Cavan Arts Festival sends out first shoots

Thomas Lyons

Culture Night is the natural springboard for the launch of Cavan Arts Festival an event to showcase the artistic talents on offer in the county. The Cavan Arts Festival, under the direction of Kim McCafferty, is a new event shop windowing a wide array of offerings from visual to martial art.

The evening commences in The Little Big Top when author Rebecca O’Connor reads an extract from her new book. This is augmented by installations and sculptures created for Con Smith Park which will be unveiled by artists Rosie Cole, Shane Carroll and their amazing team.
“The focus of the festival is on providing as many sensory experiences as possible,” director Kim told The Anglo-Celt “and the audience is the most important part of that. We have put together a broad and varied programme containing something for everyone.
From an orchestra to soul punk funk. There will be circus comedy and poetry readings. There's a huge amount of visual art and installations that will transform the park to a festival wonderland.”
Music is a major part of the Cavan Arts Festival and it begins with the husband and wife duo The Andensomes. While they play attendees can enjoy the art of Jane McCormack.
Jane's work, entitled “This Moment”, is a series of video portraits of Townhall people in the spirit of Andy Warhol's 1960s ScreenTests. The sitter to sits silently in front of a video camera for one minutes and the collected footage is made into a multi screen video piece to mark the passing of a moment in the history of Townhall Cavan.
Jane's art is followed by a spectacular display by Kendo Kai martial arts club, before the traditional music styling of Martin Donohoe and Nyah Comhaltas.
A collaboration between poet Noel Monahan and guitarist Daragh Slacke has resulted in a body of work created in response to each artist displaying work in the festival.
This will be counterpointed by the side splitting comedy of Fred Cook. Following this the musical magical minstrel Larry Beau has his moment. He will conclude the entertainment as he enthrals with magic, fun, storytelling and his incredible voice taking the audiences on journeys through his glorious musical imagination.
Kim says the Friday show will have an interesting end: “Larry will also takes a physical journey. As he finished his concert on stage in the Big Top he will lead us to our special festival club through the park to upstairs into the Orchard Bar in Drumalee where everyone can dance their socks off and kiss farewell to summer 2018 with the incredible Bluetack and the Greenhorns.”
The Little Big Top in Con Smith Memorial Park will be the hub of the Cavan Arts Festival on Culture Night, but the festival will continue from noon on Saturday until nightfall.
“In 20 years time people will look back and boast that they were at the first Cavan Arts Festival in 2018 and say “It was class”, I am convinced that will be the case. Because from tiny acorns...” Kim concluded.