THE St Patrick’s Spring Carnival will feature music, dance, food and folklore across the City and District beginning this Friday March 17th until Sunday March 19th.
The St Patrick’s Day celebrations will run concurrently with the LegenDerry Food Festival and a host of arts and multi-cultural events including Saturday’s Ubuntu Global Festival across three stages in the City centre.
The theme of this year’s festival is Forever Young – a celebration of youthfulness of mind and spirit, the centrepiece of which will be Friday’s Spring Carnival Parades in Derry City and Strabane where over 500 people from community based carnival programmes will perform for thousands of spectators.
Before and after the parades there will be entertainment all afternoon in Waterloo Place and Strabane’s Alley Theatre including live music and children’s arts, face painting and much more.
“The Festival and Events team at Council have put together a comprehensive and varied programme of events for this year’s Spring Carnival that continues our reputation as one of the best destinations in the world to celebrate St Patrick’s day,” she said.
“The packed programme is not only a great way to bring local people together for the holiday weekend but it attracts thousands of visitors to our region, keen to sample the sights and sounds we have to offer and make it a weekend to remember.
“With the Ubuntu Global Festival and the Legenderry Food Festival, which is now established as one of the top food gatherings on the island of Ireland, running in tandem, the programme has something for everyone
“The anticipation and excitement around the City and District is palpable this week and I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome visitors to our city and district and wish everyone a very safe and happy St Patrick’s Day.”
Festival and Events Officer at Derry City and Strabane District Council, Sharon Meenan, said the feast of great events represented the perfect way to welcome in spring for the young and young at heart.
“The Spring Carnival Programme is the perfect guide to your St Patrick’s weekend and release your inner child to celebrate Forever Young,” she said.
“The community, arts and performance groups from across the City, District and beyond have been hard at work this week putting the finishing touches to their performances for Friday’s parades.
“As well as live music in the centre of Derry and Strabane, we have wonderful Spring Festivals from both Urban Villages and GSCA Communities United and a host of arts and sporting community based events.”
The LegenDerry Food Festival from Friday March 17th until Sunday March 19th is a three day celebration of local food.
Chefs, restauranteurs and producers from the local area will showcase their food offering to the public at the event in Guildhall Square from 12 noon until 6pm each day.
The Ubuntu Festival is a one day family orientated multicultural arts celebration and aims to promote global diversity through a colourful display of the wide variety of cultures that exist in the Derry and Strabane area.
The free admission event on Saturday March 18th will be hosted across three venues: The Craft Village, Waterloo Place and Bishop Street and will feature vibrant traditional music and performance, arts and crafts and exhibitions of different cultures.
More information on Council’s St Patrick’s Day celebrations are available at www.derrystrabane.com/springcarnival.
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