Councils get creative for Cruinniú na nÓg

Cavan and Monaghan County Councils have joined forces for Cruinniú na nÓg 2020, Ireland’s national day of free creative activity for children and young people up to 18 years of age.

Both local authorities, in partnership with the Creative Ireland Programme and RTE, will be supporting exciting new online and virtual opportunities for children all over Cavan to get creative.

This involves helping launch a dedicated Cruinniú YouTube channel to showcase the best of young creative talent in the county – or with just a camera and a Lego figure, for them to take a journey from having a cool idea to making it into an awesome film with Brickflicks!

Cavan County Museum will meanwhile help create a brand new story about County Cavan inspired by young people’s artwork and Cliodhna Noonan will weave her magical storytelling for Cruinniú.

Over the past two years Cruinniú na nÓg has become a key date in our community cultural calendar – the perfect opportunity to be inquisitive and curious, to be inventive and innovative, the chance to fulfil a secret creative ambition or showcase an inner creative talent.

For 2020, amid the unprecedented challenges brought about by COVID-19 and respecting the necessary public health guidelines in place, Cruinniú na nÓg will move online and virtual tomorrow (Saturday), June 13. There are plenty of activities planned that you might need to practice now or create in advance, or on the day itself you can find a huge array of different activities to enjoy, from workshops and tutorials to recitals and readings, and everything in between.

To help everyone get ready for a blitz of creativity and culture, over the past number of weeks, the Creative Ireland Programme and its partners have been encouraging young people – indeed entire families – to answer a number of “calls to action”.

Highlights have included getting ready to host your very own Céilí in the Kitchen with Áirc Damhsa; the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland helping us to design and make a kite (Let’s Go Fly a Kite); inviting young writers to become a Storykeeper with the Great Lighthouses of Ireland and Fighting Words (Become a Young Storykeeper); and having Whizzkids Training show us how to Create a Video Game App in four easy tutorials.

Check out https://cruinniu.creativeireland.gov.ie/events/location/cavan/ for full details of what’s “on” in Cavan this Cruinniú.

Check out https://cruinniu.creativeireland.gov.ie/events/location/monaghan/ for full details of what’s “on” in Monaghan this Cruinniú.

Cruinniú na nÓg 2020 is a collaboration between the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, the Creative Ireland Programme, local authorities and RTÉ, and is part of the Government’s #InThisTogether campaign which is supporting everyone to stay connected, stay active and look after our physical and mental wellbeing. #CreativeIreland.