Go Kids

Kinsale Arts Week: From now until the end of the summer, it seems every town and village has some sort of arts event or week-long celebration.

Kinsale Arts Week kicks off today and the town makes a great venue for a festival because it’s compact and walkable. There is a full programme of theatre, music and visual arts, but two particularly family-friendly and free events to look out for – because they are a little different from usual festival fare – are tomorrow’s Street Day and next Sunday’s Family Green Day.

Street Day sees nearly every street in the town filled with stalls or entertainment. The Kaw Food Market takes over Emmet Place from noon to 6pm and “Gentleman Juggler” Mista Will is set to give three performances of his fire/knife/umbrella show. On Short Quay at 1pm and 3pm, there’s a public everyone-can-join-in line dancing session with Line Dance Ireland Troupe giving instructions on how to chasse, grapevine and shuffle!

Also on Short Quay from noon, budding artists are invited to use the pavement as a giant canvas under the expert eye of local artists Tom Campbell and Jessie Mae Winchester.

Family Green Day next Sunday promises to be a day of family activities, workshops, talks, street entertainment, words and ideas that might just change the way you think about the world. One event to look out for is the Games Unplugged from noon to 5pm at the Bowling Green, where children can play a variety of old-fashioned, batteries never included, games.

* kinsaleartsweek.com