A sneak peak at this year's St. Patrick's Festival in Waterford
Soul Dance Arts and St. Patrick (Jamie Drohan), at the St. Patrick's Day Parade 2024. Photo: Joe Evans
Four fun-filled, family-friendly, festival-atmosphere days are guaranteed for Waterford’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.
Waterford City and County Council, in association with Fáilte Ireland and EveryEvent have announced a jam-packed four-day programme of events from Friday, March 14 to Monday, March 17.
The theme for this year’s festival is 'Saints & Scholars – A Celebration of Waterford’s rich heritage', and will be marked by parades, performances, carnivals and music.
Johnny Codd, Festival Director, Waterford City and County Council gave us a sneak peak at what to expect this year, with more new acts to be announced soon: “The festival continues to grow each year, and we are really excited about some of the new acts that will form part of the programme in 2025.
“We are particularly proud of FireDance, a phenomenal show that has been created in Waterford especially for St. Patrick’s Festival and will feature the best local and national musicians, singers, dancers, designers and fire performers."
Mr Codd went on to comment: “This is one of the new acts to be added to the programme and locals and visitors to Waterford over St. Patrick’s weekend can expect a real eclectic mix of music, entertainment, arts, culture and history.”
Additionally, the entertainment programme will take over the city centre with music and dance stages in the Apple Market / John Roberts Square and O’Connell Street, which will also include historical talks, tours, wobbly circus and theatre. The city centre fair ground will return to the heart of the city with food markets.
John Grubb of EveryEvent added: “The events going on throughout the weekend will have something for everyone, including a medieval reenactment, an Irish dance and hip-hop mash-up, a city centre funfair, interactive workshops, and as a new event this year there will be a public lecture in honour of Waterford’s most renowned scholar, Luke Wadding.”
He added: “The highlight, the Parade, is a fantastic opportunity for groups of all genres, ages and sizes to showcase what they do best.
"With the final touches being put to the four-day programme all will be revealed in the coming weeks."
