Letterkenny plays host to over 50 diverse events in 27 venues as part of the annual Culture Night this Friday, 20th September.
This is the eleventh year that the Cathedral town is participating in the annual event and the Regional Cultural Centre is proud be presenting a number of highlights amongst the many great events taking place from 6 to 10pm on Friday night.
The largest outdoor event Cybertribe will take place in the Letterkenny Town Park. This night-time extravaganza of sculpture, performance and art installation is inspired by comic book visions of the future and real-life emerging cyber technologies. There will also be guided tours at Letterkenny Courthouse along with a very special reading from 2019 Culture Night ambassador, Poet Annemarie Nà Churreáin.
Visual arts and films are strongly featured this year with a selection of exhibitions available at the Donegal County Museum, including the Letterkenny Folk Festival Exhibition featuring photographs, posters and leaflets from the collections of Sally Blake and Billy Watson, and All Aboard the Donegal Railways where visitors can watch footage from the heyday of the trains and share memories of the railways of Donegal.
While the RCC has two exhibitions opening on Culture Night, we also have another ongoing exhibition, a screening to complement one of the new exhibitions, and some free entertainment for children. For full details on Culture Night at the RCC, don’t miss tomorrow’s in-depth blog.
Donegal Intercultural Platform, Donegal Travellers Project, Building Intercultural Communities (BIC) presents the launch of the Donegal Intercultural Arts Research Project Report and the screening of Garry Keane and Andrew McConnell’s film Gaza and Sai Sankar’s, Sakura Pooka, at Century Cinemas, followed by Q&A with guest speakers.
The Central Library presents a fantastic programme of history and heritage with exhibitions, tours and the Jessica Harkin Family Magic Show kicking off proceedings with a magical sleight of hand show.
An Grianán Theatre presents Waiting Tables For Godot, by Mockingbird Theatre Group with Ronan Carr and Anne Gallagher. Performed in the theatre’s cafe bar with soup served in bowler hats for the customers, this show is about a pair of conjoined twins who are serving tables and waiting for Godot to come through the front door.
Bus Éireann Bus Station presents a Donegal County Museum offsite exhibition as well as a unique performance with well-known performance artist and Letterkenny native Little John Nee who is Waiting On a Train. In this special Culture Night event he will present a series of songs and spoken word interludes on a theme of trains and railways.
Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council, Councillor Nicholas Crossan said Culture Night is a terrific opportunity for families to sample aspects of Irish culture and heritage. “And it is great to see people of all ages come together and enjoying a totally unique evening of accessible, family friendly events and all completely free of charge.”
Mayor of Letterkenny Municipal District, Councillor John O’Donnell is encouraging everyone to come along and enjoy the celebrations. “Culture Night has become an iconic event. It is about inviting the community to come along and wrap up in culture and create unique shared experiences and memories and it is all for free. There is something for everyone to enjoy from generations of families experiencing new night-time adventures to groups of friends enjoying cultural genres they might never have before.”
For more visit the Culture Night website, or download a copy of the Culture Night Programme HERE and follow @CultureNightDonegal on Facebook.
Culture Night is brought to you by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Affairs in partnership with Donegal County Council.