Wicklow County Arts Office has commissioned, collaborated and supported an exciting programme of events and activities in 10 locations across the county to celebrate Culture Night which returns on Friday, 22^nd September.

This free programme of happenings showcases a diverse range of events purposefully selected to open up pathways to creativity.

Events include:

• Visit Baltinglass on Culture Night for a fun filled night of music and creativity. Enjoy a special outdoor concert featuring Jerry Fish along with a stellar line-up of local musicians and singers including Mark Caplice, Leslie Dowdall, James Nelson, Amy Barret and many more. An arts and crafts market and craft demonstrations provided by Wicklow Marketplace and Crafty Craic Candles will also take place in Germaine’s to spotlight artists and crafts people from across the county.
• In celebration of their 21^st birthday, Mermaid Arts Centre in Bray is hosting a thrilling line-up of contemporary Irish music acts, presented in partnership with RTÉ 2FM and curated from the RTÉ 2FM Rising list. This one-off, free concert presented by Dan Hegarty will be broadcast live from Mermaid Arts Centre on Radio 2FM and will showcase the most exciting live music acts coming out of Ireland right now.
• Launching in Wicklow Town on Culture Night is ‘Threading Place,’ a site-specific visual-art project located across three public spaces in the town. This outdoor exhibition uncovers the varied connections that form the backbone of rural communities in County Wicklow and viewers can engage with the photography both visually and sonically.
• Due to popular demand, the ‘Arklow Culture Crawl’ is back. Participants follow a purposefully curated trail of local cultural hot spots, with regular stop offs along the way to enjoy some of the amazing local talent featuring a range of artists and creatives.
• Bray Jazz Festival returns to Rathdrum’s St Saviour’s Church to host ‘Roamer,’ an Irish contemporary jazz performance featuring four of Ireland’s most internationally active jazz musicians.
• Music under the Mountains presents an intimate evening with Megan O’Neill, one of Ireland’s up and coming songwriters and named in the Irish Examiner’s ‘Ones to Watch.’

Wicklow County Arts Office in collaboration with Wicklow Library Services has curated a thoughtful programme of performances at Carnew, Dunlavin, and Rathdrum Libraries including:

‘Harp and Song’ at Carnew Library promises to be a wonderful evening of music as Alyth McCormack and Triona Marshall come together to perform a timeless program of traditional and contemporary Irish and Scottish music and song for Culture Night.

Join Dunlavin Library for ‘A Magical Evening with Aisling Ennis,’ as she explores the Victorian obsession through the lens of harp music from our Irish and classical traditions. This whistle stop tour of virtuoso fairy harp music, stories and accounts of the fairies, is perfect for the whole family of enjoy.

Culture Night in Rathdrum library will see well known Blessington writer and actor Richard Lynch present ‘From the Shoulders Down – The life and times of an Irish builder’s labourer,’ one of his most popular shows. Cleverly scripted and performed by Richard, the show has previously been staged in Ireland, England and at Canada’s ‘London Fringe Festival Ontario’ and ‘North Quebec,’ winning rave reviews at many venues.

Cathaoirleach of Wicklow County Council, Cllr Aoife Flynn Kennedy, said she was delighted to see such a varied and ambitious range of live performances and events in this year’s Culture Night programme while Council Chief Executive, Emer O’Gorman, stated: “Culture Night encourages everyone everywhere, to come together on one joyful night to explore and discover all that culture and creativity has to offer and I’m delighted to see so many Wicklow artists and organisations represented in the programme this year.”

All events are free and people are advised to book early to avoid disappointment.

See the full Culture Night programme at www.culturenight.ie/wicklow.