New events planned for growing Brideswell Pattern Festival
The annual Brideswell Pattern Festival will take place this weekend with the addition of a farmers’ market and movie night to its traditional schedule.
The three-day festival is a celebration of community spirit encompassing theatre, dance and family fun.
Chairman of the Brideswell Pattern Festival Committee Derek Grehan said: “We're very enthusiastic about this year because we have a kind of revitalised committee. We have a dozen people there that have breathed new life into it a bit so we're probably going to expand on it every year from now on so we're looking forward to that.”
He added that the committee has established a new farmer's market this year which will also take place in the village once a month. “We're continuing on the Fittest Family (competition) seeing it done so well last year. The movie night is new, we'll see how that goes.”
Mr Grehan concluded: “We hope that people come and support us. It's a mostly free weekend of entertainment and, and probably one of the only social events in the parish in the year that people can gather together and enjoy themselves.”
The festival will commence this Friday, July 28 with a movie night in the marquee starting at 9.30pm. A surprise PG film will be shown which is free for all to attend.
On Saturday, July 29 the festivities will kick off with Brideswell Farmers Market starting at 10am including trad music from Camillus Hiney. Following this, the Cam Defibrillator Group will undertake a 6km fundraising walk with registration from 11am. There will be a talk from 11.30am until 12pm and the walk will begin then at 12pm. There will also be Irish music in the marquee from 12.30 pm until 2.30pm.
A kids GAA blitz will take place in Cam Community Centre from 11.30am until 2pm. A kids disco and medal presentation will be held around 2pm in the festival marquee. The popular Parish Fittest Family competition will start at 4pm and finish around 6pm. Participants are being asked to bring water guns. The band Double Up will perform in Hamrocks pub from 10.30pm.
Finally, on Sunday, July 30 the inaugural camino walk from Ballybay Church to Brideswell will start at 8.30am. Participants will walk 12km to Brideswell in time for the annual open air mass in the village at 12.30pm celebrated by Fr Michael McManus.
From 1.30pm, there will be a family fun day with kids entertainment including a tractor run which is very popular. The Brideswell National School Parents' Association will hold a cake sale fundraising event at the same time. GAA fans will be happy that the All-Ireland final football final between Kerry and Dublin will be shown in the marquee at 3pm with pre-match analysis from local pundits.
The traditional stations will commence from 4pm. Two piece band Wild Hearts will close out the festival with some live entertainment in Hamrocks from 10pm onwards. There will also be some live entertainment in Courtney's Bar. Supermac's will be in the village from 2pm on Saturday and from 1pm on Sunday.