Five-day St Patrick"s Festival in Trim

Trim"s five-day Celtic Festival to celebrate St Patrick"s Day will begin with the selection of the Festival Queen on Friday night, 13th March. This year"s festival promises to have something for all the family and, in these difficult economic times, organisers are ensuring that many of the events are free or only have a minimum charge. The festival queen competition will take place in the Bounty Bar on Friday night and the winner will lead the parade in the 'General Lee" car just like the one made famous in 'The Dukes of Hazzard". On Saturday, the kiddies" corner will take place in the town hall and the launch of the festival will be held in the Castle Arch Hotel"s Xango nightclub. Music is by Abba Vu and will include '60s, '70s and '80s music as well as Abba tunes. Entry is €12 which includes admission to a disco afterwards. On Sunday, the kiddies" corner continues in the town hall and there will be a magic show for children in Trim Castle Hotel. On Sunday evening, members of the Kearney School of Dance will perform in a free show at the new Trim GAA Clubhouse, beginning at 6pm and, on Sunday night, the Tara Shamrocks will play in the Bounty Bar. On St Patrick"s Day, the 'Daft Raft Race" will take place on the Boyne at 1pm and the parade will begin at 3pm. The theme for the parade this year is 'Irish Folklore Legends". That night at 8.30pm, Scurlogstown Olympiad will host a Céilí Mór in the GAA clubhouse. Throughout the festival, there will be a myriad of other various other events in pubs and hotels. Committee chairperson Ray Butler said a full programme of events will be distributed to homes in the area. Anyone who would like to enter the Festival Queen Competition or enter a float in the parade can contact him on (086) 101 2088. 'We are looking forward to a good weekend and, over the days of the festival, there will be a little bit for everybody,' said Cllr Butler. 'We know that things are tight for people so a lot of our events will be free of charge or will have a minimum charge to cover costs. For a lot of events, there will be no charge whatsover,' he added. Meanwhile, Enfield"s parade will begin at 3pm and will feature two bands as well as many floats. The committee is currently looking for volunteers to help out and the committee is particularly encouraging community groups to enter floats. Contact Rita Holton, Patrick Prendergast or Bill Carey for more information. Cllr Carey said they would like to see participants taking part from all over the towns and villages in south Meath.