THE Halloween celebrations in Derry are now well underway ahead of the main event carnival parade and fireworks spectacular this Thursday.
And even the city’s latest tourist attraction – the Derry Girls mural – got in on the act last night when it became ‘Derry Ghouls’.
The city’s historic Walls are the focus each evening for a spell-bindining combination of fantasy and folklore of illuminated animation, music, dance and theatre suitable for all the family.
This year’s Derry Halloween theme is The Other World Awakens, and Awakening the Walls will reflect this drawing back of the veil between this world and the other.
Highlights include a Wicked Wonderland filled with flashmobs, fire eaters and more, and Eyes to the Skies, an aerial dance spectacle with bespoke musical compositions and a human Catherine wheel.
All Hail Saurus will depict, with a deafening roar, the return of the biggest – and hungriest – beasts that ever roamed the earth, while Celestial Sound Cloud will see a digital sound light sculpture inspired by cosmic clouds and nebulas.
In keeping with the Irish legend of the Morrigan and reflecting Halloween’s Celtic roots in Samhain, A Murder of Crows has hellish creatures of the dark soaring high into the night sky before dropping down to earth to devour their prey.
As in years before, local people in the Fountain and Bogside will also be involved in delivering a slice of the Awakening the Walls action, alongside other communities including the Greater Shantallow Community Arts project but in a change from previous years the four main streets within the wall will be closed to traffic during the performance.
This is to alleviate congestion and enable the large crowds that have been attending the festivities more space to plot their trail and take in the sights and sounds.
The Awakening the Walls performance continues until Wednesday, October 30, from 6 pm to 8.30 pm which also includes the Derry Girls mural which has been revamped to Scary Girls so expect to see expect to see Erin, Michelle, Clare, Orla and ‘the wee English fella’ as never before.
Street art organisation UV Arts, who created the tribute to the Channel 4 show on the wall of Badgers pub, teamed up with Edinburgh-based arts collective Projector Club to devise an exciting projection mapped installation – where pieces of video and animated content are overlaid onto the wall – for three nights during Derry Halloween.
Donal O’Doherty of UV Arts said: “We’re taking the Derry Girls mural and dressing it up in true Halloween style.
“It will feature all things Halloween, and a few surprises, but we don’t want to give too much away. It’s mesmerising what can be done with video mapping.
“Derry Halloween started off along the River Foyle, then expanded into the Guildhall Square, and now the whole city is getting utilised, which is great,” said Donal.
“Everyone takes part, from eight-year-olds to eighty-year-olds. Everybody makes a big effort, families are out in force and it’s a real community feeling.”
An estimated 120,000 people are expected to come to Derry during the Halloween festival which culminates in the increbible parade and firework display at 8.15pm.
The Mayor of Derry and Strabane said: “The excitement is already building ahead of Halloween night and over the coming days there will be plenty of spooky activities for all ages.
“The event has been growing year on year, and we expect there to be a huge audience for the Carnival parade this year.
“With large crowds anticipated please take heed of the advice issued about traffic and travel, plan ahead and be mindful that there will be parking restrictions and road closures in place.
“Follow the signage and also any guidance from the PSNI and stewards who are there to ensure your safety on the night.”
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