lyndon, a river float in the Vintage Sunday Parade and not forgetting the Great Ruckin’ Duck Race, organised by Birr Rugby Club.

Other much-loved traditional events are also back including the Food & Craft Market on Saturday August 3rd and Fireworks Night on Thursday August 8th.

In Birr Castle, Mobius, by ROGU Fire Arts Production, will take the audience on a hypnotic visual journey of fire, light and movement while the beautiful aerial circus show, Doris & Mabel’s Book Club, is perfect for children and families. The Big Beautiful Vintage Picnic is another enchanting family-friendly event.

At Birr Theatre & Arts Centre highlights include Paddy Casey, The Ennio Morricone Experience, The Classic Beatles, Paris Bubbles, The Wonderful Story of the Camcor with John Feehan and The River Witnessed by Birr native Mark Lyndon plus lots more.

As always, the Visual Arts programme is full to the brim with over twenty exhibitions including the transformation of the Masonic Hall into a playful multi-sensory installation taking inspiration from the Camcor River. The Courthouse Yard will once again be a creative hub for the Festival with visual arts workshops, music and Moonlit Movies presented by OFFline Film Festival.

Speaking at the recent festival launch Caroline Conway, Chairperson of the festival said that “The festival is about celebrating our town's heritage but it's also about surprising people. Every year new events are added to the old which keeps things fresh and invigorated.”

“Vintage Week is an incredibly important event for the people of Birr,” continued the Chair. “More people come home for Vintage than they do at Christmas.

“We would like to thank all our sponsors and funders who make this event possible and demonstrate their commitment to the Festival through their generous donations.

“We have a fantastic team this year, but we need additional volunteers during the week for a smooth running event. If you can give a few hours, please register on our website. We have a dedicated volunteer manager this year, Rachel Alexander, to make sure all our volunteers are well looked after.”

The programme is online now and booking is open: www.birrvintageweek.com .

See pages 33-48 for a special supplement on Birr Vintage Week & Arts Festival.