This article is from page 27 of the 2007-04-17 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 27 JPG
GORT is gearing up for a major addi- tion to the regional festival calendar with the inaugural Changing Colours Festival. The festival, which will take on May 27, has been designed to reflect the changing nature of the town, to celebrate the new alongside the old.
The central focus of the festival will be a large carnival parade through the streets of Gort but it will also in- clude an arts exhibition, original CD launch and a farmers market.
“The festival is designed to cel- ebrate the new multi-cultural Gort and the changing landscape around the area as well. There is an awful lot of building going on so the landscape
here is changing and the inhabitants of that landscape are changing as well,’ said Niamh Clune of Grace, who are organisation the festival.
“We want to try and develop some performance art and street theatre so we have gotten all the local schools involved, and they will perform three minute loops along the streets enact- ing the history of Gort from King Guaire extending his hand to the stranger right up to the arrival of the Brazilians.
“That 1s carnival time, we have dancers, drummers and all kinds of performers. We have some capoeira, which is a form of martial art and we have a really authentic Brazilian samba band. I will be very colourful and a lot of fun.
Another important part of the fes- tival is the Changing Colours Music Project.
“The music project consists of a number of special pieces of music that we are writing. We are trying to include as many local musicians as we can,’ said Niamh.
“We have some wonderful Irish musician playing with Brazilian drummers and we have sampled dig- ital sounds and hip-hop rhythms. It’s all mixed in and it’s all coming out so well. It’s about mixing rhythms and mixing styles. We hope that this will be the beginning of a community record label and we will be releasing music on Coole Records. We hope to help develop talent in the area and we would be looking for locals mu-
SICGAE-UOLSME- NOLO MN Oy- NOLO MUO KO)OO MEADE MESXo)IDKSI ILO help develop their work.”
Local artist Frank McCann will be one of the main focus points for the artistic element of the festival which will take place in the court house and in the streets of Gort themselves.
‘He is a very special local artist and he will be co-ordinating the art exhibition along with the Sharon Kelly and three other arts. We have asked all the shops to allow us to use their shop windows as exhibi- tions space for local people to exhibit their works. Anyone can get involved from new artists to professional art- ists,” continued Niamh.
For more information on the festi- val contact GRACE at 091 – 631203.