Festival are a GO, GO!

Believe it or not, Waterford City and County is one of the busiest festival regions in Ireland – FACT!

The annual Waterford Council Festival Budget distribution, took place at the first Plenary Council meeting of the year. Much of what was brought into the public gallery was of course discussed, agreed and preordained, behind closed doors, in “secret” Committee Meetings. With circa €1,400,000 to be allocated across the whole City and County, this is one of the key functions of our 32 sitting Councillors.

With all things budgetary, there are of course metaphorical swings and roundabouts. Some festivals/events in 2016 were one-offs and obviously some applications did not make the grade. The process involves the Council Executive assessing the organiser’s application for funding and this is then brought to our Councillors for ratification.  Accompanied by an associated increase or reduction in grant funding. The process is lengthy, involved and forensic. But it has to be, as these are after all public funds and transparency is paramount to the whole procedure.

The four big ticket items for 2017 are Winterval, with €430,000 being allocated and a potential income of around €250,000 from sponsorship, stall income etc. The Winterval committee will, I am sure, be re-jigged this year and I have no doubt that such is the size of the grant allocation, this will have to go out to national tender. Our two excellent food festivals, Harvest (September) and WWFF (April), receive around €150,000, which like Winterval, will be counterbalanced by some additional income. The Sean Kelly Tour (August) is supported by €180,000, which is, I assume, front loaded to offset later income sources and is therefore, in reality, cost neutral for the Council.

Finally, Spraoi (August), is supported by a grant of €67,000, which of all the festival allocations is probably not enough. Considering this was the event that started our love affair with festivals and events. Spraoi will shortly be celebrating their 25^th Birthday and perhaps we could ask our Councillors to be mindful of this and save up a few Euro, in the build-up to what will be a worthy celebration, in the coming year/s ahead?

 

The breadth and variety of festivals and events right across Waterford, is something to behold. From Lismore to Tramore, Dunmore to Ardmore, Comeraghs to Dungarvan.....there are so many to choose from, that in reality we do not need to venture outside of our county boundary to find something that tickles our fancy.

There are, within these processes, losers. Some events have had to have a funding cut, due to the very tight financial constraints which our Council must work with, because of continued reductions in Central Government funding. This in turn puts pressure on Councils to increase Commercial Rates, Local Property Tax and that wonderful “Cash cow”, that is car parking charges. In future years, to keep our festivals and events going, we will without doubt, need to spread less money further. This will be a challenge and in time may be easier to get blood out of a stone, than more Government support, allowing us to experience the wide variety of festivals we host.

The biggest cut was to the Summerval Festival. You will recall that back in August, I asked the question in this very column, “Are we getting Summerval(u)?”. For 2017 this will revert back to a “Summer in the City” type festival. This has excellent foundations, to build a first rate brand and with the support of ArtBeat, we should see a Summer long programme of events. Starting the June bank holiday and ending early September.

Circa 70 festivals/events were granted some form of Council assistance. Ranging from a few hundred Euro, to hundreds of thousands of Euro. I suppose that the tricky part will be encouraging all these festivals and events cross promote. Working together for the betterment of the whole County and across the wider South East region. If we are to put our stamp on the festivals and events map then we need to shout collectively!

Just look at what Galway espouses! According to their blurb, they are Ireland’s only festival City – a hum!

Happy Burns Night as well!

Gie Her A Haggis!

The food of Champions!

In four days time, on Monday 25^th January, many Scots, the Scottish Diaspora and anyone with a modicum of Scottishness, from around the globe, will be celebrating “Burns Night”. An annual get together of friends and family that celebrates one of Scotland’s most famous sons and one of our greatest exports – Robert or “Rabbie” Burns, the Bard of Ayrshire.

Robert Burns was the son of a peasant farmer and he was born, in Alloway, Ayrshire, on 25^th January 1759 (note the Scots claimed this date long before Mr Guinness did!). In his very short life, he died aged 37 in 1796, he would become one of Scotland’s greatest cultural icons, a voice of socialism and liberalism, through the writing of some of the world’s best recognised songs and poems.

Perhaps one of his best loved songs is sung every New Year’s Eve or Hogmanay. Not many of you may know this but the song “Auld Lang Syne” was penned by Burns in 1788 and who could have imagined that one day this song would be one of the world’s most recognised tunes, some 200 years after the death of Robert Burns.

You may also have heard of poems such as “A Red Red Rose”, “A Man’s a Man for A’ That” and “Tam O’Shanter”. Burns even influenced Phil Coulter and the line in Ireland’s Call “Come the day and come the hour” comes directly from the start of the second verse from the Burns poem “Scots Wha Hae”, a song that for a time served as our unofficial national anthem.

Robert or "Rabbie" Burns

Robert Burns was without doubt one of Scotland’s first ever superstars, the Robbie Williams of his time. He was loved by the lassies and when he performed his poetry in the Assembly Rooms, in Edinburgh, the lassies flocked in there hundreds and thousands. The lassies just could not wait to hear his Ayrshire brogue and “risky” views. He performed his stand-up in what is now one of Edinburgh’s leading Fringe Festival venues and he was so liked, adored and admired by the fairer sex that he fathered 13 children that we know of.

Burns would be fondly remembered for the times he spent with his closest friends, in the local pub, sipping whisky, debating politics, telling jokes, embellishing stories and reciting his beloved poetry. He was comfortable with his friends and neighbours, and much of what he penned was inspired by those around him, those who told him of their trials and tribulations of the hard lives they were leading and having to endure on a daily basis – times never change!

And why, may you ask, I am telling you about one of Scotland’s national heroes and one of our greatest ever exports?

Well, I was eager to tell you about Robert Burns because one of our local German retailers is in fact stocking Haggis, from Scotland, and I am delighted to see that in this land of Saints and Scholars that one of my own is starting to get noticed.

If Burns lived here, in Waterford City today, I would like to think that he would be a loud and proud voice that stood up to authority and spoke for and on behalf of the people. He would have confronted his perceived injustices of Government and striven to make a better life for all the men and women of Waterford.

Creating a better life for all of us here in Waterford really does lie in our own hands. We must push Waterford to the forefront of Government debate and at the very least ensure that we are at the dinner table, with or without Haggis, as at the moment we are not even getting to look at the menu.

If you are going to try a Haggis on Monday night remember the “bashit neeps an’ chappit tatties”, lots of pepper on the neeps and of course a wee glass of whisky.

"I'm  hunting Haggis!"

“Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, 
Great chieftain o the puddin'-race!

......

His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An cut you up wi ready slight,

......

But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread,

......

But, if ye wish her gratefu prayer,
Gie her a Haggis!”