Festival Fever 2012

Last Updated on Monday, 30 July 2012 22:09 Monday, 30 July 2012 20:18

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Phew – it’s the calm AFTER the storm!! We hope you’re all recovering after another Fantastic Festival weekend in Ardmore! We hope you all enjoyed what was a FABULOUS Festival Week, and we would like to thank all the thousands of you who came out in your droves to support the Ardmore Pattern Festival and make it the success it was. We have some fabulous photographs from the past week up on our PHOTOS page for you to enjoy.

Once again, St. Declan brought the sunshine to Ardmore, and apart from one or two squally showers on Sat and Sunday morning, the crowds basked in glorious sunshine for the rest of the weekend – summer had truly arrived in Ardmore!

The temperature was rising St. Declan’s Hall for Kevin Dundon’s ‘Supper by the Sea’ on Thursday night. Sponsor Ken Brookes and family of Supervalu Youghal, joined a crowd of almost 300 people for a wonderful exhibition of culinary skills and the chance to taste a wide variety of sumptuous dishes prepared by Kevin.

Then it was on to Friday evening and the start of this year’s Festival weekend proper. The mood of anticipation heightened as the stage arrived, the bollards and barriers were put in place to cordon off the Festival Square, and finally the Festival Office Tee-Pee rose into the air! It was game on!! Gerry Humphries enthralled the crowds as he looped, swooped, rolled and dived in the air over Ardmore Bay in his Vans RV7 aeroplane and the street entertainment got the audience in the mood for the fantastic Counterfeit Blues Brothers concert which followed. As usual, the fireworks display was a festival highlight again this year.

With more than 25 different events taking place on Saturday, it’s not possible to go through them all here. Highlights from the day included the Star Dome planetarium in the Hall, Zorbing on the beach, the exotic Zoo to You animals, and the sandcastle competition on the beach, where more than 50 fantastic sandcastles were built! Some 60 people attended Dr. Barbara Duff’s informative talk and guided tour of wildlife on the seashore, and the various events in the school (archaeology roadshow, badge-making, clay and animation workshops and Don Conroy’s drawing workshop) were hugely popular. Joe Duffy, Michael Duignan and Tommy Mooney’s talks were also well attended.

But the cheer of the weekend went to Christy Duignam and ASLAN, who wowed a crowd of thousands from the Festival Stage on Saturday night. What a show! Christy, Billy and the boys played all their hits and the village was rocking…. Have a look at our photos page for some fabulous pics from the concert and other events on Saturday.

Sunday morning brought a shower or two, but the sun soon broke out and shone on the crowds who descended on the village for the 20 or so events which were programmed. The Fun Dog Dhow attracted crowds, as did the guided walks by Andrew Harrington, Liam Suipéil and John Tierney. The beach was hopping with Zorbers, Thundercats, Raft Racers and children in Fancy Dress. Live music from Mendocino and the Waterford Gypsy Jazz Ensemble entertained the crowds in the Festival Square, and the Kilfenora Céilí Band played up a storm on Sunday evening to round off another fantastic Ardmore Pattern Festival.

The Festival Committee is delighted with the success of this year’s Festival, and thrilled that such huge crowds attended all the events over the course of the week. We would like to thank all our sponsors, helpers and supporters for all they did to make the Festival such a success. The feedback to date has been fantastic and we are thrilled that people enjoyed the programme of events and had a wonderful weekend in Ardmore.

Have a look at our PHOTOS page for some wonderful images of Festival 2012 and watch this space over the coming days and weeks for more stories and photographs from the weekend. Have a look also at our Facebook page for more chats, pics and info on all the events and activities. A big Thank You to our official photographers, and to all of those photographers who shared their Festival photos with us - we really appreciate it.