Big celebration for seniors in Temple Bar

DETAILS of this year’s Bealtaine Festival programme celebrating people power in Ireland’s older generation were announced last week.

The annual event celebrates arts and creativity as we age, and this year there is a very special aspect to the festival that sees a new spin-off event in Dublin’s Temple Bar.

The new leg of the Bealtaine calendar will feature a series of arts and cultural events running across Temple Bar’s cultural quarter from May 3-7.

With a collaboration of free and ticketed events, the focus is on family-friendly offerings that continue to promote the unshakeable creative contribution that older generations contribute to Ireland’s arts scene.

From May 3-5, a special Bealtaine Commission in partnership with the Dublin Dance Festival introduces ‘A Life of Play’ by Emma O’Kane, the established dancer and choreographer. 

And grandchildren are being encouraged to bring their grandparents for the creative dance and play project at the Project Arts Centre, which is all about fun and participation so no dance experience necessary.

Special Outdoor Project Events will be held in Meeting House Square, including an extravagant catwalk down memory lane in ‘Ageless Style – The Way We Wore’, an exploration of women’s style from the 1840s to the present day.

This special project is curated by Hannah Ingle, the Gallery of Photography, and Dr Orla Fitzpatrick, a photo historian with insights into changing social conventions, restrictions of dress and the politics of fashion reflected in archival photographs from Ireland and abroad.

Old favourites from the Bealtaine Festival including the Dawn Chorus will have an additional staging in Bealtaine @ Temple Bar at 6am on Grattan Bridge on May 6, while an operatic extravaganza that raised the roof during Culture Night 2017 returns for a new commission ‘Pop Up Opera’ at the Contemporary Music Centre on May 4.

Dr Tara Byrne, Director of the Bealtaine Festival said stepping up the event to include a focus on Temple Bar’s rich source of cultural venues added a new dimension to celebrating the contribution of older generations and created greater access for older cultural visitors to Temple Bar. 

“Bealtaine Festival is Ireland’s largest co-operative festival and the world’s first national celebration of creativity as we age, and now we mark another debut, the inaugural Bealtaine @ Temple Bar,” she said.

“Our mission is to create a memorable and fun-filled five-day festival that is specifically geared towards older people and their families in Dublin’s Temple Bar.

“There are no limitations or expectations of people, we simply want to deliver family focused events that will kickstart your summer in a positive and meaningful manner.

“We are very grateful to our partners in Temple Bar’s cultural events, the Temple Bar Company and to Dublin City Council for their support in helping us make this event happen.”