River festival and food village to feature over 50 events
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12
* 5pm: Hot Air Balloon Display, best viewed from Athlone Castle
* 5.30pm: Official Launch with Guinness, Jazz & Oysters. Guinness served by Sean’s Bar, oysters prepared by Sheraton Athlone Hotel and Hodson Bay Hotel and jazz by Frankie McDonnell.
* 7.30pm: Street Tug-Of-War at Fry Place beside Athlone Castle
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
* 11am Junior Angling Exhibition at the Meadow on Left Bank
* 12pm Pony Rides at Burgess Park
* 12pm – 2.30pm: Kids’ Street Athletics at Burgess Park
* 12pm – 6 pm: Choo Choo Family Train at Athlone Castle
* 1.30 pm – 3 pm: Water Taxi provided by The Viking Cruise Ship
* 2pm: Family Treasure Hunt at Athlone Castle
* 2.30pm: IWAI Rib-Run travelling down the River Shannon and arriving in the Marina
* 3 pm–5pm: THE RIVER FESTIVAL: Dragon Boat Racing, Raft Races, Publican’s Barrel Race, Canoe Tug-Of-War, Rowing Races & Currach Races
* 4pm: Sky Diving Display, landing in the Shannon near Luan Gallery
* 4pm: RNLI/Sub Aqua River Rescue Demonstration, best viewed from Luan Gallery
* 5pm: Soap Box Race at Athlone Castle
THE FOOD VILLAGE
* From 12pm: Spreading from outside Sean’s Bar to the banks of the River Shannon, the Food Village will celebrate all the Midlands has to offer in exceptional, award winning food produce.
FLOGAS DEMONSTRATION KITCHEN
* 11am: Kids Cooking Demos by John Coffey, Thyme Restaurant and Ronan Byrne, The Friendly Farmer.
* 12pm: “The Chef, the Farmer & The Politician” - John Coffey, Ronan Byrne and 'Minister of Food’ Mary O’Rourke show how to use every part of a chicken
*1pm: Kids Chocolate Demo by Olivia Curran from An Olivia Chocolatiers. Watch Olivia as she shows the kids how to make chocolate flowers and decorations.
* 2pm: JP McMahon of the Cava Bodega restaurant and Michelin-starred Aniar in Galway, will be cooking up some amazing tapas
* 3pm: Feargal O’Donnell, The Fatted Calf Restaurant and Westmeath GAA star Dessie Dolan. Fergal will be testing Dessie’s culinary skills with a number of restaurant quality dishes.
* 4pm: Make Your Own Stock. Lynda McFarland, nutritionist and chef, will demonstrate how easy it is to make your own stock and how to turn bland soups into delicious, nutritious top restaurant-quality dishes!
* 5pm: “Mixing The Old and The New” AIT’s Culinary Arts Chef Lecturer, Kevin Ward will draw inspiration from old European and Nordic traditions to create “Old World” style breads.
OTHER EVENTS
* 12pm – 6 pm 'Bothar’ Petting Farm Village, near Athlone Castle.
* 12pm – 1pm & 3pm – 4pm Athlone Herbal & Foraging Tour. Join organic gardener and herbalist Paula Sharkey on a foraging trip and discover nature’s abundance of wild and free herbs that you can use for cooking, medicines and cosmetics. Meet at the Urban Garden on Abbey Lane (across from Kin Khao Thai Restaurant).
Tours begin at 12pm and 3pm and last approximately 1 hour. Please bring wellies and waterproof clothing if needed on the day.
*12pm – 4 pm Urban Farming at St Peter’s National School.
St Peter’s recently unveiled its new school garden, which showcases what can be done with a small space; urban gardening to a tee.
The garden will be open from 12pm – 4pm with resident gardener Michael Kelly and Principal Darina Dolan on hand to give advice on DIY Urban gardening.
* Entertainment: There will be a number of musicians and acts performing around the Food Village.