Swords is gearing up for a night of culture this Friday, September 21 with a host of free events in Blanchardstown and Swords.
Summer Stars medals will be presented in Blanchardstown Library to dedicated young borrowers who have read eight or more books during the summer.
This will be followed by comedy magical fun from Reuben the Entertainer at 6.15pm with the Blanchardstown Brass Band performing at 7pm.
Trad band Strings and Things, who brought the nostalgia to last year’s celebrations with some beautiful Irish airs and tunes, will join in the fun from 8pm.
Swords Library will start their Culture Night with a willow workshop at 6pm where children and adults can learn about the ancient traditional crafts of willow wattling, fencing and hurdle making.
Swords Summer Stars will be presented with their certificates at 7pm, followed by a performance from the Fingal Youth Choir.
Meanwhile, Fingal County Council has launched an ambitious five-year Culture and Creativity Strategy 2018-2022.
The blueprint aims to provide grants and other supports for budding artists to sustain their professional practice, as well as actively promoting artists here and abroad.
The Swords Cultural Quarter, due for completion in 2020, will be key in providing creative space for artists and can be used for pop up studios and galleries.
Council chief executive Paul Reid said: “As local authorities we want to see all of our communities reaching their full potential and this means more than just providing services.
“The Creative Ireland Programme has enabled us to work right across the various sectors – working together to create more than the sum of our parts.
“We see real opportunities. It allows us the space to try new things, to be truly innovative, to build creativity into how we look at other policy areas such as health, enterprise, education and outreach.
“Fingal has the fastest-growing and youngest population in Ireland. The county is ethnically and culturally diverse, with 16% of the population born outside of Ireland.
“Our unique community and culture are at the heart of this strategy which [is] for people of all ages and backgrounds.”
Full details of the Fingal Local Authority Culture and Creativity Strategy 2018 – 2022 can be found here.
