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Galway Arts Festival
One of Ireland's longest established (2008 is it's 31st birthday) and most popular Arts Festivals and always a fun fortnight, with international programme of theatre, spectacle, dance, visual arts, music, literature & comedy.
There is a strong emphasis on Theatre, with good programmes also for Music (mainly contemporary and traditional), Literature, Poetry and Dance.
In 2008 a big top erected close to the Corrib will be the venue for a number of shows, including "By the Light of the Stars that Are No Longer", with Australian company Circa. Enda Walsh will have a new play, "The New Electric Ballroom", at the Druid Theatre and there is a welcome return by Dutch company Close-Act with their new show "Rebels".
Among the musical highlights are Malawian group Tinariwen, who were acclaimed by all when they closed last year's Glastonbury Festival. Other well known names in attendance include The Philip Glass Ensemble, Bill Viola, Joni Mitchell, Omara Portuondo, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Walker Evans, Blondie, Larry Gelbart, Craig Wright and John Mahoney. In all there will be more than 400 writers, artists, performers and musicians arriving in Galway from Australia, Africa, Europe, North America as well as other parts of Ireland.
The Macnas Parade, always a spectacular and popular feature of the Festival, will this year take place at night and will have a cast of more than 500 - this will be a really colorfull and entertaining event and is one that definitely should not be missed.
Galway is a city that knows how to party, and there is never a dull moment during the festival, with events packed in from morning till, well, morning! The street theatre and spectacle element of the festival has always been very strong, and if you are in the city you won't miss these events.
There is a varied and imaginative kids programme which along with ubiquitous street performers and regular parades makes this a particularly enjoyable festival for them.
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What else to do in Galway?
For a look at some other activities and attractions that we recommend within reach of this event, including tour itineraries and articles of interest, see our Galway City Area Guide.
