Welcome to the Festival!!

The Board of Directors of the Sligo Community Arts Group Ltd Welcome you to the 15th Sligo Arts Festival. Our programme includes events for all ages and tastes and don't forget that the Millennium Party starts here in Sligo!

A Massive Millennium Day Out? The Party Starts Here in Sligo with a free for all, fun-filled, firework-frenzied MASSIVE MILLENNIUM DAY OUT, which promises to be one of the best celebrations anywhere in the country this year! Sligo Arts Festival has been chosen as one of the events which comprise the Nation-Wide Millennum Party!! Be sure to be here to be there! So join us at the Sligo Arts Festival May 28 – June 7 for an all-round unforgettable end of millennium experience!

Salsa Celtica £8 (patrons and sponsors free)
Hawks Well Theatre - 9pm - Friday May 28
We officially open the Sligo Arts Festival and get straight down to grooving - with a slight difference!
Salsa Celtica fuses fiery, exuberant South American rhythms with the whirl and skirl of Scottish folk music. Determined to defy their Arctic surrounds, this eight-piece ensemble from Edinburgh is made up of Celtic and Latin (Celtino) musicians from the Scottish jazz and folk scenes who have created a Caledonian Caribbean salsa paradise. 'Heel-stompin' Cuban classics, weepily-strummed South American folk songs, wildly skirling Scottish reels and even a little gypsy-spun ceili action.’  Irish Times
Sponsored by McCann Bros. Builders and Civil Engineers, Omagh

This show will be Perry Blake’s only public performance this year in Ireland. Sligo’s own Ciaran Gorman (aka Perry Blake) has been blazing a trail across Europe from the past few years, winning hearts and minds. His first album received rave reviews in “Uncut”, “Q” and “Melody Maker”.
Sponsored by Keohanes Bookshop

Transfer interrupted!

Although Bob Marley, Rastaman and 'father of reggae' is no longer with us, (he died in 1981 at the age of 36) the spirit of his songs continues through the playing and touring of his original band, The Wailers.

The Wailers name will always be cherished at the core of the music of Jamaica - the fusion of irresistable groove and spirituality that is Reggae music. From humble beginnings the nucleus of the Wailers - Bob Marley, Bunny Wailer, and Peter Tosh - turned to music at an early age. Music not only provided the boys with a creative form of expression, but also offered them their best chances for rising out of impoverished Jamaica .

The Wailers current band leader is Aston “Family Man” Barret, the man whose basslines launched a thousand imitations. Also on stage will be Al Anderson on guitar, Alvin Patterson on percussion, Earl Lindo and Tyrone Downie on Keyboards and Piano. Of the
original ensemble two others - Peter Tosh and drummer Carlton Barret are no longer with us.

"We do a lot of session gigs in the studio for Lee Perry, who was another kind of revolutionary-type people, and him love the sound that he hear from us," Barrett notes. This was the legendary Lee "Scratch" Perry, the record producer who sold his records in his Upsetters Records shop.

Tosh and Livingstone left the Wailers to pursue solo careers in 1974, but Barrett stuck with Marley. Bob Marley and the Wailers
became more popular than ever upon the release of albums that Barrett refers to as "the international series": Natty Dread, Exodus, Uprising and Kaya. With the support of a new label, Island Records, the Wailers introduced reggae to the world.

But without Marley, can the Wailers still be regarded as reggae's top act? Barrett puts forth a convincing argument in favour of this viewpoint. "Every reggae band out there has to play Bob Marley and the Wailers' songs, you know?" he says. "Even just one. And no one plays them like the Wailers does, 'cause we're the ones who created and inspired them. They're the only thing that lasts forever."
Sponsored by Telecom Éireann

Bréag
High energy West Belfast Irish speaking reggae band Bréag make their first visit to Sligo, supporting The Wailers

The Bigger & Better Children’s Programme
St. John’s School Hall - 12 noon to 6pm - Saturday May 29th
Regional Sports Complex in Cleveragh - 10am to 6pm -Sunday June 6 (See Big Day Out)
Two big Children’s Days are included in this year’s programme. Saturday May 29th sees lots of action in St. John’s School Hall with Turbo Prop Theatre Company presenting 2 shows of ‘Mac the Mouse’, an exciting and highly humorous puppet show. Join Mac the Mouse on his excursions into the unknown, meeting monsters, fighting fiends, surmounting the impossible. (This highly acclaimed company will also perform two shows in the Blue Lagoon as part of the Massive Millennium Day Out on Sunday June 6). See fire juggling, clowning, Barney, the Teletubbies, the Morbegs and all the other children’s favourite characters on both children’s days.

