Hundreds enjoy Navan's first summer festival

Navan dipped its toes into the uncertain waters of summer festival organisation at the bank holiday weekend and came up smiling. The town's very first one-day summer festival - Summerfest - backed by Navan Town Council and organised through the voluntary efforts of 36 community groups and a few commercial companies was a huge success, its chief organiser Paddy Pryle said yesterday (Tuesday). And if the weather wasn't what was expected of the first few days of August, the spirits of the hundreds who turned out for the entertainment weren't dampened in the least. It was said of imperial Rome that the best way to placate the masses was to give them bread and circuses. There was no bread on view and little sight of any clowns but the masses got everything else in between, including fishing competitions on the Boyne, a fishing village at The Ramparts (organised by Paul O'Callaghan of Anglers' World), a fun raft race, a fair at Cornmarket, live music by the Luke Kelly Tribute Band, the Kennedy Road carnival complete with The Zone and carnival stalls, a pedal car race, Boyne fish cooking at the Newgrange Hotel, a dog show and a teddy bears' picnic at Andy Brennan Park. There was also a wellington boot throwing competition at Andy Brennan Park (where the frame was supplied by Tara Steel and the boots were supplied by Tara Mines and 40 teenagers used up excess energy by vying for the highest throw - 36 feet)), the raft race (organised by Seamus Byrne and volunteers of Commons Hardware and judged by the Mayor Cllr Joe Reilly and Deputy Mayor Cllr Phil Brennan) and bouncy castles at Trimgate Street. A duck race was also organised, with proceeds going to the Irish Wheelchair Association. There should be a special mention too for RTE DJ Larry Gogan who brought his 2FM Roadshow to Kennedy Road. Larry is known as a great trouper, always the professional. He turned out for the people of Navan despite having suffered the sad loss of his brother just a few days before the festival. He didn't want to disappoint the organisers who had put so much work into the Summerfest and they, in turn, were extremely grateful to him for his gesture. As Paddy Pryle put it: "You could walk from the Boyne Road to Trim Road and be entertained without spending a penny if you wanted it." He added: "We were very much testing the waters in a lot of ways at the weekend. The weather is a big factor in all these things and we have to say it wasn't too bad after all, despite the dire forecasts. The biggest tribute must go to the members of those 36 community groups who turned out to help us. They were wonderful. Everybody did what they had promised to do and that helped in terms of putting everything in place for the big day." He was also lavish in his praise for the Gardai who helped with cordoning off streets and traffic control, the Civil Defence, and the Order of Malta and Red Cross volunteers. There was also a special thank you to Midland Waste who supplied bins throughout the town on the day. "Our aim was to provide some form of summer entertainment for the people of Navan and to promote the town and I think we succeeded in that. It should also be mentioned that a lot of people gave up their bank holiday to help with the organising and the supervision on the day itself," Mr Pryle added. Mayor Cllr Joe Reilly said the festival had been a huge success and he thanked the organisers for their efforts. "It was a great morale booster for the town, something that is badly needed in these difficult times. It shows that community spirit is alive and well in Navan."