Excitement is building ahead of this year’s Baboró International Arts Festival for Children, which starts in Galway Monday October 15 for seven days. The programme is bursting with theatre, dance, music, exhibitions, film and literature as well as talks and workshops for children and adults. There are also opportunities for children and adults to get creative while spending quality time together.
Artists from Ireland and across the globe will present a feast of 51 events across seven days designed especially for children and families. Baboró enables children and families to experience first hand the transformative power of the creative arts.
Theatre and dance shows
Looking for something to do with the kids after school? A reminder that Baboró is not just for the weekend. There are events running during the week so why not see a show after school and then come back for more at the weekend!
Some of the shows you can catch early next week include Half Light (8+ ), a tender tale about finding light in dark times combining storytelling, comedy and live music (Tuesday 7pm, Town Hall Theatre ); Tetris (ages 5-12 ) a fun, interactive performance exploring the way we interact with each other (Wednesday 6.30pm, Black Box Theatre ); Narrow (ages 6-12 ) recreates one couple’s quest for domestic bliss through an intimate and funny love story (Monday and Wednesday, 5pm, An Taibhdhearc. ). There’s also Branar’s How to Catch a Star, Sky, Egg-tion Hero and lots more.
Seeing as it’s almost Halloween, why not check out Nosferatu (ages 8+ ), a gripping story described as ‘Dracula but not quite as you know it’. It’s running Friday 19 October – Sunday 21 October in An Taibhdhearc. Also on over the final weekend is one of this year’s festival highlights; The Young King (ages 8+ ) is a beautiful piece of immersive theatre with the tender language of Oscar Wilde. It’s running in the Black Box Theatre the weekend of Friday 19 Oct to Sunday 21 Oct and is the perfect show for all the family. Also running that weekend is Black Beauty (ages 5-12 ), a vibrant retelling of the much-loved classic story blending storytelling, music and puppetry. (Thursday 18 October to Sunday 21 October ).
Free events
There are plenty of free events for all the family to enjoy. They include two readings in Ballybane and Westside libraries with Darkmouth author, Shane Hegarty (Wednesday 17 October ); exhibitions including new work from Finbar McHugh which can be seen in his exhibition, Floating, and In Celebration of Children, a photographic exhibition by Michelle O’Grady from Réalta School of Speech and Drama, and Julia Dunin Photography, which captured portraits of children designed to raise self-esteem and confidence. A third exhibition in Galway Arts Centre, Human Being and Human Becoming features artworks by Siobhan McGibbon and pupils from Scoil Chroí Íosa. There’s a food and folklore event, Fishy Tales, on Wednesday October 17 in The Kitchen Café and there’s the hugely popular storytelling in Charlie Byrnes bookshop on Saturday 20 October & Sunday 21 October. On
Friday October 19, children and families are invited to take part in Wonder Walls, a unique live drawing experience in The Wonder Works on Market Street (the former Connacht Tribune print works ).
Tickets
Tickets can be booked online at www.baboro.ie or at the Town Hall Theatre in Galway on 091 569 777. Tickets for public shows are €9 or €30 for a family ticket for four persons. Baboró International Arts Festival for Children starts this Monday and runs from October 15 – 21 in venues throughout Galway.
