Kildare County Council announces Cruinniú na nÓg programme 2023
The final details of Kildare's Cruinniú na nÓg programme, the national day celebrating creativity in children and young people on Saturday 10th June has been announced. The programme is coordinated by Kildare County Council’s Culture and Creativity team.
Stop Motion: Lights! Camera! Action! is a premiere screening of stop-motion films by children of Kilcullen NS, Brannockstown NS and Churchtown NS, created with artist Margaret Kane-Rowe as part of the Teacher Artist Partnership (TAP) and BLAST residencies in the Odeon Cinema, Newbridge.
For the ‘Schools Folklore Project’ students from Scoil Naomh Brid, Celbridge and St. Laurence’s NS, Sallins rediscovered stories, tales and fables from the 1937 national folklore collection, recreating the stories in audio recording and illustrations.
Explore Youth Theatre, Leixlip and Celbridge Youth Drama have open workshops, while Griese Youth Theatre, Ballitore present ‘Gordon Bennett Meets Local Link’, a devised drama piece, with workshop, looking at transport in rural Ireland, the needs of young people and the importance of the Gordon Bennett Vintage Rally to Ballitore village.
‘Reframe the Future’ is a collaborative large-scale sculptural book showcasing youth voices through ideas, designs and inventions for sustainable and inclusive future communities, created by students from St. Mark’s Special School, with Recreate. The book will be on display in Whitewater Shopping Centre, Newbridge.
Riverbank Arts Centre host ‘Moving Words -Storytime Workshop and Dance Performance’ led by Selma Daniel and Little Lion Dance Theatre, this story time workshop with live dance performance is for early years and combines dance and the reading of a selected picture book. Riverbank also hosts group drumming in a family friendly environment with Jabba Janna Jembe. While you are there, pop along to Children’s Books Ireland Book Clinic! Chat to the Book Doctor, consult on your favourite reads and leave with a prescription for your next book which you can take to your local bookshop or library.
Using the ethos of Forest School, Kildare Town Community Garden will host a day of creativity inspired by nature. Fun and interactive activities including: Pond dipping, Seasonal art and craft, Traditional skills, Butterfly making, Digging and planting, Mud kitchen and Outdoor games. Also, in Kildare Town, Music Generation Kildare will provide an Introductory Ukulele Workshop, promising that you can master three core chords on one session.
A Teen Writing Workshop with Author Adiba Jaigirdar takes place in Maynooth Community Library, while Athy Library hosts ‘Little Dream’, a multi-sensory theatre performance created for children, exploring dreams and nightmares, directed by Kasia Eliasz. If you fancy trying juggling, Circus Explored, an initiative led by the Irish Street Arts, Circus and Spectacle Network, provides juggling sets and online tutorials, available through libraries countywide, where you can also get information about other local Cruinniú events.
The Cruinniú na nÓg programme also includes ‘This is Art!’, Ireland’s national young people’s art competition, with the theme ‘This is Inspiration!’. Winners will be announced on June 10th.
For further information and booking details visit https://cruinniu.creativeireland.gov.ie/events/location/kildare/
Ireland is the first, and only, country in the world to have a national day of free creativity for children and young people under 18. Cruinniú na nÓg is a flagship initiative of the Creative Ireland Programme’s Creative Youth Plan to enable the creative potential of children and young people. The inaugural Cruinniú na nÓg took place on 23rd June 2018 and for the past number of years, including under exceptional circumstances in 2020, young people and families have come together to enjoy, a wide range of creative activities including workshops and tutorials to recitals and readings in every city, town and village across the country. Delivered in partnership with the 31 Local Authorities and supported by RTÉ, you are invited to participate in a programme of fun, free, creative activities; from graffiti art workshops to stop-motion animation, to coding and architecture workshops!
