Creative Places Baltinglass is delighted to announce the line-up for the Baltinglass Culture Night Extravaganza on Friday, 22nd September. Culture Night is an all-island annual event that celebrates creativity and the arts.
Curated by local artists and creatives, Mark Caplice, Vincent Gethings, Rachel Kane, and Karen Allison, in collaboration with Wicklow County Arts Office, the Baltinglass Culture Night Extravaganza programme features a rich, diverse and dynamic range of experiences and live performances for people of all ages to enjoy free of charge.
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Main Street Square Outdoor Stage
5pm-10pm
- Amy Barrett, a Dunlavin singer-songwriter. In 2018 Amy’s debut single ‘Emilio’ went straight in as the highest new entry in the Irish iTunes charts and reached number two in the Singer/Songwriter Chart behind George Ezra.
- Taylor Hayes, an exciting young performer from Baltinglass with tonnes of energy and charisma on stage. Taylor and his band are tipped as ‘ones to watch’ – now, and in the future.
- Flowers of Ukraine, a newly formed group of 16 dancers from Ukraine and living in County Wicklow. As a mechanism for expressing their sense of identity, the group are excited to share with the world the beauty of the Ukrainian Culture.
- James Nelson, a Baltinglass native and member of popular singing trio “The Celtic Tenors”. James’s undeniable talent and experience comes to the forefront in his new solo show that’s not to be missed.
- Leslie Dowdall, who first hit the headlines as lead singer with Celtic rock band ‘In Tua Nua’. Touring the world, Leslie has shared the stage with names including: U2, Simple Minds, Bob Dylan, and The Pretenders.
- Mark Caplice, a multi award-winning songwriter, artist, and producer from Baltinglass. Mark has worked with The Recording Academy (The Grammy’s) in America, represented Ireland in the Eurovision finals along with writing and producing numerous songs for TV and Film across the world.
The live performance ends with headliner Jerry Fish, renowned as much for his showmanship as he is for his music. He’s a carnival creator, circus ringmaster – complete with Vaudeville moustache – a playwright, singer, songwriter and poet.
Cathaoirleach of Wicklow County Council, Cllr Aoife Flynn Kennedy, said she was delighted to see local and nationally acclaimed artists and musicians coming together in Baltinglass for a night of music, creativity and cheer.
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Baltinglass Library Indoor Stage
5pm-7pm
- Noel Boland, an up-and-coming country singer / songwriter taking the Irish country scene by storm. Living among the beautiful Wicklow hills, he is no stranger to the music scene and has been gigging in venues throughout the country for over 10 years.
- Three Creative Writers from Dunlavin Writers’ Group: Florence Grace, founder member of the group, has written two children’s books; Maria Kelly from Grangecon, has written about family dynamics from a child’s perspective; Ursula O’ Toole, a nurse in Baltinglass and originally from the midlands. An avid reader of stories, she is now enjoying creating her own.
- Suzanne Toomey, a singer and musician based in the hills of West Wicklow. Suzanne is known for her beautiful voice and she plays Guitar, Tin Whistle and the Accordion.
- Cormac Doyle, a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Baltinglass. Cormac has toured extensively with various folk bands and will be joined on stage by talented uilleann piper and guitarist Aidan O’Brien.
Three Creative Writers from Rathdangan Writers’ Group: Alpha Connelly, based in Donard contributed two short stories to the group’s book “Our Store of Stories” published in December 2022; Henrike Lehmeier (Rike) originally from Germany and now living in Kiltegan; Nicky Butler was born in South Africa, and has a passion for history, mythology, fantasy and fairy tales.
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Live Entertainment @ Germaine’s
5-9pm
Across the street from the live entertainment, from 5pm – 9pm in Germaine’s, Inis Fáil, Wicklow Marketplace, a local online craft market, and Crafty Craic Candles, (a craft gift shop in the scenic, Glen of Imaal), have selected a range of stallholders to spotlight artists and crafts people from all over Wicklow.
Craft Stalls and Demonstrations
With over 20 stalls and craft demonstrations, in the lobby, every half hour, confirmed, just some of these will include Eamonn Heffernan (Bog Oak Craft), Edel Horgan (Visual Artist), Karen Ryan Allison (Candles), Maeve Hunter (Textile Artist), Rosella Doherty (Jewellery), Gemma Willis (Cards), Una Lambert (Natural Skincare Products), Natalie Alers (Porcelain), Rose O’Driscoll (Ceramics), William Kenny (Woodcraft), Sally Joyce (Mixed Media Artist), Michelle Lenehan (Visual Art), Tomomi McElwee (Quilting Craft), Mairead Kelly (Writer), gourmet delights by Teevans family (Russborough Honey) , Grainne McGough, Grá Arán (Baked goods) and many more.
Now in its second year, Creative Places Baltinglass is a community led three-year project that celebrates Baltinglass people and place. Funded by the Arts Council, Creative Places provides an opportunity for places that have had fewer opportunities to showcase their arts in the past, by co creating programmes which will benefit the local community.
Chief Executive of Wicklow County Council, Emer O’Gorman, said she was pleased to see that the Arts Council’s Creative Places programme was enabling Creative Places Baltinglass to offer a wide range of arts and creative experiences, events and activities for everyone to enjoy and explore.
All events are free and booking for the main stage is recommended but not essential.
See the full Wicklow Culture Night programme at www.culturenight.ie/wicklow.