MAC the MOUSE
St John's Hall at 12 noon & 4pm (duration 55 minutes)
Admission Details
Admission £1 by ticket available on the day.
Age group 4-12. Seating limitations.

The Sky's the Limit Balloon and Magic Shows Free
Balloon modelling. Magic shows, fire eating and
juggling acts throughout the day.

Bouncing Castles, Barney, & the Teletubbies Free
All day activities. Face Painting.

Refreshments
Ice cream, candy floss and drinks will be available for purchase on the day.

Car Parking
To ensure the safety of the children attending the event and to prevent traffic congestion, cars will not be permitted to set down passengers on the roadside outside St. John's entrance.  Car parking will not be available at the school grounds and drivers should avail of car parks at the Catholic Cathedral or Market Yard.

Ethno (Ireland) ‘99 Project
The ETHNO project is an international music seminar for young musicians between the ages of 15 and 25.  Lasting a total of eleven days, the project in 1999 will take place in Ireland, North and South, with most of the ETHNO performances being part of this year’s Sligo Arts Festival. The concept of ETHNO is one of conflict resolution through music, bringing young virtuoso traditional musicians together from areas of conflict to learn the tunes, songs and dances of each others tradition and culture. The forty Irish participants come from both the 'orange' and 'green' traditions, within the thirty-two counties and we hope that by the end of the process that friendships will be built up through the musical networks to which the project gives access.
The project entails ten days of workshops, lectures and, most importantly for Sligo Arts Festival aficionados, a chance to see the 50 piece ETHNO Orchestra performing together on the gig rig on Saturday 29th May and Friday 4th June as support to Transglobal Underground.
In smaller groups the ETHNO participants will perform in 10 venues around Sligo as part of the first weekend’s entertainment.
Sponsored by Co-operation Ireland

Bizet's Carmen £12 & £7
Hawk's Well - Sunday May 30
Carmen is a low-life tale of passion and murder set against a back-ground of gypsies, theives and cigarette makers. It heads the list of the most popular operas and it is not hard to understand why this is so. Bizet's tuneful and instantly recognisable score is complemented by the fascinating story of the gypsy girl who seduces Don Jose and then rejects him in favour of the Matador Escamillo. The opera has continued to entrance auciences for 125 years. Co-Opera return to the Hawk's well following their sell-out production of LA TRAVIATA last year.

Massive Millennium Day Out Free
Regional Sports Complex in Cleveragh - 10am to 11.15pm -Sunday June 6
This massive event, sponsored by Millennium Festivals Limited, promises to be the highlight of Sligo Arts Festival '99. We have pulled out all the stops to ensure a memorable family day out, centred around the Sligo . There are five distinct elements to this special occasion:

• The Children's Programme begins at 10am
• Sligo Races at 2.30pm
• Street Pageant at 6.30pm
• Live Music acts 8.15pm
• Fireworks Display by Theatre of Fire at 11pm sharp

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All Day Activities
Circus Skills Workshops on juggling, tossing the diabolo, spinning the plate, unicycling and stilt walking. Balloon modelling and face painting.
Makendo Children's Drop In  Art and Craft Workshops
Painting and making workshops where kids come and go, making something to take home with them.  Open to all ages.

All Weekend
Watch out for Joey Magic, Ireland’s leading Children’s
entertainer, popping up all weekend at any moment.
He will also perform in the street pageant!

The ESB Millennium Drum Pageant will be led by a giant figure representing the Old Millennium, followed by an unfortunate figure comatose in a glass incubator, representing the New. The New Millennium is naturally accompanied by an entourage of drummers and dancers.
 

The ESB Millennium drum is the largest drum in the world, with a diameter of fifteen feet. Designed to represent a lambeg drum on one side, and a bodhrán on the other, it symbolises a harmonising of the two traditions on this island.

At intervals along the route, they try to wake the slumbering New Millennium figure, but all to no avail! Finally, they reach the end of the parade at the sports complex, where the Old Millennium figure summons the Big Drum, which he beats to wake the New Millennium, who finally takes his place at the Big Drum, and all dance, play and celebrate together.

