Castlepollard Culture night a triumph

Castlepollard’s Culture Night captured visitors in a zone of colour, song and dance last Friday.It all began when they arrived at the tree lined square, where “See the Trees” Community Art Project had draped the trees in aprons created by local primary schools and community groups. The aprons, each one unique, depicted local scenes of wildlife, farming, games and community. They formed a boundary of an old-fashioned playground with a swing carousel and a modern-day behemoth of an inflatable slide.Hundreds of people flocked through the doors of the library to see the gallery created in the boardroom of the local County Council Offices. It was here they were enchanted by the innocence of Teresa Doyle’s collage, the powerful colour of Ursula Meehan’s mixed media, Lorraine Mimnagh’s interpretation of the mystical Loughcrew and the fine oils of Terence O’Connell capturing the beauty of birds.Mel French’s “Mute” stopped gallery visitors in their tracks. A Plaster and Casein bust, valued at €1250, is of a man, suspended for an eternity with his, chin creased, eyes intent, lips pursed, ready to speak.The Hotel Castlepollard also transformed its walls and floors into a venue for culture. Throughout the day, people pursued art through the hallways and function rooms, viewing the work of local artist Bernard Reynolds. There was also art on the day for local children. The pavement outside the Bank of Ireland was transformed into chalk by children, most of them already transformed themselves by facepainter Saoirse Meehan into tigers, lions and clowns. The children were also painting in primary colours onto huge strips of cardboard suspended on the railings of the bank, their laughter floating in all directions at the crossroads they inhabited.Anyone seeking peace and quiet in the library lucked out on Friday afternoon. From 3.30 until 4.30, over twenty children participated in the writing workshop 2020 vision. The children wrote a letter to their future selves with all their hope and dreams. These letters were accompanied by letters from their parents to the children. All the letters will be returned to the contributors in 2020.Probably one of the youngest event contributor for Culture Night was the enterprising teenager Alishia Fitzpatrick who rehearsed and led out her scor dancing team for an Irish Dancing Display. As the evening temperature began to dip, many returned to the village to enjoy T-Fagan’s unique storytelling and Catherine Daly, who belongs to current All-Ireland ballad group champions, brought the evening to a close with traditional Irish Ballads.