Dunshaughlin Harvest Festival opens tonight
Dunshaughlin Harvest Festival is about to kick with an exciting programme of events. The festival opens on Friday night with a free Culture Night event in Dunshaughlin Library from 7pm-9pm, an evening of music, song and dance as well as international food tasting! Movie Night will take place at St Seachnall’s National School from 8pm-10pm, so don’t forget your popcorn, cushions and blankets. If weather doesn’t permit, we will take this event indoors to the Dunshaughlin Community Centre.
On Saturday, the Meath Land Commission Heritage Group will hold an information day at Dunshaughlin Library from 12pm The aim is to collect information relating to the Land Commission Resettlement Programme within the county, which operated from the 1920s to the mid-1970s.
The Court House will be home to the scary Ghost Event, from 6pm-10.30pm. Tickets for this and the Movie night are €5 each and available from the Festival Office.
On Saturday and Sunday, the Food and Craft Market will be open from 10am in the Market Square. The majority of the other festival activities will take place in the Park. Over the two days, a whole range of family entertainment takes place, from street theatre and music, circus artists, interactive games, races, dance exhibitions, dog show, photo booths, bouncy zone, teen zone, bingo, crazy carts and much more. One of our highlights that can’t be missed is the adult musical chairs, craic beyond compare!
A popular feature of the festival is the vintage car display (2pm Saturday) and the tractor run (1.15pm Sunday). The main Parade (followed by the Pageant) will start from the Courthouse at 1.30pm on Sunday.
A new addition this year is our Fusion Tent in The Park. This will see some home-grown talent take to the main stage from 3pm Saturday. Names such as Cathal and Robert Heaney, James O'Neill, Leanne Goodwin, Jean Kavanagh and Callum Agnew will be out in force to entertain. Following on from this, local dancers and musicians including Linda Magee School of Dancing, and Leah Barniville, Turlough Malone and the Modern Music Group and Aoife Moore, will perform. Kern, followed by Ann Harrington and The Rattleshakes will have everybody dancing into the evening.
An abundance of buskers will be taking to the streets of Dunshaughlin over the weekend. Keep your ears open for local musicians and bands, Andrew White, Andy Hall, Clovermaid, IF, Middle Ages, Zoe Koulianou, Twowords, Dearbhla Molloy and Aisling Flynn, Oisin Tuite, Cathal and Robert Heeney, Mark McCreary and more.
Sunday entertainment will start in Fusion tent from 1.15pm starting with Frank McNamara. It will host the Jack Wise Show (Magician, Ventriloquist, Pickpocket and Sword Swallower), an event not to be missed at 4pm. The festival finale is guaranteed to leave you all on a high when The Wonky Tonks Band will rock the festival to a completion.