Get your culture fix at Ireland’s vibrant Culture Night

Culture Night returns on 22 September to celebrate its coming of age as it reaches 18 years of providing an annual feast of free cultural events.

This year’s theme is One Night for All and towns, cities and villages across the island of Ireland will join in extolling the values of openness, discovery and belonging in over 1,700 events.

In Ireland’s first and second cities – Dublin and Cork – a broad ranging programme will light up galleries, museums, sports clubs, libraries, arts centres, studios, theatres, schools and universities making the evening accessible to all.

Dublin will stage over 300 events from guided tours to musical performances, book and poetry readings, comedy, theatre, dance and visual arts.

Events include a screening of the multi-award-winning North Circular by Luke McManus, which takes a musical trip through the streets of inner-city Dublin. The Friary Centre will stage performances of four-part a cappella music, known as shape note music, which anyone can join in, while The National Leprechaun Museum will present an immersive storytelling experience.

There will be opportunities to paint, make sculptures, learn to dance, see artists at work and have a go at creating spoken word performance poetry. Late night events include Improvised Jazz in The Complex Arts Centre, with performances by Tudo Bem, OKO and the Jazzabelles.

Many of the city’s historic buildings will throw open their doors for visitors including Áras an Uachtaráin, the official residence of the President of Ireland, Leinster House, seat of the Irish Parliament, Custom House and the national galleries and libraries.

In Cork, a key event of Culture Night will be a celebration of the mesmerizing interplay between sound, vision, and movement in Faoi Choim na hOíche presented by The Electronic Music Council.

Cork’s City Hall will be a Culture Night hub featuring local artists and collectives, live music and dance performances, while a nocturnal paranormal site tour with Sirius Arts Centre will take place in Cobh.

The Marina Market will come alive for Candy’s Sweet as Circus Cabaret, a pic’n’mix of sights and splendours featuring drag royalty, circus curiosities and burlesque beauties. The historic Elizabeth Fort will host the Barrack Street Band while the renowned Butter Exchange Band will open its rehearsal doors to invite people to learn more about them.

The city’s Circus Factory will give visitors a view into how they get creative, and they will also perform throughout the city, while Rebel City Distillery will share how they make their Mhaarani Gin and Rebel City Absinthe.

And across the city lots of artists’ studios will be open for viewing giving visitors a behind-the-scenes appreciation of the creative process.

Elsewhere across the island, towns and cities will present a dizzying array of events. In Mayo expect an evening of thought-provoking, lively debate at Where Art Meets Literature, which explores how famous works of art were inspired by great literature, such as Salvador Dali’s Mad Tea Party which drew from Lewis Caroll’s Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. For one night only in Derry~Londonderry experience the joy of Wall Dances, beautifully mesmerising dance solos projected upon the city’s historic walls. Meanwhile Tralee in County Kerry will showcase experimental circus performers alongside electronic composition, while in Limerick Culture Shock Jam Dance will crank up the hip-hop vibe.

www.ireland.com