The rich environment, marine life and cultural heritage of the Connemara region will be to the fore when the 39th annual Connemara Sea Week Festival takes place in the village of Letterfrack from October 21 to 29.
The programme of events and activities has something for everyone with workshops, art, music, talks, walks and much more.
The themes for this year’s festival include climate action and biodiversity, and the organisers are delighted to announce that Duncan Stewart, Ireland’s leading environmental and climate advocator, will join the festival line-up.
Education is a central element of the programme and local students from primary and secondary schools, Youthreach, GRETB and Atlantic Technological University will all be involved.
Clean Coast, which works with communities to help protect and care for Ireland’s waterways, coastline and ocean life, will carry out workshops in the local schools. Artists and designers will work with students to create a spectacular Night Light’s exhibition, a magical display of lights throughout the village.
Local and visiting musicians will perform on both weekends, in Veldon’s Seafarer Pub. This year’s line-up includes Liz and Yvonne Kane with Muireall Murray, Don Stiffe and the Hernon family, Matt and Coonor Kane, accordion player Daithí Gormley, Josephine Marsh and much more.
Climate activist and Eco-Eye host Duncan Stewart will be on hand to lead the discussions at a climate and biodiversity seminar. He will be joined by researchers from ATU Marine Biological Resources programme, Fiacc O Brolchain of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, and Sven Habermann from Conservation Letterfrack, who recently returned from a two-month project in Antarctica.
For lovers of art and creativity, the small works art exhibition provides a platform for emerging artists to exhibit alongside some of Connemara’s most well-known and established artistic community.
Interface Inagh, renowned for its dynamic exploration of art and science, will host Noeline Kavanagh, former artistic director of Macnas and an expert in the creation of amazing puppets and sculptures.
Artists Seçil Yaylalý and Selin Atik of PASAJist Art Space in Istanbul, will deliver a workshop on mask-making.
The festival features a strong collaboration with Connemara National Park, where there will be a series of guided walks and biodiversity workshops. There’s also a mini boat regatta, a pond-dipping activity and an oyster shell painting workshop.
The full programme can be downloaded at connemaraseaweek.ie.
