AN OUTDOOR gay music festival at Ballinlough Castle in Co Westmeath is among a number of festivals and concerts taking place around the country this weekend.
Milk 2010 is named in honour of the US campaigner and politician Harvey Milk and boasts a strong line-up including Bananarama, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Alexandra Burke, Róisín Murphy and Right Said Fred.
Tickets for the event are still available with prices starting at €99 with free camping on site.
Other acts performing around the country over the coming days include Jedward at the INEC in Killarney, Co Kerry, tonight and folk legend Arlo Guthrie who continues his Irish tour with shows in Cork and Wexford.
Elvis impersonator Kevin Doyle and his band will be commemorating the life of the King of Rock and Roll at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin tomorrow. As many as 22 musicians will be onstage with the band being joined by the Valley Gospel Singers for the event.
In Cork “belly bashing”, the “pogo stick high jump” and the “crawling relay” will be among the events featuring at the Paddy Games, organised by solicitor and former Sumo wrestler, Colin Carroll.
Other events planned include the “high dive belly flop” and “backwards triple jump” contest. In development since 2007, the inaugural Paddy Games is due to take place at the Mardyke arena in Cork City today and tomorrow with Mr Carroll hoping that over 250 competitors will represent more than 15 countries.
Choice Music Prize winner Adrian Crowley and the Tindersticks are among the acts appearing at the Kilkenny Arts Festival, which continues this weekend, while renowned fiddler Martin Hayes will be one of many trad musicians playing at the Masters of the Tradition Festival in Bantry, Co Cork.
The Birr Vintage Week Arts Festival began yesterday and runs until next Friday.
In Dublin the Futura Fashion Fair, which is now in its 34th year, is on at the RDS from tomorrow.
On the sporting front, there’s racing at Tramore and Dundalk, the hurling All-Ireland minor and senior semi-finals at Croke Park, the Tour de Munster cycling event in Co Cork and the Tomás Mulligan Memorial Cycle from Dublin to Wexford and back.
In soccer, Shamrock Rovers take on Manchester United reserves in the Platinum One Challenge at Tallaght Stadium tomorrow evening.
Met Éireann forecasts today will start off cloudy in the western half of the country but will be brighter in the east. It will be dry in most places as the day progresses with expected highest temperatures of between 16 and 20 degrees.
Tomorrow will be a dry, warm day with sunny spells in most places, but cloudy periods also. Temperatures may reach as high as 21 or 22 degrees in many areas.