Announcing details of the event at upper O’Connell Street, Limerick were, Catherine Ryan and Laura Malone of Fidget Feet with Limerick localTom Muldowney, Henry Street. Picture: Alan Place/ilovelimerick.
The excitement is building up as the countdown for the ECOC jury panel’s review of Limerick on Tuesday, July 12 starts coming closer. Limerick has got one last chance to push the city’s European Capital of Culture Limerick 2020 bid with a spectacular street party to celebrate the magical journey of the campaign.
While the ECOC jury panel reviews the city and the cultural institutions, thousands of the city’s citizens will get to indulge themselves in culinary delicacies, art and musical culture. The event will start up around midday and finish in the evening.
The public will be treated to various events including the Culture and Chips food carnival on O Connell Ave from noon onwards, a taste of international cuisine with the World Recipe Exchange, and lots of gatherings at venues such as the Hunt Museum, Howley’s Quay and O’Connell Street’s urban garden.
Daniel O’Connell’s whole block on upper O’Connell Street between Hartstonge Street and Barrington Street (the area known as The Crescent in the Georgian Quarter) will become party central as Culture & Chips Takes To The Streets from noon until evening.
If Limerick succeeds, it will indeed be historic. It’ll also be – according to estimates – worth around €170m to the city. Limerick won’t get to enter the European Capital of Culture again for another 15 years so that’s also why there is such a huge push to try and succeed.
The Limerick 2020 bid team makes its final presentation to the panel at the National Concert Hall in Dublin on July 14 and the winner being announced the following day. It’s a tough competition as Limerick competes against Galway, Waterford, Wexford and Kilkenny for the title.
Bid director Mike Fitzpatrick said that now is “the right time” for Limerick to earn the prestigious title. “Limerick is aware that the jury is in town, but it’s not about the jury; it is about having a moment to say, ‘Look how far we have come’ in terms of how culture has formed part of everyday life in Limerick. Whatever happens on July 15, whatever the decision is, culture will remain at the centre of what we do. It has given us so much confidence and belief in ourselves.”
Bid deputy director, Sheila Deegan, said the festive day “may go down as one of the most important days for the city.”
“Win or lose with the Limerick 2020 bid, we have achieved an awful lot and it is time to celebrate so we are asking that as many people as possible to turn out and enjoy this party with us. The journey has awakened a real sense of cultural identity in Limerick and a wider awareness of just how rich, diverse and talented our cultural heritage is. We were Ireland’s first City of Culture and we certainly showed over the course of that magical year just how much Limerick has found its cultural voice and it is now singing from the rooftops.”
SOME HIGHLIGHTS:
- Limerick Street Food, run with Limerick Council: this weekly pretty market of tents will deck out on Harvey’s Quay on Tuesday 12, 11am to 4pm.
- For a serving of culture with a side of chips, Culture & Chips Takes To The Streets in conjunction with Limerick 2020 are throwing a street party of food, culture, performance on Tuesday 12, 12.30pm-7pm at The Crescent, O Connell Ave.
- The new Urban Garden on O’Connell Street will host the Gig in the Garden from 2.30pm: “an eclectic mix of home-grown talent” led by The Harmony in Hands Deaf Community Choir.
- Hunt Museum Garden Party begins at 2.30pm with face painting and artists creating new works, all to a jazz accompaniment.
- Children head to Ormston House for the Science Magic Show, 3pm, which promises “an explosive time with chemistry and magic to enthrall”.
- International class pipe organist David Casson plays in concert free at Sacred Heart Church, The Crescent at 8pm. Part of Limerick Pipe Organ Festival.
Read more about Limerick 2020 here
Follow Limerick 2020 on Twitter here
