This article is from page 32 of the 2008-06-10 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 32 JPG
PREPARATIONS are well un- derway for the 2008 Ennistymon Family Festival which kicks off on Thursday, July 17. This year’s show, which runs until July 20, will see an expanded range of activities with a wider variety of activities and events for all ages.
“The festival has been a traditional thing here for a long time but petered out for some reason. Then about four years ago myself, Marie Daly, Wil- lie Daly and Pat Tierney said let’s try again,’ said Marian Cliff of the Ennistymon Family Festival Com-
mittee.
“We have managed to get a lot more people involved this year and we have been filling up the days. The whole idea of the festival is that it 1s supposed to be good craic. The guys will take things like the tug of war and the races very seriously, but at the end of the day, it will be all good fun.”
This year’s festival will include workshops for children, a fun fun, baking competition, a youth art com- petition, a primary school disco, a tug of war contest, stretcher race, barman’s race, donkey derby and the Joe Burke Memorial 7-a-side Soccer
tournament.
This year’s festival will also include Clare’s first ever baby-rave.
“We heard of one that was held up in Dublin. It’s for moms and dads and babies from O up to 4 years old. It’s literally a rave for babies. They come in and everyone gets to dance and have some fun,” continued Mar- ian.
‘The music is always a big part of it. Paddy Mulcahy from Lahinch has once again organised a great line-up of music. The line-up is still being completed but so far Paddy has put together a great line-up. We will also be staging a new band competition
on the Saturday of the festival.
‘There is still time for people to get involved if they have events in mind. People should just give me a buzz if they have something that they think would be a good addition. This year we are also getting local business to sponsor events. So far Cathleen’s Laundrette have said they will spon- sor the soccer competition while Unglert’s Bakery and Conway’s have also come up trumps with great sponsorship.”
Anyone interested in getting in- volved or sponsoring an event should contact Marian on (086) 8782617.