September on the Square

Taking place on the nights around Culture Night, Merrion Square is doing something a little bit different.

The Irish Architectural Archive is hosting two special events in September.

Dancing on the Square attempts to recreate the original society experience of a house in Merrion Square with ballroom dancing experts on 20/09.  It's free but booking is essential.

Dining on the Square is a one-off Georgian banquet on 22/09.  Tickets for this cost a pricey €100 and can be booked online.  They suggest evening dress too.  I think it sounds brilliant fun.

St Patrick's Festival

I don't know about you but it feels like there isn't as much of a fuss about Paddy's Day this year (seriously, not Patty, I'm looking at you, America).  There is a festival running from 16th - 19th March, so it's only a couple of days shorter than previous years, which is fine by me.  The photo above is from the launch of the festival.  Both the Irish Craft Beer Festival and the Creative Quarter Festival that Nina and I posted about are technically part of this larger event.  But what else is running?

The now traditional Merrion Square funfair will take place every day but with additional attractions at Wolfe Tone Park (i.e. the original cemetery behind St Mary's Church on Jervis/Mary St) and Custom House Quay.

The star attraction for most will be the official parade, which kicks off at 12 noon on Saturday.  It starts on Parnell Square this year and winds its way to St Patrick's Cathedral (geddit?)  The theme for this year is the wonder and curiosity of science and now I understand why there is a family friendly science treasure hunt on Sunday (10am, meet at City Hall).

The evenings are filled with mostly music events (Céilí House Live on Saturday sounds fun).  The Laughter Lounge is also running a Father Ted weekend on both Saturday and Sunday night.

Full details of all the events are here.

There's a free app for Iphone/Android too.

Mindfield - my thoughts

At the weekend I went along to see the final day of a new festival, Mindfield. I regret having not gone earlier - the events were varied and had many high-quality speakers/organisations involved, and the weather was perfect.

For all that I was impressed, though, there were clearly some problems. The bar didn't have any alcohol for most of the festival. Some events started late. There weren't quite enough outdoor seats. Most crucially of all though, the events just weren't full enough. Outside in the sun the festival was lively, but inside the tents there were lots of empty seats. Now I'll freely admit: I was only there on the final day. However one of the vendors at the festival felt that the earlier days had been no better (or even worse). And perhaps I'm just missing the obvious, but why would you hold a three day festival on a long weekend running from Saturday to Monday but run the festival from Friday to Sunday? Why not use another weekend, when people are less likely to be away, or else use the long weekend to your advantage?

I hope the organisers aren't put off by the lowish numbers. Culture Night, organised by Temple Bar Cultural Trust, took a few years to really get into its stride and establish itself as a major and well-known event. If Mindfield can maintain the quality of its events and get itself into the public awareness it should prove to be a success.

A few photos from the final day of Mindfield, Sunday 1st May.

Mindfield

This exciting festival, which doesn't easily fit into any categories, will take place this coming weekend, 29 April to 1 May, in Merrion Square. The festival website promises

a vibrant programme of fully-interactive talks, readings, debates, workshops and much more, covering a full spectrum of culture including architecture, literature, slam poetry, technology, gaming, climate change, social entrepreneurship, fashion, art and design.

This definitely looks like something to check out, if you only happen to have time. Individual events cost €10 and some are free, so it is quite easy on the purse as well.

Coming (back) soon...

I'm off to Sweden tomorrow for a week, so posts will resume on Monday 21st June.

This means that unfortunately I'll miss the Street Performance World Championship in Merrion Square from 17th to 20th June.

And speaking of coming soon: Riverdance will return to Dublin later this month, in the Gaiety Theatre.