Africa Day 2018
News
23 May 2018
Irish Aid is delighted to once again kick off the annual Africa Day celebrations taking place around the country over the coming weeks. Africa Day offers a wonderful opportunity to explore the diverse cultures and traditions of the African continent and to celebrate the strong links between Africa and Ireland. It is also a chance to highlight how Africans and people with African heritage have integrated into Irish society and enriched the communities in which they live.
The Africa Day national flagship event will take place at Farmleigh Estate in the Phoenix Park on Sunday, 27th May. The family friendly event will run from 11am till 6pm and will include an assortment of African activities and entertainment for visitors to enjoy. There will be everything from children’s entertainment and funfair rides, to storytelling and traditional African drumming and dance workshops. Guests can also experience African arts and crafts and over 80 stalls showcasing the work of African community groups and NGOs.
The tradition of great music at Africa Day also continues this year with a wide variety of African artists performing throughout the day, across three stages. This year will see performances from artists including Farah Elle, Shookrah, Kíla and many more. The full list of performers can be found here.
Reflecting Ireland’s central role in negotiating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Irish Aid is committed to ensuring that Africa Day 2018 is a sustainable and environmentally-friendly event. In this light, Africa Day will be a strictly no parking event. Participants are strongly encouraged to leave their cars at home and to either walk, cycle or travel on public transport to Farmleigh. There will be free Dublin Bus shuttles from Parkgate Street near Heuston station to take guests to and from Farmleigh. This year’s Africa Day celebrations will be a free ticketed event and, in keeping with Irish’s Aid’s commitment to promoting the SDGs, participants are encouraged to present tickets on their phone to reduce paper waste.
In addition to the national flagship event at Farmleigh, there will be a number of other events taking place around the country to mark Africa Day 2018.
Cork City Council’s celebrations will kick off on Thursday, May 24th in Millennium Hall. This will be followed by an African Film Day on Friday, May 25th and the Africa Day Family Celebration in Fitzgerald’s Park on Saturday, May 26th. There will also be an African Art Exhibition on display throughout the course of the week in the New Civic Office of Cork City Council.
In Galway, there will be a number of celebrations to mark Africa Day, most notably the 11th annual Galway African Film Festival in the Bank of Ireland Theatre in NUIG, which will run over the course of three days in June. Galway City Council and the FAI will host a schools’ football event that give children from 8 primary schools across the county the chance to compete as well as participate in the “Show Racism the Red Card” programme.
Kilkenny will see a number of events take place over two days in early June, including a photographic and arts exhibition and a Mini Trade and Business Fair. The Family Fun Day will take place in Kilkenny Castle Park on June 3rd and all members of the community are welcome. There will be a wide range of African artists, comedians and dance troupes to enjoy, alongside a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the arrival of the Sudanese community to Kilkenny.
Limerick will host a number of events in celebration of Africa Day, which has become known locally as “Africa Week”, in recognition of the wide range of activities that are happening over a number of days. Celebrations will be launched at City Hall on Monday, May 21st and will kick off a week that will see drumming workshops, an African football tournament and of course the main family fun day event in the Milk Market on Sunday, May 27th.
2018 will mark the first year in which Meath will join other locations around the country in celebrating Africa Day. For their inaugural year, Meath County Council will host a red carpet fashion show in the Meath County Offices on Friday, May 25th. Members of the community will also be able to enjoy African dance, art, drumming and face painting, as well as African cuisine.
In Waterford, the city’s Cultural Quarter will be the venue for a number of events which will allow people to enjoy the many facets of African culture, including African music, dance and food.
In Wexford, Africa Day 2018 will be celebrated with a “Living Library”. This unique event will link members of the community with their African friends and neighbours who will tell stories about their life in Africa, as well as life after moving to Ireland. Visitors can also enjoy African cuisine and culture in the Presentation Centre Enniscorthy.
For more information of any of this year’s Africa Day events, please visit www.africaday.ie
