Donegal County Council Culture Division will present its 13th annual programme of events for Culture Night this Friday, 17th September.

This exceptional night of cultural festivities takes place once per year as part of a national celebration of arts, heritage, and culture. In Donegal, booking for events has been steady with some events like The Alchemist in Letterkenny Town Park, already sold out. There are limits to the audience numbers who can attend live events on the night, therefore, advance booking is essential for all such events.

While all Culture Night events are FREE of charge, many Covid 19 restrictions remain in place and organisers are asking all visitors to Culture Night live events to please observe and abide by the Covid 19 protocols and guidelines that have been put in place by the participating venues, in the interests of public safety.

Click on the link below to check out the full programme for Culture Night tomorrow night
 https://donegalcoco.ie/media/donegalcountyc/mediahub/documents/Culture%20Night%20(Brochure%202021)%20[18].pdf

Here are some highlights to put in your diary:

JUNK KOUTURE PRESENTS: THE JUNK KOUTURE SHOWCASE

Junk Kouture, the global creative youth programme, will take over various spaces throughout Letterkenny on Culture Night, showcasing incredible designs from students in the northwest. Each design has an amazing story of how materials have been transformed from ‘junk’ to ‘couture’, all by students aged 13-18. The designs will be on display in various locations in Letterkenny including Mourne Antiques and Jewellery, Amelia’s Irish Design and Gift shop, and in venues on The Church Lane. Contact nathan@junkkouture.com for more information.

JUNK KOUTURE PRESENTS: THE JUNK KOUTURE SHOWCASE

AN GRIANAN THEATRE

On Culture Night, An Grianán Youth Theatre and On Cue Academy will present The Gentleman Pirate by Niamh Langan. Enjoy the story of Stede Bonnet, a Gentleman Pirate who was famously useless at pirating and find out what happens when he falls into the company of the legendary Blackbeard. Tickets are FREE but booking is essential. Call 074 91 20777 or visit http://www.angrianan.com/.

CENTRAL LIBRARY LETTERKENNY

Embrace the spirit of the circus at the Central Library with the Dr. Proctor Show with Orson Sterritt. Join Dr. Proctor for some circus fun with lots of magic, juggling, acrobatics, and a few surprises! There will be four 15 minute shows starting at 6pm. Booking is essential as space is limited. Contact Central Library on 074 9124950 to book a space.

CATHEDRAL QUARTER PRESENTS

The ‘Cathedral Quarter Experience’ presented by the Elusive Theatre, starts at 6.30pm outside No. 1 Church Lane. Go walking with Letterkenny Legends, as the Elusive Theatre offers a tour short in distance but rich and deep in history. Meet characters from the past and learn about events that have helped to shape the present. This outdoor event has a limited audience with a max of 20 people, in pods or groups. Pre-booking is essential by contacting Donnan Harvey on 086 345 2457.

The Cathedral Quarter will also mark Culture Night by officially unveiling a plaque the group received when it was Highly Commended with the President’s Award from The Irish Planning Institute. The unveiling ceremony will commence at 8pm.

The ‘Cathedral Quarter Experience’ presented by the Elusive Theatre

GLEBE GALLERY

The Glebe Gallery will open from 6pm – 8pm offering a wonderful opportunity to view the gallery’s current exhibition Turas or Journey. This contemporary exhibition features three artists Bassam Al-Sabah, Aideen Barry and Sean Hillen.

There will also be a sound intervention by the artist Sven Anderson drawn from Derek Hill’s record collection in the Glebe Garden. Booking is essential, contact +353 74 913 7071 or find out more here http://glebegallery.ie/.

Turas/Journey:  Featuring work by Anthony Haughey and the Global Migration Collective at the RCC. 

REGIONAL CULTURAL CENTRE

Following on from two exhibitions ‘I am Donegal’ in 2018 and ‘When I was a Child’ in 2019, Letterkenny artist Peadar McDaid has invited 50 artists to create a work of art based on the theme of “A Portrait of Me” which will be unveiled at the Regional Cultural Centre on Culture Night.

One of the four pieces that were excepted by Artist Peadar McDaid who was the outright winner of the 2018 Derek Hill Award at the Glebe Photo Brian McDaid
Artist and instrument inventor Ed Devane has designed and installed a large musical instrument in the RCC’s workshop space that can be performed using sensors (no touch) and is playable by up to four people at once.

THE SONG HOUSE

The tradition of the Raking House was once a strong one throughout Ireland. On Culture Night, The Song House will become a digital Raking House as storyteller and comedian, Ita Fitzmahony presents a site-specific one-woman show highlighting the great – though rather under-represented – women of our folklore and stories.

Contact info@thesonghouseireland if you would like to participate or register your interest as an observer. The event will take place from 7.30pm – 8.30pm on Zoom. For the full programme of events visit https://culturenight.ie/events/donegal/

Culture Night is brought to you by the Arts Council in partnership with Donegal County Council.

Click on the link below to check out the full programme for Culture Night tomorrow night
https://donegalcoco.ie/media/donegalcountyc/mediahub/documents/Culture%20Night%20(Brochure%202021)%20[18].pdf