DRESS CIRCLE Feeling flamboyant? Take your champagne, strawberries and picnic rugs to the country for the Loughcrew Garden Opera, Ireland's answer to Glyndebourne.
The dress code this year is the decadent 1930s and the opera is Verdi's La Traviata. There is no better place to let yourself be transported to another time: fairy sculptures reign over this magical 17th-century garden set among the hills and passage graves of the Meath landscape. The garden has a circular performance area, so no seats are bad seats. Dinner is served during the hour-long interval. This year the opera coincides with the summer solstice. Prepare to be enchanted, and book your tickets soon as last year over 1,250 people attended Don Giovanni. Verdi's La Traviata, Loughcrew Garden Opera, June 24th and 25th. Tickets from €70 to €95. www.loughcrew.com, 049-8541356.
LUNCH DATE Richard Corrigan , chef patron of London's celebrated Lindsay House restaurant in Soho, is making a return visit to his native Co Meath next month in an effort to help St Mary's, South Hill, a school for children with special needs. Corrigan, who will be replacing Roxy Beaujolais on the Full on Food TV programme on BBC 2 from July, will be doing a cookery demonstration for 180 people at the Castle Arch Hotel, Trim, Co Meath on Saturday, July 18th at noon, followed by lunch cooked by him and two of his Lindsay House team. Tickets, priced at €100, from 046-9431516, 046-9074100, or 046-9432380. - Tom Doorley
FLOWER SHOWER When a million rose petals tumbled onto the stage where George Michael was performing, it was thanks to a Co Cork company. When models strutted down a carpet of rose petals at a Gucci fashion show, the same company was responsible. A few years ago, Welshman Phil Davies sold his Bantry flower shop and set about persuading the world that they needed thousands and thousands of rose petals in their lives. The world doesn't need any more convincing - Petals and Roses now supplies half a million petals a year to weddings, film sets and parties. They dye the petals any colour required and will even spray them with 24-carat gold paint. No request surprises them. "Opening our e-mail is like opening a box of chocolates," says Davies. A large two-litre box of petals costs €18 for second grade petals (suitable for confetti) and €35 for first grade (more suitable for scattering on tables). www.petalsandroses.com and www.floralkeepsakesofireland.com, 021-4375253 or 086-8515135. - Nicoline Greer
TICKET MASTERY So, you though your chance of joining U2 in Croke Park next month was gone forever . . . Think again. A series of promotions will run this summer in Friday's Irish Times, offering opportunities to win tickets for U2, Oasis in Marley Park, and the summer's three big music festivals - Oxegen, BudRising and Electric Picnic. The first - with 40 tickets to U2 on offer - appears in The Ticket next Friday.
ON THE TILES The McNulty family became interested in mosaics on a trip to Italy in 2003, when, everywhere they looked, they were struck by the vibrant colours of tiles, the permanence of the materials and the variety of applications: ancient paving, interior and exterior decoration, restaurant walls and shopfronts. John McNulty, known for his etchings and paintings, and his wife, Michele, now design mosaics in glass or ceramic tiles for interior or exterior locations such as a patio wall or floor, and also create decorative features for hotels or restaurants, fireplace panels, bathroom or kitchen decoration. Some samples of their work, including Two for Joy (below), can be seen this week at the new premises of the Leinster Gallery, owned by Loretta Meagher, at 27 South Frederick Street, Dublin 2, 01-6790834. McNulty Mosaics can be contacted at the studio in Hollymount, Co Mayo, 094-9540013 or e-mail jmcnulty@anu.ie.
BIG BANG You could spend a day scavenging and art collecting at the Salvage Shop in Waterford. Three acres of outdoor space are devoted to anything and everything, from telephone boxes to bumper cars and Egyptian doors. This week, the shop starts a big sale, mainly in items of architectural salvage such as railway sleepers, flagstones, old bricks, beams, Belfast sinks - even the roof of a railway station. Seán Corcoran, artistic director and designer at Bang @ the Salvage Shop, makes furniture and mirrors (such as this one) from reclaimed materials such as pitch pine, old slate, stone, glass and mirror. A small room is dedicated to original artwork by the Bang Network of resident artists, including pop art by Mondojohn, steel sculptures by Michael Halley, underwater on canvas by Maria Blake and photo distortions by Seán Corcoran. Enter the weird and wonderful world of Bang at: www.bang2000.com or visit The Salvage Shop, Airport Road, Waterford city, 051-873260. - Nicoline Greer
NICELY FINISHED The summer may be hot. The summer may be cold. Either way, you won't crack up armed with HotCool glasses made by Finnish manufacturer Iitala. From the hottest latte to the coldest ice-cream sundae, these glasses have superpower qualities. The glass used can withstand temperatures up to 845°F and can go into the deepest freezer. They can be ordered through Equinox gift shop, 32 Howard Street, Belfast, 00-44-2890230089, www.e-equinox.co.uk. - Nicoline Greer
KIDFEST Spréacha is an arts festival with a difference. While their older siblings are rocking out at Oxegen and the Electric Picnic, kids have a festival of their own. Running for six days, June 13th-19th, Spréacha 2005 sees Draíocht in Blanchardstown playing host to a wide vareity of performers and events suitable for children of all ages. There are puppetry, drama, storytelling and visual art exhibitions. No event costs more than €5, and many are free. To find out more, see www.spreacha.com. Anna Carey