Big preview and line up for the upcoming 45th Carlow Arts Festival

The 45th annual Carlow Arts Festival, a key event in Ireland's cultural calendar, will open to the public from next Wednesday, June 5th and continue until Sunday, June 9th. Anticipated to attract over 25,000 locals and visitors, this year's festival offers an impressive lineup of more than 80 events spanning various art forms from dance and literature to theatre, circus and the visual arts. To kick off the festivities, the opening performance will feature a free outdoor interactive show called Pelat, created by acclaimed Spanish artist Joan Català, which will take place on the grounds of Carlow College on Thursday, June 6th at 7:45pm.

Throughout the festival a continuous stream of entertainment will take place inside the O’Hara’s Big Top tent with Carlow Live & Localshowcasing local music acts including Eric de Buitléir, Danny Carthy and Tumbling Dice. The Yurt is a brand-new venue for the 2024 festival, showcasing the work of Carlow comedians, musicians, lecturers, poets, and more. On Friday June 7th, writer Clifton Redmond will host Éigse: Voices in the Crowd, an evening celebrating local poets. Performance artist Barry Fitzgerald, originally from Tullow, will present a special preview of their new show Mourning is a Muscle on Saturday June 8th. Elsewhere, the annual Carnival of Collective Joy, which honours the imaginative spirit of school children throughout the county, will commence on Saturday, June 8th, starting from Carlow College at 1:30pm.

Carlow County Council have supported a number of this year’s projects including First Light by Kilkenny based Asylum Productions. A collaboration with the local community, this immersive indoor and outdoor street theatre experience, will take place each evening across the festival weekend.

Elsewhere on this year’s programme, the esteemed UK circus company, Gandini Juggling, will present their award-winning show The Games We Play on Friday, June 7th at VISUAL Theatre. On Sunday, 9 June, renowned storyteller Aindrias de Staic will present By the Light of the Silvery Moon an enchanting evening of Irish stories told through words and music. Carlow VISUAL will present their Summer exhibition titled Behind the Curtain featuring invited and commissioned works along with Irish and international artists.

A host of family fun events will take place throughout the 5 day festival from dance classes, samba drumming workshops and outdoor cinema screenings. The festival’s artistic director Benjamin Perchet invites people of all ages to join the celebrations:

“We’re very excited to welcome everyone to the festivities from next Wednesday. Carlow Arts Festival is a cultural gathering that honours local talent while offering opportunities to experience compelling international performances. With something for people of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy, I would encourage everyone to immerse themselves in this year’s programme and come and be inspired.”

Carlow Arts Festival 2024 will take place from Wednesday, June 5th, to Sunday, June 9th. Many events are free but booking is required. A Music Pass is available granting access to all music events with a day pass priced at €15 and a weekend pass priced at €35.

See: www.carlowartsfestival.ie

Carlow Arts Festival would not be possible without the support of our funders The Arts Council and Carlow County Council. Principal Sponsor O’Hara’s Craft Beers. Corporate Partners and Sponsors include Estrella Galicia 0 0, Carlow Credit Union, Dooley Motors, Talbot Hotel Carlow.