St Patrick’s Day Spring Carnival
18th March 2010
Derry~Londonderry stepped out in style with one of the largest Carnival parades in the city. Over 750 individuals and organizations brought a burst of colour and energy into the city centre with thousands lining the route and taking part in the festivities.
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Thanking everyone for supporting the event, the Mayor Cllr Paul Fleming said it was a great success with participation from groups, schools and organizations across then city making it a great day out for all the family. The Carnival Parade, which is organised by the North West Carnival Initiative with funding from the Arts Council NI, was led by the Mayor and was a great display of Springtime colour and celebration.
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“The carnival was outstanding and I would like to congratulate everyone who worked so hard to bring this to life. It was great to see so many families and young people come along to enjoy the festivities”.
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The Victoria Market Car Park was one again the centre point of activity and Irish and Country recording star Susan McCann started the musical celebrations while an Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann Traditional Irish Group and Harmonicity, a sixteen piece multicultural musical group entertained the crowds.
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Visitors to the Tower Museum Guildhall Square, Magazine Street and the City Walls got the chance to meet heroes and heroines of Ireland, who were in the city in search of St Patrick himself! The museum and the Craft Village was a hub of activity throughout the day with families enjoying storytelling, arts and crafts workshops and classic movies and performances by the Inishowen Gospel Choir.
The Shared City Project’s Celebration of Irish Culture event at Clondermott School was another great success with families from across the city sampling traditional Irish soda scones and pancakes, while listening to Irish music, dancing and taking part in art and craft design work. Jeanette Warke from Shared City said she was delighted that the event was such a success and thanked everyone for their support in making it a great occasion.
Concluding the Mayor thanked everyone involved in making the event a success, “there’s obviously a team of organizations who work together to deliver this event and I’d like to thank everyone who contributed to making this such a success”.
And the celebrations don’t stop, as the fun continues every Saturday between 20th March to the 10th April in the Craft Village and the Tower Museum, with a programme of animated characters, arts and crafts workshops and costumed storytellers. There will also be outdoor performances by Harmonicity and Inishowen Gospel Choir to make the fun last for weeks!
Ends