EXCITEMENT is building for Culture Night 2018 after Derry City and Strabane District Council launched an extensive programme of over 50 events for the annual celebration of all things cultural which takes place on Friday September 21st.
The festival will see arts and cultural organisations throughout Ireland open their doors in celebration with a wide variety of free admission events that aim to inspire, enlighten and delight.
The local programme includes a feast of visual arts, music, theatre and dance and is designed to allow people to drop in and move around venues across the City and District to take in the wide variety of sights and sounds on offer.
Speaking at the launch, Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor John Boyle, encouraged the public to come out and sample the extended programme for themselves.
“I am delighted to launch this year’s Culture Night programme which is our largest and most ambitious yet,” he said.
“The depth and variety in this year’s programme is particularly impressive and I am pleased to see a number of new venues and events added for 2018.
“Culture Night is an opportunity for the public to go off the beaten track and explore some of the hidden treasures around the Council area and I like the fact that people can plot their own trail by visiting the venues and offerings that interest them.”
This year’s programme has a particular emphasis on offering events for children, young people and families and will include a performance from children from the Outer West Neighbourhood Renewal Area where, through a walking tour, they will enact the true story of Jimmy Allieander, the 7.6 foot ‘Giant of Brooke Park’.
The Verbal Arts Centre will be hosting a drop in event entitled ‘Once upon a time’ where young people can sample interactive storytelling and performance sessions while young people are also invited to a ‘Culture Night Youth Takeover’ at the Nerve Centre in Magazine Street.
Sion Stables in Strabane will be involved in the night for the first time when it hosts ‘Culture Night in the Village’ – a barbeque and an evening of traditional music and dance and fly tying workshops.
Strabane’s Alley Theatre will host an intimate play magical themed play exploring immortality by Single Shoe Productions entitled ‘A Disappearing Act’ and registration is available on the theatre’s website for an intergenerational magic workshop that will be hosted before the performance.
Other highlights will include an Astronomic Weather Choir performance at Walker’s Plinth on the city’s walls, a presentation by personal artefact donors at the Museum of Free Derry and Walking Tours of Strabane leaving from the Alley Theatre.
Head of Culture at Derry City and Strabane District Council, Aeidin McCarter, commended the local arts and cultural community for the creative and innovative range of events that will be hosted on the night.
“We have been working closely with our partners to offer the public a lively variety of activities and performances to celebrate Culture Night 2018,” she said.
“The programme offers an eclectic blend of events which aims to reach out to every age and taste and welcome people into some of our most cherished and interesting buildings.
“The full programme is available online and I would encourage the public to view it now and plot your own trail so that you can get the most out of what is on offer.”
A number of cafes and shops in Derry city centre and in and around Strabane’s Castle Street will remain open on the evening of Culture Night to offer refreshments and entertainment as the public make their way around the venues and Cappuccinos Café in Foyle Street will be treating patrons with their comic monologue ‘Waiting Tables for Godot’.
The full programme for Culture Night 2018 is available to view at www.derrystrabane.com/culturenight.
The public can follow the action and share their own experiences on social media using the hashtag #CultureNightDS.
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