Mick Flavin.
BY SEÁN P. FEENY
THE third annual FestiFál (July 17 to 20) is nearly upon us and festival organisers have pulled out all the stops to bring a top line-up of entertainment to the West Donegal parish.
Festival Director, Mr Rein de Groot paid tribute to the committee, which in still very tough economic times, worked extremely hard to put the festival together.
“It’s amazing what you can achieve when you have a determined group of people coming up with great ideas of what you can do during the festival.
“It’s amazing what you can get together even when there is no money and very little funding available. Fund-raising has been key for us to get this festival together to get a fantastic programme together building on the last two years,” he said.
With the FestiFál having enjoyed a very successful first two years, attracting a lot of visitors to the area, the organisers are very excited about this year.
Mr de Groot said: “This year we have once again spent six months putting together the festival programme, but next year we hope to work on it for a full year.”
The FestiFál has not only teamed up with Paul Brown (festival director) and the Earagail Arts Festival this year, it has also work with Sharon Meenan, Carnival Development Officer with Derry City Council. “It’s all about setting up partnerships and joining resources to promote each other in these times and we are delighted to be working with Paul Brown and Sharon Meenan.
“Sharon and Derry City Council are providing us with 200 costumes for our children to wear during out parade on Sunday which is going to be a very happy occasion,” Mr de Groot said.
Children from age 5 to teenagers up to age 18 have been invited to take part in the parade which will be assembling at the Ballina Resource Centre at 1pm on Sunday.
New additions
There have also been some new additions to the already packed line-up including an ‘open market’ which will run from Friday to Sunday inviting anybody who wants to, to set up a stall and sell their products, from arts, crafts to food, during the festival.
The King Of Tory, Patsy Dan Mac Ruairí will be hosting artists on the streets of Falcarragh, inviting them to perform live demonstrations of their talents to the public.
The marquee at the Gweedore Bar on Main Street will also provide a hub of entertainment over the weekend, from traditional Irish storytelling, music and song during the day, to poetry events (open mic plus special guests) and music be well-known acts such as Country & Irish singer Mick Flavin and the Paul McIntyre Jazz Trio from Derry.
See next week’s Donegal News on Friday for more information on the third annual FestiFál. The organisers look forward to welcoming you to Falcarragh.