by Saoirse Anton

The sun is out (at least some of the time), summer holidays are in sight, shorts and sandals have been dug out from the back of the wardrobe, and festival season is in full swing. Reflecting on the recent 2022 edition of Dublin Dance Festival, Executive Director Carina McGrail noted on the Festival Blog, “it was really vital for audiences and artists, the dance community and the wider arts sector to be in the same space and to witness the physicality and humanity of the programme. We were craving that shared, collective experience.” After the past couple of years, those shared, collective experiences are something that we are all itching for and, with a whole host of arts festivals on the horizon, this summer promises to provide.

Between now and the last week of August, you have more festivals to choose from than any one person could possibly attend. Not only is there a festival happening in some part of the country every week of the summer, there are multiple festivals running simultaneously in most of those! With so much choice facing us, I have taken on the role of official programme sifter, and here are my top tips for some of the most eagerly anticipated festivals to see you through the summer.

Carlow Arts Festival, 9th - 12th June

Kicking off on the 9th of August, Carlow Arts Festival promises a fantastic programme of events, from nights of dancing at Carlow Live & Local with artists like Fedah, Jerry Fish and Manden Express taking to the stage, to anonymous artistic interventions on the streets of the town as French artist Ememem fills cracks in pavements and walls with beautiful mosaics. Though I could happily recommend many things in the programme, my top tip for Carlow Arts Festival is Goupil & Kosamo, a charming comedy performance that promises classic family fun as the great magician Kosamo steadily finds himself upstaged by his assistant, the stuffed fox, Goupil.

Cork Midsummer Festival, 15th - 26th June

Following hot on the heels of Carlow Arts Festival, Cork Midsummer Festival returns on the 15th of June to take over the city with a host of exciting events. Whether you want to sit back and enjoy a theatre show, like ThisIsPopBaby’s latest show Party Scene or Battersea Arts Center and BAC Beatboxers’ electrifying Frankenstein: How to Make a Monster, groove at gigs from artists like Sharon van Etten and Tolü Mackay, or get involved with immersive experiences like Mammalian Diving Reflex’s Nightwalks with Teenagers, there is something for everyone. With so much to choose from, it’s difficult to pick just one top tip, but Selina Thompson’s Race Cards has to be my pick of the programme. An invitation to start a conversation, question ourselves, and contribute to an archive of often unspoken feelings and ideas, Race Cards asks you to enter a room whose walls are covered in a thousand questions concerning race and identity, read those questions, and answer just one of them.

Cairde Sligo Arts Festival, 1st - 10th July

With a range of events from outdoor visual arts installations to circus by bicycle, Cairde Sligo Arts Festival is set to be a feast of arts events to get July off to a good start. Particularly exciting is Brú Theatre’s VR experience, Ar Ais Arís VR; three 180⁰ VR films which immerse audiences in a blend of music, movement, images of the Connemara landscape, and text inspired by some of the finest Irish-language writers, Máirtín Ó Cadhain, Pádraic Ó Conaire and Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill.

Clonmel Junction Arts Festival, 1st - 10th July

Running at the same time as Cairde, Clonmel Junction Arts Festival is always a treat. As their tagline says, “from plays about hurling to art house films, see it at Junction.” As with all the other festivals in this list, it is next to impossible to choose just one top tip, but the premiere of iGirl, a film by Trish McAdam based on Marina Carr’s poetic play which is an intimate exploration of our search for meaning in history, myth and human stories, is one to catch.

Galway International Arts Festival, 11th - 24th July

Another highlight in the festival calendar is Galway International Arts Festival. One of Ireland’s largest festivals, GIAF will take over the city for 12 days with events ranging from a light and music installation by Jack Phelan and Barry O’Halpin for Crash Ensemble, to electrifying concerts from artists like Moxie, Soda Blonde, Orla Gartland and Sinéad O’Connor, and theatrical treats from Steppenwolf, Druid Theatre and Geoff Sobelle, to name just a few. However, for scale, spectacle and ambition, LifeLine and BassoAlto have to take the top spot. LifeLine will feature a 150-strong community cast performing Europe’s largest highwire spectacle over the River Corrib, while BassoAlto  combines a cast of professional wirewalkers and community performers to create a visual and poetic circus spectacle that audiences won’t forget in a hurry.  

Spraoi International Street Arts Festival, 29th - 31st July

Met Éireann’s website will get plenty of hits in the run up to the last weekend of July, as Spraoi International Street Arts Festival takes to the streets of Waterford for its 30th anniversary edition from the 29th to the 31st of July. Bringing renowned street artists from across the world to Waterford city, Spraoi will be a weekend of fun and festivities to remember. The full programme is yet to be announced, but the Spraoi Parade which closes the Festival on the 31st July is sure to be an unforgettable event.

Kilkenny Arts Festival, 4th - 14th August

A trip to the Marble City is in order for the first two weeks of August, as Kilkenny Arts Festival once again brings a fantastic programme of home-grown and international artists to the stages, gardens and cathedrals of the city. The first portion of the programme was announced last week, and if this first taste is anything to go by, we are in for a feast. One highlight I am particularly looking forward to is Rough Magic and Kilkenny Arts Festival’s co-production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, which stars Eleanor Methven in the iconic role of Prospero. The 2018 Kilkenny Arts Festival and Rough Magic A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Castle Yard remains one of my favourite Shakespeare productions I’ve seen (and I have seen a lot!), so I have high hopes for this.

Chamber Music on Valentia, 18th – 21st August

I won’t lie, I don’t know enough about chamber music to offer a recommendation from the programme for Chamber Music on Valentia’s 2022 edition, but doesn’t a weekend of music in the tranquil and beautiful surrounds of one of Ireland’s most westerly points just sound like a dreamy way to round off a summer of Festivals?

After that run of festival fun, you might need a second summer break, or perhaps just a quiet fortnight until Dublin Fringe Festival kicks off on the 10th of September and the Autumn festivals get underway…