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Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Festival will awaken tradition of seafaring
By Mary Ellen Breen
THE voices of sea shanty singers, Hooks and Crookes, brightened up a dreary wet night in the city last week as they launched an exciting new festival for Waterford.
The inaugural Waterford Seafaring Festival of Music and Song will be staged in hotels, bars, along the waterfront and other outdoor venues from Friday, May 28 to Sunday, May 30, with daytime and evening entertainment.
Providing a fitting opportunity to reclaim the maritime musical heritage of the South East and Waterford in particular, 2010 is the International Year of the Seafarer.
The city will be hosting musical groups coming from Holland, Germany, Norway, Denmark, the UK, Wales and France. There will be lively performances in our halls, streets, hotels, taverns and bars, sharing the music and songs of the sea throughout the weekend.
While much of Waterford’s seagoing activities have diminished over time, with most of our maritime artefacts at the bottom of the ocean, lost to Atlantic gales and the tragedy of war, the festival will recall the traditions of seafaring in music and song which accompanied these sailing ships around the world.
The programme of events will be published in March and will include a schedule of music venues and quayside activities. It will be an inclusive celebration of Waterford’s musical talents past and present with an invitation to local groups to participate.
The Festival is being organised by the well-known sea shanty group Hooks and Crookes. The group got together for the Tall Ships visit to Waterford in 2005, and they haven’t stopped singing since. In the past few years they have performed at maritime festivals in the UK, Holland, Norway, Germany and France.
Oliver Lupton of Hooks and Crookes said, “The Waterford Seafaring Festival is a demonstration of the City Council’s determination to promote Waterford and its many positive aspects to a new audience, together with Fáilte Ireland, Waterford Chamber of Commerce, the City Hotels, City Traders and local Vintners. The festival promises to be a great attraction and boost to the city, which has seen some difficult times of late.”
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