Westmeath culture night hailed ‘a great success’

Westmeath’s first ever Culture Night was held last week, September 24, and was hailed “a great success” by Westmeath County Council who were delighted by the turnout and support shown.Catherine Kelly, Westmeath County Council Arts Officer said: “ The very first Culture Night to be held in Westmeath went brilliantly. We had more events than most other counties despite this being our first year, which really highlights the vast wealth of talent Westmeath has to offer.“I would like to thank everyone involved in making Westmeath Culture Night such a success, all those who organized an event and everybody that helped in anyway.“It just proves that when a county, town or village unites together anything can be achieved.”In the end there were close to 100 events taking place throughout the county including dancing, family fun, music, poetry, lectures, art, drama and sport to name only a few - for free, including a member of the Mullingar Scribblers reading excerpts from her new novel Comings and Goings, All Ireland Talent stars The Golden Sister performing in Athlone and artists throughout the county showcasing their works.In fact it would seem that only Dublin surpassed Westmeath’s impressive lineup - despite this being the county’s inaugural event.Events began at 10am on September 24 and finished in the early hours in locations across the county including Mullingar, Kinnegad, Castlepollard, Killare, Delvin, Fore, Athlone, Moate and Ballynacargy.While this is the first time Culture Night was held in Westmeath the event has been running since 2006 in other counties around Ireland including Dublin which saw more than 150,000 people attend some 120 venues last year.The event is an initiative of the Temple Bar Cultural Trust and is part sponsored by the Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport and Westmeath County CouncilSee www.westmeathcoco.ie/culturenight or visit WestmeathCultureNight2010 on Facebook for pictures from the event.