Jam-packed Cork Culture Night
It’s just over two weeks to Cork City Culture Night. With a host of events taking place across the city on 20 September, Culture Night is a national annual celebration that prides itself on embracing and highlighting arts and culture in all its many forms.
Cork’s 2019 programme of events will include an eclectic mix of talks, exhibitions, screenings, performances, readings and more that will appeal to audiences across the board.
Younger culture vultures will surely be entitled to a delayed bedtime on the night, with such a host of events on offer that will keep them entertained well past their regular curfew. City Hall will be transformed into a literal playground thanks to the ‘Around the World in 80 Games’ extravaganza, which will take over the Atrium, Concert Hall and Millennium Hall from 4-10pm.
Coordinated by ThinkSpeakDo, the event will see all areas of the City Hall filled with playful activities for all ages, offering visitors an intercultural and intergenerational opportunity to explore their playful side through physical play, street games, board games and card games.
The Coal Quay on Cornmarket Street will also come alive on the night from 7pm, with Pitch’d Circus Arts Festival kicking off proceedings with a spectacular display of street performances and circus acts, including a teenage circus club at Skiddy’s Plaza on North Main St.
The explosive finale will see the Inferno Fire Show light up the skies over the Coal Quay from 10pm.
For little ones in search of an earlier slice of the action, the drop-in art sessions taking place at Long’s Yard from 4pm will be sure to nurture young talent, while creative minds can get lost in the magic of Jack and the Beanstalk at The Everyman, where children and parents alike will be invited to enjoy storytelling, singing and face painting from 4-6pm.
Those in search of a seafaring expedition before the autumn chill sets in can revel in a cultural boat tour down the River Lee on board the Cailin Oir, which will depart from Custom House Quay at 4pm.
On another nautical note, a late addition to the programme sees St Peter’s on North Main Street host ‘Island Ferry Tales’ – a virtual reality trip to Cape Clear, to compliment its existing exhibition, ‘A City by the Sea’, along with a comprehensive line-up of other events on the night.
The CIT Blackrock Castle Observatory will also pull out all the stops for Culture Night, presenting a fun, family friendly night of talks, workshops and live astronomy.
Even DIY dingers will be catered for on the night, courtesy of Benchspace Cork, who will host a meet the makers event where members of the public can avail of advice on DIY projects or even try their hand at a spot of woodwork. And from ‘Do It Yourself’ to ‘Dance It Yourself’, those wishing to experiment with their rhythmic side can avail of a free dance class at Crane Lane Theatre, as the popular Cork venue is taken over by the styles and sounds of salsa, reggae and samba dance and music.
To view the full programme of events, which showcases all activities taking place over 100 venues, visit culturenightcork.ie.
The Cork Independent and RedFM are media partners for the event.
Keep up to date with programme additions by following the conversation online #CorkCultureNight and #LOVECulture. Check out Facebook\corkcityarts or Twitter @corkcityarts. Culture Night is brought to you by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and the Creative Ireland Programme in partnership with Cork City Council.