Kilkenny Festival Season Hits Fever Pitch

Press release via http://www.failteireland.ie/

On the back of a hugely successful summer season of Festivals and Events, headlined by the Kilkenny Arts Festival and Ireland’s first ever outdoor production by London’s Globe Theatre and not forgetting the celebrations by Brian Cody’s Kilkenny Cats homecoming with The Liam Mc Carthy Cup last week, you would imagine Kilkenny would be relaxing and taking it easy. Instead, this creative, magical and medieval city, with a growing reputation as The Festival Hub of Ireland, is all fired up to launch the best ever Autumn/Winter Festival Season.

This year Kilkenny will deliver the biggest and best festival season yet, with many new offerings including Future Fashion at Kilkenny Fashion Week; Fabulous Food at Savour Kilkenny Food Festival and the Best of Films at Kilkenny’s first ever European Film Festival ‘Subtitle’ plus some hot topic debates at Kilkeconomics as well as a Halloween programme of Sacrefests, Zomie Thriller moves, witches races (led by the infamous Dame Alice Kytler), ghost trains and poisonous potions for good measure!

Speaking on the festival programme, Amanda Horan, from Fáilte Ireland in the South East commented:

"It's wonderful to see Kilkenny's creative capital coming together once more to deliver such a unique Festival and Events Progrmame for the Autumn/ Winter season. The breadth of festivals with their exciting and engaging programmes guarantee visitors to Kilkenny, whether on a short break or visiting for a day with family and friends, will be fully entertained by the festival calendar on offer.

“Whether a foodie or a film buff, a fashionista or if you’re into Halloween costume, spooky stories and festivities this magical medieval city with it's very unique history of 'witchcraft' will have you under a spell and guarantee you a great time.”

Details of all the festival and events programmes can be found on www.discoverrieland.ie/kilkenny

Kilkenny Fashion Week

Kicking off the festival season next week is Kilkenny Fashion Week which runs from 10th to 13th October will be packed with Gala Fashion shows, fashion boot camp, styling workshops with the fabulous Karen Morrissey, fashion trains and beauty essential events, a ‘Fashion Fades, Style Eternal’ showcase for senior fashionistas not to mention a Fashion ‘tweet up’ as well as Fashion cocktails….. and of course late night shopping at many of Kilkenny’s bespoke fashion boutiques ……it’s defiantly one for a girls getaway break to Kilkenny!

Savour Kilkenny Food Festival

For the food lovers among us, the 2012 Savour Kilkenny Food Festival ‘for the love of food’ promises a  full on flavors and tasty treats programme with over  90 events on the festival Programme which runs from Thursday 25th and Monday 29th October. With participative and competitive events including a  Food Art Competition, a Young Food Producer showcase, Wild and foraged walk and feast, local artisan food and craft beer tastings, sensory dining, forgotten skills workshops, kids cook offs, The chef’s table - dining experiences on the Parade plaza and throughout restaurants and cafes in the city, the Parade Plaza food market, some mad hatter tea parties in Kilkenny Design yard, savour science ‘taste bud’ events and GIY showcase, it bursting to suit all tastes!. Visit www.savourkilkenny.com

Thrillkenny Zombiefest 2012

Taking place the 27th & 28th of October in the medieval city of Kilkenny - Thrillkenny Zombiefest is 2 days of thriller dancing, zombie walking, street performances and carnival style entertainment. Adults can participate in the global record thriller dance at 7pm 0ctober 27th at the Market Yard Kilkenny. Thriller dance workshops will provided before getting yourself zombified with make-up artists and participate in a global stomp! For more information and to register visit www.thrillkenny.com

The Halloween programme for families and ghost busters alike, kicks off across the mid term break from Saturday 27th to Thursday 1st Nov where events in the city and county include: Scarefest craft workshops, tours and spooky storytelling at Shankhill Castle (Saturday 17th and Sunday 28th), A Gingerbread puppet show in Thomastown (Monday 29th), Baked filled pumpkin recipes on The Parade Plaza, as part of Savour food festival on Saturday 27th).

Throughout the week you can take a city Ghost tour train, Kilkenny vintners will host a tribute event to Michael Jackson’s Thriller which will invite all the Michael Jackon followers and dance movers among us, to deck out in zombie costume to take part in the Thriller street Dance. Along side this, St Kieran Street traders in Kilkenny invite all witches – young and old, with an without broomsticks, to join the Halloween fun witches costumed race down Kieran St to meet Dame Alice Kytler (Kilkennny’s famous witch) at Kytlers Inn to try a glass of Petronella’s poison, if you are brave enough! (Legend has it, Petronnella, was the Witch Alice Kytler’s maid and assisted her in poisoning her 4 husbands before she was found guilty and sentenced to death!)

Kilkenomics

For a change in tempo, try a weekend of  comedy meets economics, at the annual Kilkeconomics Festival from Thursday 1st to Sunday 4th November. The show is busting with leading Irish and International economists, accountants and comedians (not necessarily a wise mix, but a truly unique and sometimes hilarious emsemble) With shows, talks, debates featuring Junior Economics, to serious debate on The defining Big issues for 2013, longside Hot tips on where to make money in 2013 as well as a step by step guide to Iceland’s story of economic recovery from ‘Zero to Hero’ in 5 years, having said ‘No thanks’ to bailouts!

Watch out for the irish mammy influence Inspired by Colm O’Regan’s successful @irishmammies Twitter Account and his recent book publication Isn’t It Well For Ye? The Book Of Irish Mammie, s there will be some special shows for Mammy Nomics where some wise Irish Mammy truths will bring much needed guidance to bear on a country in a bit of a state.

Subtitle Film Festival

And last but not least, Kilkenny will launch its Inaugural European Film Festival 'Subtitle' running from 19th to 25th November, will feature an explosion of Award winning European films, and will give cinemagoers coming to Kilkenny from All over Ireland an opportunity to see some of the finest examples European cinema from the past decade, the majority of which aren't available on DVD despite having been huge successes in their own countries. The programme will feature everything from thrillers, and comedies to horrors and dramas that would make Hollywood green with envy. Indeed, it is understood Hollywood has bought the rights to remake some of the films in English, that will be screened for the festival. While all the films will be screened with English subtitles, their original languages include Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Romanian, Dutch, Flemish, French...  so there's a treat for our International visitors and residents in Ireland. The programme which is launching next week will include key venues such as Langton's Set Theatre, The Watergate, Cleere's Theatre and Ireland's mobile cinema the Cinemobile - a 100-seater fully kitted out mobile cinema.

Of course no film festival would be complete without it's very own red carpet awards ceremony and Subtitle will deliver on that too. The Awards ceremony " The Angelas" will be hosted in the  be in the wonderfully designed Set Theatre on Sunday 25th  November, with limited tickets on sale from the Festival box office. Rumour has it there will be some big European names travelling for the event too from renowned directors, actors and cinematography teams, so here's to our very own Oscars, don't' miss it!!

For further information please contact:
Catherine Whelan – Fáilte Ireland
087 6449572/01 8847181

Fáilte Ireland, the national tourism development authority, was established in 2003 to guide and promote tourism as a leading indigenous component of the Irish economy. The tourism and hospitality industry employs an estimated 170,000 people and generates almost €5 billion in revenue a year.