Ballyshannon to host 30 events in November at Allingham Arts Festival
Allingham Arts Festival to run in nine venues in Ballyshannon
The Allingham Arts Festival will be held in Ballyshannon in November with numerous events available to attend free of charge.
From November 4 until November 8, the Allingham Arts Festival will hold over 30 events in nine venues around Ballyshannon.
The community festival honours Ballyshannon’s nineteenth-century poet, William Allingham, best known for the poem, The Fairies, and his wife, the artist Helen. The festival is rooted in Ballyshannon, and supports and promotes local and national artists, managed by volunteers, and sustained by a genuine love of the arts.
According to the festival’s website, its “mission is to promote and encourage the creative arts across all disciplines – supporting local, national and international artists, with creativity across borders as a guiding theme throughout. The festival has gone far beyond the remit of the original 1970s edition, set up to promote ‘the written word.”
Musical highlights range from Jack L. and Johnny Gallagher to Ár Séisiún Mór, a trad concert celebrating the Donegal sound, with Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, Martin Mc Ginley, Seamie O’Dowd and friends.
Literary headliners include Michael Harding, Róisín Ingle, Paul Howard, Elaine Feeney, and Orange Prize winner Téa Obreht. Ballyshannon’s own talent is out in force too, with director Garry Keane bringing home his new film, “A Quiet Love”, and Triona O’Neill returning from Los Angeles to open for Jack L.
Tickets are on sale now at allinghamfestival.com and from the Abbey Arts Centre box office on (071) 9851375. Many events are free, but booking is advised for all.