Art on the streets for annual festival

EAGLE-eyed people could get more than they bargained for during the Ennis Street Festival, with a chance to find and bring home their very own piece of art for free.
This year’s festival will be held on the weekend of July 2 and 3 and a host of colourful events, including music, dance, acrobatics and street art, have been planned throughout the town.
As part of the festival, locally-based artist Minnie Keane will drop ‘art bombs’ throughout the town and anyone who finds them can take them home. A number of artists have donated a wide range of art pieces, everything from sculptures to poetry, for the project.
Works by Caitriona Sheedy, Ana Colomer, Ber Dowd, Alia Moloney (aka The Handy Hooker), Daithi O’Dalaigh, Janeen MacDonald, Melanie Jones, Philip Toft, David O’Rourke, Marie Connole, Clodagh Kelly, Larisa K Bevillard, Bert the Bannerman, Steven Keane, Marianne Slevin, James Slevin, The Altruism Movement and Valerie Sternbaum have all been included.
Minnie explained the concept behind the art bomb project. “I was inspired by a news article I read in the town of Oregan where they were yarn-bombing places. These knitters would go out randomly and crochet a handle around a door knob or a light post. I was thinking about the Ennis Street Festival, which I really love and I thought what a great way to create an exciting project to help promote the street festival.
“Also, it’s in line with the street festival’s ethos about sharing art with the community. I thought I could collect art from different artists and ‘bomb’ the town centre with pieces of art during the festival. They would be there for people to take home for free, so whoever finds it and likes it can take it home.
“I would like to put them outside as much as possible, weather permitting because it makes it easier for people to access. But if the weather is not good I’ll put them inside shop windows and places like that. They are all going to be placed around the town centre, starting around 9am until the end of the festival.
“There are all kinds of art. I have paintings and drawings, sculptures, stone carvings, I even have literature, hanging mobiles. There are about 30 pieces altogether and I’m hoping this is the start of something we can do every year. Hopefully, we will be able to get even more artists on board for it,” Minnie said.
This is the sixth year of the Ennis Street Festival with organiser Ana Bella Alvarez from the Fiesta House saying, “Our main concept is to create life in the streets of Ennis, to create street entertainment that is free and accessible to everybody. We want to be able to support and encourage artists to do something for their town. This is particularly needed during these tough times and we all need to work together and create something positive. It’s time to be conscious that we need to help each other out. By helping the community to develop this festival and by helping our own town, this can lead to positive repercussions in the future.”
This year’s festival theme is Opening Doors, with Ana Bella explaining, “By opening doors we want to open minds and hearts and show our visitors the beauty and hospitality of Ennis, which is so rich in history and generous spirit. You are always guaranteed wonderful memories when visiting our town.”
Among the events planned for the festival are performances from Tumble Circus on both days at the Farmers’ Market car park.
“They have been performing at the biggest festivals in Ireland and they are just phenomenal. We are very privileged to have them here in Ennis,” said Ana Bella.
World-recognised street artist Connor Harrington will also visit the festival, where he will work outdoors at the Rowan Tree and outside Glór in collaboration with Clare Youth Services. Other events include puppetry workshops with Tic Toc puppets, who will also transform Brady’s Lane into a magical doorway leading to fantastic stories.
“This will be a really magical place for children and families. They will be covering the lane so it looks like a door and it’s just fantastic with lights, colour, sound and visual art. The stories last five or 10 minutes and there is a small entrance fee. It’s wonderful for families,” said Ana Bella.
This year’s festival also sees the return of Paint the Town, with artists urged to bring out their painting gear and try to capture some aspect of the town. There will be prizes for the artists, who can register to take place from 10am to 11am on Saturday, July 2 at the Old Ground Hotel.
Also on Saturday, there will be a host of music on O’Connell Square with the Clare Youth Music Project performing from 1pm to 4pm and School of Rock from Philadelphia on stage from 4pm to 5pm. Circus Stachamoose’s puppet circus will then perform.
On Sunday, O’Connell Square will once again be the centre of the action with Zumba dance perfomances, the Ennis Gospel Choir, Dinan School of Ballet, Clare Women’s Network, Breakthrough Dance Company and Galway singer/songwriter, Martina Flaherty all performing.
Another highlight of the festival will be the duck racing on Sunday at 2pm. Local businesses have sponsored ducks, which will be released into the River Fergus to race from the tennis club.
According to Ana Bella, the festival has grown in recent years and as it continues to grow, the need for more volunteers to get involved increases.
“This started out when I was organising a circus workshop for the kids in Ennis and there was so much colour that people were telling me we should have a festival here. It started very slowly but it has grown a lot and every year, there is more and more. We have great volunteers helping out but we need more every year.
“With a festival like this it is important to have the community involved. The more local people that are involved the better the festival is. For instance, we got the local schools involved in designing the poster and brochure cover, with children from Gaelscoil Mhíchíl Cíosóg winning a competition.
“The festival has grown so much and we now have artists coming from all over the world. We have built connections with other communities outside Ireland and it is great but of course we are also supporting local artists too.”
She paid tribute to everybody who has been involved in the festival, the businesses, sponsors, community groups, volunteers, Ennis Chamber, Ennis Town Council and Clare County Council.
“Without their support, we wouldn’t be here. I just hope that everyone enjoys the festival and has a great time,” she concluded.
For full details of all events, check www.ennisstreetfestival.com.