Ruaille Buaille! Children’s Arts Festival

Any festival that calls itself Ruaille Buaille! is clearly in the business of providing high-octane fun for children. This is the second year that South Dublin County Council Arts and Library Services have put together the Ruaille Buaille! children’s arts festival in Lucan. It’s a week-long event and today’s carnival is the highlight.

The entertainment starts at noon with Moonfish Theatre's production of Aucassin et Nicolette, a puppet show based on a French medieval story. All events today take place on the village green in Lucan, so bring a blanket and a picnic so you can have lunch while you enjoy the show. The carnival begins at 2pm and the participants range from medieval musicians in period costume to limbo dancers. Samba drummers and Chinese dragons – regular stars at many of our outdoor festivals – will provide colour and noise.

There are prizes for dressing up, so children who want to do more than get their faces painted should come in their most imaginative get-ups.

This madcap event is organised by the library service and there is so much going on in all our libraries for children – from hip-hop classes to storytelling, and, of course, access to great books – that it’s worth planning several trips to your local library during the long summer holidays. And it’s all free.

www.southdublinlibraries.ie