“It’s beginning to feel at lot like Christmas!”

If truth be told, that Christmas feeling seems to begin earlier and earlier each year. In fact, it appears to start right after Halloween. Once all the reduced in price “Trick or treat” paraphernalia, such as vampire costumes, werewolf masks, gory face paint, sickly marshmallow sweets and monkey nuts are gone, they’re gone.

Tinsel, baubles and Christmas trees, miraculously come out as if by magic! Even the BIG man from the North, invites us to make a list, before “Black Friday” gets us all excited whilst maxing out our credit cards. Make no bones about it, we succumb to commercialisation all too easily. Even Santa’s hard working wee elves are not immune to modern day pressures.

We can see evidence of Waterford making its annual Christmas statement, with the return of Winterval and Santa switching on the lights, on Friday 17^th November. This will take place in the heart of the City Centre. Supported live on air by WLR FM. All this exciting action will take place between John Robert’s Square and The Apple Market.

You may also have noticed that preparations are well under way, ready for the official Winterval Festival launch.

A huge vintage Ferris wheel has located itself on The Quay, opposite Shaw’s Department Store. You may just have seen the structure being erected last weekend. This is apparently, the largest mobile in Ireland. Offering passengers a unique perspective of the City and unparalleled views across the River Suir. Just remember to wrap up and maybe bring a warm blanket when going on this, as you wouldn’t wish to have a cold for Christmas day.

Winterval’s very successful ice rink, has of course moved to a bigger, better, new location, the Waterside Car Park, previously the old gas works. This will allow not one but two ice rinks to be operated. There will be the usual large rink and a smaller rink, to encourage the wee ones to take up ice skating. This makes a lot of sense. Previously, the mix of giddy teenagers trying to impress one another, caused many a collision and safety concerns for the smaller members of our community.

The move has caused some consternation, stoked of course by social media. One or two Facebook posts, indicating that the rink was NOT returning! In reality this has given the new operators lots of free publicity, creating a frisson of excitement. Will the new rink deliver a little bit extra this year?

The Apple Market, Waterford’s newest outdoor venue, continues to programme fresh, innovative exciting events. There will be a Christmas village located here, lots of live music and maybe even the opportunity to have an interactive snowball fight!

With so much going on, I do wonder, if these Christmassy distractions, will encourage those who represent us, to have some down time? After all, our Santa list for Waterford Inc. is not that big, is it?

Well yes it is!

The Cath Lab resolution must be at the top of Waterford’s long standing Christmas wish list. However, the recently published “Terms of reference”, appear, “Surprise, surprise”, to be anti-Waterford. Why, one wonders, do we have to start every process quite literally on the back foot! Surely, someone, given the record of reports for Waterford, had to be influencing the terms of reference, before they were published and NOT after.

University status for WIT, has been kicked so far down the road, that yet another generation of secondary level school leavers are missing out and having to travel many kilometres to go to a third level university. Waterford Airport has had no commercial flights for nearly 20 months and Government has been very quiet on the funding for our North Quays. This wish list, despite numerous opportunities, would have allowed Ireland’s Three Wise Men (Varadkar, Donohoe and Coveney) to be the bearers of gifts, our Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh.

There is much to look forward locally this festive season. Waterford will no doubt be supported regional by many a Christmas shopper and visitor.

I hope that these Dublin centric elves, don’t forget us and remember to deliver the odd present or two, to kick start our 2018.

It is official – “Summer’s here!!!!”

The June Bank Holiday weekend is once again just around the corner. Boy does this come around quicker each year, or am I just getting older?

This of course means that we can forget for a few days at least, our woes, the political bickering of the FG leadership campaign, the effects of Brexit, the shenanigans surrounding the funding of our SDZ, our missing catheterization laboratory, our representatives’ empty promises and so on. As the City Centre will be buzzing with all manner of musical delights and a not insignificant hint of colour, over this June Bank Holiday weekend.

Returning to our streets will be the annual “City in Bloom”. A collaborative project between Waterford Council and Waterford Business Group (WBG), which has made a noteworthy contribution to additional Tidy Town points for the City. This, cross city project, has grown literally from few very small seeds, i.e. a handful of window boxes, to over 300 floral displays! In truth, there is no limit to this projects growth potential.

Start looking up at buildings and business shop fronts in the city centre, O’Connell Street, Ferrybank and Ballinakill Shopping Centre. Soon you will start to see the hint of the riotous colour which will soon engulf Waterford’s main footfall areas. City in Bloom will deliver once again for Waterford. In 2018, there could well be an exciting application to “Tidy Towns”, for Waterford City. Plans are afoot, to launch a bid as part of a “Bigger and better Tidy Towns”, supported by WBG. There is even consideration being given to the introduction of specific “Pollen bee friendly flowers!”, to make the application unique. The seeds have well and truly been sown (pardon the terrible pun)!

To launch the 2017 City in Bloom festival of flowers, there is an excellent competition for businesses to take part. WBG have teamed up with one of their members, Morris’s DIY on the Cork Road, to offer a €1000 voucher to the “Best 2017 improved shop/business front”. Some say that the best competitions are the simplest. All businesses have to do is post a before and after picture on www.facebook.com/WaterfordCityCentre/ Pictures must be posted before the August Bank Holiday and the winners will be announced in mid September. Businesses are allowed to post pictures retrospectively, provided the facelift/improvements took place from January 2017.

In conjunction with the launch of City in Bloom, Summer in the City makes a very welcome return to our city centre. On the main stage in John Robert’s Square we will see live acts performing across the opening weekend and right through, the hopefully long balmy summer weekends, to late August. The programme promises to deliver some age old favourite tribute acts, a smorgasbord of local singing talent and then there’s ArtBeat. This will once again showcase some of Waterford’s best emerging young talent. Bailey’s New Street will host ArtBeat every Saturday afternoon.

If we can now ask the weather gods to shine down upon us this summer, we are sure that all the programmes being launched this weekend, will help to get our city rocking, over the months of June, July and August.

There is much to look forward to around the wider county as well. You will find that there is a festival taking place somewhere, to undoubtedly suit any interest, hobby, or pastime. In terms of the bigger national and international picture, Redwater is flying the PR flag for our pretty, attractive coastal villages. We have already heard stories of people coming to the locations, where this drama has been filmed. Long may this continue and we hope to exponentially see more and more coming as the programme develops its fan base.

Our city should bloom during the Summer of 2017. As we get ready to sow some very strong roots for future growth and better news, in terms of our economic recovery.

There is much to look forward to on our horizon. In the meantime please do take time to look up at our wonderful quirky, higgledy piggledy buildings, sporting the colours of summer. Enjoy the free entertainment being provided across the city centre.

Above all “Live local, love local, shop local”.