Night to remember awaits culture vultures

Tomorrow evening sees Dublin celebrating its second annual Culture Night, with a range of events taking place at 80 locations around the city between 5pm and 10pm.

Last year was such a success that this year's programme is bigger and involves more venues, with Dublin Bus running fare-free buses between venues, to allow culture vultures take in multiple events on the night.

Organised by Temple Bar Cultural Trust, the idea is to open up the city's galleries, theatres, museums, workshops and studios, tomorrow night and allow the public access at a time when these venues are usually closed.

So what kind of experiences can enthusiasts expect? Well, you wouldn't usually associate Powerscourt Townhouse shopping centre with tango, but that's where you'll find the Argentinian Tomás Gubitsch Quintet playing a tango concert, as part of Culture Night and an Argentinian Cultural Week.

The Abbey Theatre is setting up a culture club for the night at the Peacock, complete with bar and DJ. Broadcaster John Kelly will act as MC and invited clubbers will debate what culture means to them. The theatre will also host "Talk to Joe and others"; guests will include radio talk-show host Joe Duffy, comedian Maeve Higgins, and the Abbey's artistic director, Fiach MacConghail.

Up at Croke Park, floodlit tours of the stadium will take place, including a special tour for children; the Shaw Birthplace on Synge Street will open its doors; and at the Gate, actor Alan Stanford will give a talk on the 80-year-old history of the theatre.For those who want an insight into the creative mind, several artists' studios will open for the night. Resident artists will be present to discuss the process of their work.

These studios include the Independent Studio Artists at Eustace Street, New Art Studio at Mary's Abbey; and This Is Not A Shop at Benburb Street. At the Graphic Studio Gallery, you can hear a talk on print-making from master print-makers Tom Phelan and Kelvin Mann, and then watch a demonstration on linocut printing, given by Pamela Leonard and Marta Wakulamac.

At the Black Church Print Studio, print demonstrations will take place and tours of screenprinting, etching and lithography floors.

There are opportunities to get involved at DanceHouse on Foley Street, where you can try a range of taster classes in flamenco, salsa, jazz, ballet and bellydancing. At Filmbase in Temple Bar, there will be practical film-making workshops for children while at the National Archives of Ireland, you can seek help in trying to trace your family tree.

Artists John Keating and Alan Daly will give drawing demonstrations at the National Gallery. The gallery is also showing three art-themed films, including Derek Jarman's Caravaggio, and gallery guides will be offering frequent short tours of the highlights of the collection - including our own Caravaggio - when they'll be encouraging audiences to ask questions and give opinions on the exhibits.

At the Chester Beatty Library, there will be a demonstration of Chinese fan making and at Trinity College's Long Room a replica of the fifteenth-century Brian Ború harp on show will be played.

If you're one of the many Dubliners who admit to never having set eyes on The Book of Kells, this is your opportunity for a late-night look at Ireland's most famous book. At the Irish Traditional Music Archive on Merrion Square, the public can access sound recordings, videos and printed material.

There's an opportunity to hear live music from the uilleann pipers who'll be performing at Na Píobairí Uilleann on Henrietta Street, where people will be invited to take a tour of the newly-restored building.

St Patrick's Cathedral is also offering guided tours of St Patrick's, where the resident school choir will be in rehearsal for part of the night.

To help the people navigate their way around the various events, Dublin Bus will mark their Culture Night buses with the relevant route numbers.