Dublin Puppet Festival grand finale on Meeting House Square, Temple Bar

The Dublin Puppet Festival takes place from 19^th to 25^th April and replaces the International Puppet Festival Ireland.  After almost 2 decades in South Dublin, Ireland’s only puppet festival has now moved into the heart of Dublin’s city centre!

Despite its new name, location and its move from autumn to spring, this year’s Puppet Festival will, as always, feature an amazing array of puppet performances from all over the world, with entertainment and excitement for all ages.

Events during the festival include a weekend of free, open-air, performances on the streets of Temple Bar and in Wolfe Tone Square on April 24th and 25th. Ireland’s first International Punch Day will form part of the festivities with Punch & Judy shows from all over Europe taking place in Meeting House Square on the 25^th of April.

One of Irelands oldest forms of puppet theatre; Punch shows have entertained the adults and children of Dublin for over 300 years. Four diverse and unique Punch performers from Ireland, Italy & the UK will perform back to back in Meeting House Square for the festivals grand finale. Featuring side splitting slapstick comedy and a little live music, this event will be one of the festival’s highlights.

For further details, the Dublin Puppet Festival’s programme is available on http://puppetfest.ie/.

Temple Bar’s Culture Club for Kids!

We are continuing our family focus in our core programme of events starting with In Handel’s Day (April), Summer Sensational (July) through to Culture Night (Sept.) and our Chocolatey Christmas celebrations in December. 

For the summer days when school is closed, we are opening up a Culture Club for Kids!  Culture Club will feature a range of cultural activity in Temple Bar during July and August.  Arts, crafts, fun and culture will be on offer for 9-12yr olds. Culture Club is FREE to join and now enrolling!

To enroll now for FREE membership please contact Eimear Chaomhánach at TBCT on (01) 677 2255 or echaomhanach@templebar.ie

Great fun for all the family at the Temple Bar Circus Festival!

Earth Explorers at The Ark, A Cultural Centre for Children

This summer, The Ark, A Cultural Centre for Children invites everyone to step inside and be part of Earth Explorers, Visual Arts Summer Programme for 2009. A range of fun, imaginative and affordable activities are on offer all summer long. Engage with our environment through arts workshops, summer schools and a free exhibition.

The free Earth Explorers exhibition is open at The Ark from Tuesday to Sunday for everyone to enjoy and explore. Our world is a constant playground for creativity and nature has always been a source of inspiration. Looking through the eyes of emerging and established Irish contemporary artists the Earth Explorers exhibition is designed to encourage you to explore your surrounding environment and inspire the creative potential in all you see.

Join The Ark for The Garden Party Workshops and Installation where you can make and plant your own piece of art. This summer, with your help and creative input, The Ark’s theatre space is being transformed into a bright and colourful landscaped “garden” complete with sound scapes and an outdoor feel! You can make and plant your artistic creation in our unique garden installation which will be evolving all summer long. Join professional artists Liz Smith, Orla Kelly and Gina Faustino who will lead you in a thirty minute workshop, Thursdays – Saturdays: 10.30am; 11.30am; 2pm; 3pm or Sundays: 2pm; 3pm. Using different artistic techniques you will create artwork inspired by nature and garden life. Choose from a range of workshops where you can make fruit, birds, creepy crawlies and even printed, felted or animal flowers. Join us and help to build our “garden” with your art!

Why not join The Ark for Saturday Workshops? Choose from Micro Gardens, Global Homes, Kite Flights, Sun Shots and Wings in Motion! Or join The Ark’s Summer Schools such as Material World, Green Animation or Developing Nature.

Every Sunday during Earth Explorers is Family Day! You and your family can spend some valuable artistic time together in one of our workshops, have fun with visual arts and create your own special piece of art!  

Earth Explorers takes place at The Ark from Sunday 21 June – Saturday 15 August.

For full programme details, prices and booking please see www.ark.ie, phone 01.6707788 or visit The Ark, 11a Eustace Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2.

Summer in the City from Kate at Mummymaps.com

Midsummer was a soft day in Dublin but, thanks to the festivities put on by the TBCT, spirits were not dampened. (In fact, we think the ritualistic Maypole dances may have ushered in this glorious week of sunshine!) 

As for the event on Sunday, solstice revelers sprawled out on the urban green lawn were treated to a bounty of gourmet treats and merriment including lovely cheeses, coffees, ice cream - and live music and face painting. Families flocked with their picnic baskets, buggies and bicycles despite the drizzle (we’re a hardy bunch) to chill out in Meeting House Square and watch the world go by. And the Saturday evening outdoor screening of Dead Poets’ Society was a unique treat for Dubs which should (in our humble opinion) absolutely be repeated.  So kudos to TBCT for another successful event! We sensed a tangible buzz in the air – and it wasn’t just the overexcited kids – that lead us to believe that summer has truly arrived!      

Get in on the Act with Temple Bar Circus Festival!

From comic trapeze to aerial circus feats, roving dancers, comedy, a circus cruise and street samba, the Temple Bar Circus Festival (9^th – 12^th July 2009) has announced an exciting programme featuring over 50 unique circus skill performers and award-winning acts for what will be the biggest Circus Festival in Temple Bar to date.

Organised by Temple Bar Cultural Trust, the festival is an action-filled showcase for world class circus and breath-taking performances with the best of Irish and international acts to entertain people of all ages, young and old.

Renowned for its family-friendly atmosphere, this year’s festival is packed with a host of outdoor events taking place across the public spaces and streets of Temple Bar, as well as plenty of interactive workshops from Circus Skills to Acrobatics and Art Jam to Clay Animation where children, young people and adults alike get the opportunity to enhance their creative abilities or learn some tricks of the circus trade.

Lorraine Maye, Circus Festival Programmer, Temple Bar Cultural Trust, has chosen a range of diverse performers from all over the world to ensure the festival features unique and top quality acts that suit a broad audience.

“We are delighted with this year’s line-up; we have fantastic street and aerial acts that will really impress the audience and draw the crowds into the open spaces of Temple Bar. We’ve put a bigger emphasis on interactive shows this year as audiences like to participate in the antics.  There’s also a nice range of workshops which provide an opportunity for parents and kids to be creative together.  Anyone looking for an adventure, a laugh and hours of free entertainment should venture into Temple Bar over the four days; it is guaranteed excitement and memorable entertainment.”

Visually-speaking the highlights of the Circus Festival include the Loyal Club, an award-winning show of comic trapeze and gigantic balloons, the Von Trolley Quartet from Australia who combine musical routine with slap-stick circus skills, the Great Vasili’s Eruption, the eastern European circus phenomenon who performs a handstand 5 metres above the heads of the audience, the Barren Carrousel, a dazzling aerial circus troupe who perform on long colourful silks and the Magical Circus Cruise with award-winning entertainer Brendan Byrne.

While Temple Bar is transformed into a circus arena and the streets are filled with entertaining walkabouts, don’t forget to stop by one of Temple Bar’s three outdoor markets – the Food Market, the Book Market or Designer Mart at Cow’s Lane – all of which will be getting in on the act!

All events as part of the Temple Bar Circus Festival are FREE but some require the collection of FREE tickets or advance booking.

For more information on Temple Bar Circus Festival, or a full programme of summer events, visit Templebar.ie, call our Culture Line 01-888 3610 or drop in and see us at the Temple Bar Cultural Information Centre, 12 East Essex Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2.