Tarú Street Productions have created a complementary Cultures of the World story line which involves leading 300 participants from the Pageant mustering site at Martin Savage Terrace to the Cleveragh site. Each School and Youth Group taking part carry with them a distinct symbol of various world cultures, from Chinese Pagodas, to Mosques, Dolmens and even the Eiffel Tower!!
 

Tarú Street Productions, co-sponsored by FÁS and Sligo Arts Festival, are a new Sligo-based street production company, specialising in working with school, youth and community groups in the north west. They have been preparing the ground for the street pageant since last October.

On the site, a giant Tower of Babel has been constructed from waste timber taken from the renovation of the Model Arts Centre. The ritual destruction of the Tower will coincide with the emergence of the New Millennium, and the first strike of the ESB Millennium Drum. The destruction of the tower represents the passing over from the old Millennium and the hope that the new Millennium will be kinder to the diverse cultures of the world than its predecessor.
 

The biblical allegory of the Tower of Babel, taken from the old testament, marks the point in time when one unified world culture split into different linguistic and tribal groups and at this point in time conflict arose and evil triumphed over good.

Beyond Borders/Sambaeire
Accompanying the Street Pageant are groups from our north western neighbouring counties Leitrim and Donegal, namely: Beyond Borders, a group from Inishowen and the Sambaeire percussion group from Drumshanbo.

Street Acts
Also taking part in the pageant are numerous street acts who will entertain the crowd during the course of the evening. These include Original Mixture Theatre Co., Belfast Circus performers and Diced Carrotts, a Dublin based Escapology Group.

Natalie MacMaster
The Millennium Stage, Cleveragh - 9.30pm - Sunday June 6
Cape Breton’s musical meteor, Natalie McMaster drove audiences wild during her recent sell-out UK tour and received massive critical acclaim. Whether whipping her audience into a frenzy with her feverish fiddling and simultaneous step-dancing (backed by a full band), enchanting them with her down-home banter or mesmerising a hushed crowd as she swings effortlessly through a truly virtuoso violin solo, Natalie McMaster is the definitive all-round entertainer and an unmissable fiddle phenomenon.
Sponsored by The Canadian Embassy

Theatre of Fire Fireworks Display
Opposite the Sports Complex, Cleveragh - 11pm - Sunday June 6
Theatre of Fire are one of the leading pyrotechnic companies in the world, having fired individually designed fireworks displays in Ireland, the U.K. and Europe for the past 14 years.  We welcome Micklos, Maria and company back to Sligo after an absence of several years, for a huge fireshow spectacular, fired to a specially sequenced original soundtrack composed by locally based composers Padraig Meehan and James Blennerhasset, entitled ‘Song of the Kissing Gate’.  (The Kissing Gate is located half way up Knocknarea)  The ultimate finale to our Massive Millennium Day Out!

Sligo Art Gallery - From 26 May
Jane & Tony O'Malley – New Prints
Sensuous and lyrical prints from two of Irelands most prominent practising artists.
Catherine Mc Williams - Paintings, Tom Morgan - Poetry
"A visual and poetic evocation."
The language of poetry and painting are explored in a dual theme, cross-disciplinary exhibition.

B.I.C., Institute of Technology - From 31 May
Katy Wilson - New Paintings
Exuberant and fresh large landscape paintings by young Leitrim based artist.

Various Venues - From 28 May
Mixed media Installations, Video, Performance and Paintings all find home in venues throughout Sligo town.16 sites play host to work by Leitrim Sculpture Centre, PLC /ITS students and a number of North-West based artists. A detailed Art Trail map and brochure is available at each venue.

Castle Gallery - From 29 May
Cultures of the World /Snap Happy.
Bi-Partite open photographic exhibition focusing on the manifestation of local as well as world culture.

Hawk's Well Theatre - From 29 May
Cultures of the World
Primary school children respond to the theme of the Festival through paint and collage in full blazing colour.
A Part of Ireland Now
Photography and narrative examining the varying histories of ten people who arrived in this country as refugees at various periods over the last fifty years.

Cottage Restaurant - From 31 May
Ingrained - Paintings by Claire Halpin
Factual paintings that navigate the language of grief as experienced on a personal and communal level.

The Cat and the Moon - From 29 May
Natacha Loyer and Conor Byrne
Colour etchings of local landscapes made at Leitrim's 'the way of the cattle print studio'

Abbey Quarter Community Centre - From 29 May
Community Art Exhibition
Community Centre Mixed media work by Abbey Quarter, NCR Community Centre and Rehab Resource participants.