Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor Lilian Seenoi-Barr, has urged the public to familiarise themselves with the parking, traffic and travel arrangements in place on Monday, March 17, for the city’s annual St Patrick’s Day Spring Carnival celebrations.
Tens of thousands of people are expected in the city centre for a programme of music, dance, food and folklore and the city’s famous Spring Carnival parade through the town centre at 3pm.
The ‘Flowers, Fur and Feathers’ themed celebrations will celebrate St Patrick’s Day and the arrival of spring in all its splendour with entertainment and activity planned for Guildhall Square, the Craft Village, Waterloo Place and the Guildhall.
The centrepiece event willagain be the North West Carnival Initiative’s famous Spring Carnival Parade featuring colourful and flamboyant performances from local dance groups, sports clubs and community organisations.
“As the days get longer and colour returns to our green spaces there is a tangible feeling of excitement building around the City and District for the St Patrick’s Day long weekend,” said Mayor Barr.
“I’m so excited about joining St Patrick and all the performers on Monday for our Spring Carnival parade which gets bigger and better every year.
“As always with an event of this scale there will be some temporary restrictions in place so I’d urge people to familiarise themselves with the arrangements before travelling and to use public transport and active travel where possible.
“Council’s Festival and Events team have planned activity all over the city centre from 1pm to 6pm so access the programme now to plan your experience and I look forward to seeing you all on St Patrick’s Day!”
In order to facilitate the parade there will be some temporary traffic restrictions in place from approximately 1:30pm to 5pm.
Parking restrictions will be in effect from Whitaker Street, Shipquay Street, The Diamond, Bishop Street.
Parking on Bayview Terrace and Strand Road will be restricted to allow for Parade participation bus collection.
Bishop Street Carpark and Strand Road Carpark will be closed to facilitate the Parade Setup.
There will be no City Centre on-street parking on Bishop Street, The Diamond and Shipquay Street from 7am to allow for the safe setup and passage of the Carnival Parade.
The parade will depart from Bishop Street Carpark on to Bishop Street at 3pm and pass through The Diamond, Shipquay Street, Whitaker Street, Foyle Embankment, Harbour Square Roundabout and down the Strand Road to finish at Strand Road carpark.
Victoria Market Carpark will be open for Accessible / Disabled Carparking only and an accessible viewing area will be located on Whitaker Street.
A quiet space and baby feeding area are available inside the Guildhall.
Sunday, March 16, is also the flag day for the Mayor’s chosen charities for her year in office, The Bud Club, and collectors will be around the city centre on the day asking for people to donate what they can.
The Main Stage at Guildhall Square and the Guildhall’s Main Hall will host live traditional Irish music from 1pm to 3pm featuring some of our best local musicians.
There will be live music in the Craft Village from 1pm to 6pm and face painting in Waterloo Place from 1pm to 6pm.
A Céilí will take place in the Guildhall’s Main Hall from 3.30pm to 6pm while Portabello will play Guildhall Square from 4pm to 6pm.
Where possible, the public are strongly advised to use the public transport system or to consider walking to the event.
Details of all buses can be found by visiting www.translink.co.uk/Routes-and-Timetables.
The full programme details are available at www.derrystrabane.com/springcarnival.
If you have any queries or would like any more information on the above, please contact the Events team on 028 71 253253.
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