NOEL HILL and Steve Cooney, Kíla, and Mary Bergin are some of the Irish music heavy hitters playing the upcoming Traidphicnic, open-air, traditional Irish music, arts, and culture festival, in An Spidéal.
The festival, which runs from Friday July 1 to Sunday 3, takes place in the An Ceardlann Spiddal Craft Village, and includes craft demonstrations, interactive art, a camera obscura, sean-nós dance class, music workshops, informal Irish language classes, walks, and talks, as well as concerts.
Musical highlights will be concertina player Noel Hill and guitarist Steve Cooney (July 1, 7pm ); Kíla (July 2, 7.30pm ); The Hernon Family with Don Stiffe and friends (July 3, 5.15pm ); Damien Mullane and Sean Ó Meara (July 2, 6pm ); and a celebration of the music of Paddy Fahy with Liz Kane, Breda Keville, Liz Coleman, Caoimhe Grogan, and John Blake (July 2, 4pm ); Johnny Connolly (July 1, 2pm ), and Jason O'Rourke, launching his new album The Northern Concertina, with Stevie Dunne, Teresa Clarke, and Seonaid Murray (July 2, 2pm ).
There will be workshops in sean-nós dancing and singing along with music workshops in accordion with Damien Mullaine; concertina with Noel Hill; tin whistle with Mary Bergin; fiddle with Breda Keville and Tóla Custy; and bodhrán with Paddy Kerr.
The Traidphicnic exhibition will feature visual art from Noel Arrigan, Helen Caird, Gabriel Henry, and Nuala Ní Fhlathúin, while the public can try the potters wheel, weaving, art, glassart, pinch pottery, and designing T-shirts at An Ceardlann.
Traidphicnic is a "family oriented festival, which aims to be accessible to all". It operates a ‘donate what you can’ to help cover its running costs. For more information see www.traidphicnic.com
