News

Easter Arts & Bumble Bee Children’s Festival

April 6th – 9th 2007

Theme: Stars

STREET CARNIVAL PARADE:

Tralee Town Centre, Saturday 7th of April, 8:30 p.m. Admission Free

The Samhlaiocht Easter Arts Festival, which is celebrating 15 years of bringing the Arts to the street of Tralee, is delighted with plans for its upcoming Parade.

The Samhlaiocht Easter Arts parade is always a wonderfully lively and colourful event featuring over twenty groups from all over the county as well as samba bands, other professional street artists and this year¡¦s parade promises to be every bit as lively!

"The parade is always one of our most vibrant events," said Jason O¡¦ Mahony, Artistic Director of Samhlaiocht. "The streets of Tralee come alive, full of colourful characters, colourful costumes and with a real festival atmosphere. You need only watch the parade to realise the spirit of the Arts is very much alive in Kerry."

This year the theme of the Samhlaiocht Easter Arts Festival is 'Stars' and the Festival will feature all aspects of the Arts from music, tradition, craft, culture, food and film to literature.

"We¡¦ve had a fantastically high calibre of community groups taking part in previous years," said Trish Thompson, Samhlaiocht, "and the interest in this year's parade is unlike anything we¡¦ve ever seen before."

The parade is made possible thanks to the very kind sponsorship of Kerry Group, who through their ongoing collaboration with Samhlaiocht, have been responsible for bringing the Arts to life in Kerry for the past 15 years.

Samhlaiocht Easter Arts Festival Parade
Tralee Town Centre, Saturday 7th of April 2007, 8:30 p.m. Admission Free

The festival theme this year is "Stars" and Samhlaiocht is looking forward to the eye-catching spectacles that will be showcased in the parade through the streets of Tralee.

15 Kerry community groups have been hard at work since January, making costumes & props, designing their own individual interpretations of our theme.

Of the 15 groups, 5 were selected to each receive 1,000 euro funding under the '5 Communities' section. This funding, generously sponsored by KERRY GROUP, enables the groups to expand on their creativity by employing an artist to work with them on their individual interpretations.

The 5 communities groups are:
The Kerry Deaf Resource Centre
Provide a wide range of services to the deaf & hard of hearing people throughout Kerry. Manager, William White, is certainly a force to be reckoned with. He works tirelessly to achieve equality for the deaf and the services now provided include Sign Language Interpretation, Family Support, Adult Education Initiatives, Sign Language Classes & Social events.

The artist working with this group is Ann Maloney. Ann is an experienced community artist & has done various projects with Samhla?ocht over the years. We look forward to their creations in the parade.

Action for Young People With Special Needs & Killarney Youth Forum Group
Action for young People with Special Needs (AYPSN) is an organisation that provides activities for young people with varying intellectual & physical abilities, as well as allowing some respite time for parents & carers. There is a wide variety of educational & social activities throughout the year. AYPSN is an invaluable resource to their clients.

The Killarney Youth Forum is a collection of like minded 15-18yrs olds who meet regularly for a variety of activities. From discussing political youth issues to social gatherings to educational topics, this group are about empowerment. Not only do they fund raise for themselves, they fundraise & support other groups, in this case, AYPSN. Samhlaiocht would like to congratulate KYF on being selected as finalists in the Kerry Community Awards ¡V Equality & Social Inclusion Category.

Oilian Beo & Austin Stacks (St John of Gods Kerry Services)
Oilian Beo are based in Castleisland & provide educational, social & fitness activities for adults with varying intellectual & physical abilities. S?an Hanly & Lisa Cronin have a great rapport with their clients, providing a happy, welcoming environment for all. "Being dab hands at our Easter Parade" says June Carey, parade co-ordinator, "the 5 Communities funding will allow them to expand on their existing creative talents."

Austin Stacks Group are based in Tralee. They are a newly formed St.John of Gods group. Much the same as Oilian Beo, the group aims to increase social interaction & integration as well as educating daily living skills. Eileen O'Carroll is the artist working with both groups & is eager to create eye-catching costumes to highlight the parade.

Blennerville Cubs & Beavers
As the name suggests, this is young group of people with very artistic leadership. Group staff, Helen Nelligan, Julie Hanafin & Karen Delaney are modest about their skills "The beautiful swans they produced last year were one of the highlights of our 2006 parade" Says Trish Thompson, parade co-ordinator. "I have no doubt that with the 5 Communities funding they will get this year, they will produce an even more spectacular scene for 2007."

St.Brigid's Community Centre
St. Brigid's provide a wide range of activities primarily for 5-12yrs olds in their local community. They have participated in our Easter Arts Parade for 8yrs running. "This is their 2nd year in a row to be selected for the 5 Communities funding,¡¨ explains Laura Martin, parade co-ordinator "I¡¦m looking forward to seeing the development of the skills they have acquired over the years."

In this years' parade, we are delighted to welcome:

1. Cois Farraige & St. John of Gods - Ballyheigue
2. Shanakill After School Club - Monavalley
3. Bridget Byrne Group - Tralee
4. Mitchells Zone - KDYS Tralee
5. The Life Programme - Monavalley
6. Rehabcare - Blennerville
7. Connect 7 - KDYS Tralee
8. Deich Le Cheile Youth Project - Castleisland
9. Tralee Refuge Support Services - Tralee
10. Life Links Programme - Monavalley

"Aside from the fun of creativity for our Easter Parade¡¨ says Noreen Thompson ¡V Parade co-ordinator, ¡§I¡¦m amazed at the dedication & hard work of the staff in each group, to meet specific needs and provide invaluable services to their clients & families & for the general betterment of society as whole."