Press Release
Carnival of colour and magic for St Patrick’s Day celebrations
Monday, March 02, 2009
The highlight of this year’s St Patrick’s Day Spring Carnival celebrations in the city will be the Carnival Parade involving community organisations, school groups and individuals from across the city.
The Carnival Parade is being organised as part of Derry City Council’s St Patrick’s Day celebrations on March 17th, in partnership with the North West Carnival Initiative, which is funded by National Lottery funds through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and BBC Children in Need.
Helen Harley is the Carnival Development Officer explains: “We have community groups and schools from across the city participating in this year’s event. The carnival promises to be a very colourful and vibrant display creating a real magical and theatrical atmosphere. A lot of hard work has gone into the designs and creations and I am sure the public attending the event will be really impressed with the display,” she said.
Among the organisations participating in this years event is the Tir Na Nog Carnival group from the Bogside and Brandywell area of the city. The group is engaging with women and young people from the local area to design and production of a carnival piece celebrating spring under the theme of New Beginnings. The piece they are creating will involve mask making and a silk flag and will use a dramatic range of colour. The combination of colour and the gentle fluid movement of silk flags will create an impressive display that is guaranteed to be a big hit at the parade.
The Waterside based In Your Space theatre group are working with the North West Circus School and the Mary Duddy Drama Group to create a large scale float themes “Mother Nature” featuring a beautiful goddess seated on a high throne of flowers and greenery to make a centrepiece with a colourful fantasy garden with fairies and leprechauns dancing around her feet.
The Shantallow Community Residence Association are working in conjunction with a number of groups including the Shantallow Women’s Group; Y.E.S. (Youth Educated in Safety); Shantallow Youth Centre; Steelstown Primary School and Bunscoil Cholmcille & St Brigids Primary School to create a large scale glittering pot of gold, surrounding by young fairies waving multicoloured rainbows & the King of the fairies with his team of Leprechauns.
The Greater Shantallow Community Arts spectacle will be “The Little Wren a Celtic Tale”, a presentation of colour, costume, music and dance. The piece will include a number of iconic centre pieces in the form of large scale birds which will tell the story of how the Little Wren hidden on the back of the Great Irish Eagle became the King of the Birds by flying higher than all other birds. The piece will be accompanied by a chorus of costumed dancers and performers from the Shantallow area and a chorus of children from three local primary schools; St Paul’s, St Patrick’s' and St Therese’s who will be playing in harmony a Celtic and traditional air known as the Music of the Birds.
Edel Murphy, Community Arts Officer at the Arts Council, the principal funder of the North West Carnival Initiative festival, said: “The St. Patrick’s Day Spring Carnival is a truly inclusive and community-driven arts event involving groups from across the city in a multi-cultural celebration. The Arts Council is providing the main support for the Carnival because, with its colour, character and spectacle, it’s a great example of how the arts bring people together, helping to build good relations and strengthen pride in the city.”
The carnival groups will be joined by Samba and Marching bands as well as large-scale props and floats, with everyone in colourful costumes. The carnival will depart at 2.30 pm from the Derry City Council Offices Car Park, and travel towards the Strand Road turning left at the City Hotel and moving along Queen’s Quay and returning to the Car park.
Musical entertainment on the day will kick off at 1.00 pm with the city branch of the Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann group who will be performing live from the outdoor stage located at the Victoria Market Car Park. Local Irish dancers will take to the stage at 2.00 pm followed by well-known Irish country singer Michael English (under the management of Louis Walsh) at 2.30 pm and the Oisin Folk Group at 4 pm.
For further details about the St Patrick’s Day Spring Carnival - www.derrycity.gov.uk/stpatricksday
Ends
Further press information can be obtained by contacting Derry City Council’s Marketing and Communications Section, Tel. 028 7137 6504.
