Birr Vintage Week gets underway
Birr Vintage Week kicked off today, August 2, with over 100 events due to take place during the festival that will last until August 10. These events include visual arts, theatre, music, workshops, and exhibitions and will take place in over 40 locations across Birr.
As always, the popular Vintage Sunday Parade is one of the most hotly anticipated events of the nine-day festival. The parade, which takes place on August 4 at 3pm, has a new route for 2024. Instead of going down Emmet Street, the parade will turn left at Emmet Square before proceeding across Green Street and ultimately finishing as normal at the Marian Hall. These changes are as a result of traffic management restrictions.
The parade MC will be Emma Nee Haslam, who is the manager of Birr Theatre and Arts Centre.
The opening address before the parade will be by former councillor John Carroll. During the parade, there will be a community-made river float, as well as a bubble show on Main Street, thanks to Paris Bubbles. This year's theme is 'Going with the Flow' and celebrates the beautiful waterways of Offaly.
A selection of other major events for the week include:
Vintage Events:
The Food & Craft Market, the much-loved traditional event that will take place on Saturday, August 3 from 10am – 6pm on Green Street.
The Historical Walking Tour, which will go from St Brendan's Church to Marian Hall at 7.30pm on Tuesday, August 6.
WB Yeats in Story and Song, a new event for this year, includes an hour-long programme of stories from Yeats' life set to music, and will take place on Thursday, August 8 at 1.05pm.
Birr Theatre & Arts Centre Events:
Music events will prove popular, and include Paddy Casey (Friday, August 2 at 8pm), The Classic Beatles tribute act (Friday, August 9 at 8pm), and The Ennio Morricone Experience (Saturday, August 3 at 8pm).
Artistic events include a Women in Art talk with Carol O'Neill (Tuesday, August 6 at 10.30am) and an exhibition on Painting the Modern Garden from Monet to Matisee (Tuesday, August 6 at 3pm).
Birr Castle Events:
Vintage Picnic from 12:30pm to 3pm on Friday, August 2, where there will also be prizes for Best Looking Vintage-Themed Picnic, Best Dressed Vintage Family. Also, Doris & Mabel’s Book Club on Monday, August 5 at 7pm, is perfect for children and families.
ROGU Fire Arts Production of Mobius, at 10pm on Sunday, August 4. This is a hypnotic visual journey of fire, light and movement. Booking fees of €15 apply.
Visual Arts
The Visual Arts Trail Launch: Going with the Flow will take place on Friday, August 2 at The Max on Main Street at 8pm. The multi-site visual art trail is enriched with additional river themed events: Plein-Air Painting on the Camcor, a lecture by John Feehan, the River Witnessed by Mark Lyndon, a river float in the Parade, and not forgetting the Great Ruckin’ Duck Race, organised by Birr Rugby Club.
There will be over 20 visual arts exhibitions during the week, with many centred around the beauty of Offaly's waterways.
The full schedule of events, of which there is something for everybody, is available on Birr Vintage Week's website. Birr Vintage Week & Arts Festival merchandise will also be on sale during the festival. Booking is now open for these events.