BESIDE THE sea is the place to be this weekend as Dún Laoghaire celebrates the 10th Festival of World Cultures.
Singers, dancers and musicians have been pouring in from around the globe all week. Participants from more than 30 countries will take part in concerts, workshops, markets and carnivals, with free and ticketed events for all ages.
Festival manager Olga Barry says: “It’s a world culture festival but for Dún Laoghaire, it’s a community festival too.” She said the town expects to welcome over 220,000 visitors over the weekend.
The festival opened last night in true world culture style with Irish sean-nós performers, Canadian Inuit throat singers and Norwegian ’yoikers’.
Headliners this year include world music icon Khaled who plays the Newtownsmith stage tomorrow. The Algerian, who has notched up 46 million album sales is described as the King of Raï, a traditional folk music of the Bedouin people, that mixes Spanish, French, African and Arabic beats.
While organisers can’t guarantee good weather, Tobagonian singer Calypso Rose is sure to brighten things up tomorrow. Hailed as the undisputed queen of Calypso, her music is described as the soundtrack of the Caribbean.
But it’s not all about the music. Today, visitors to the People’s Park will be transported to South Asia where Rajasthani acrobats and folk dancers will mingle with storytellers, Tibetan monks, circus performers and bemused locals.
Tomorrow, it’s the 10th birthday carnival procession through the town and Barry says “dress-up and come on down. It’s audience participation, Rio-style!”
Food is a big feature too and the international food traders will set up camp in the Newtownsmith car park.
Richard Shakespeare, director of environment, culture and community for Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Council said: “With 200,000 people coming to visit, it’s all hands on deck.
“As well as our council workers, we also have 300 volunteers and they all do a fantastic job.”
The festival runs until tomorrow night.
