WHAT IS THE magic ingredient that some festivals seem to have in abundance? What helps a festival become something out of the ordinary, something special and something that is more than the sum of its parts?
"You need imagination and creativity, you need to find something unique that your festival is offering, and what that is is hard to define," says Doireann Ní Bhriain, broadcaster and arts consultant. "You need the community in which it's taking place to feel a sense of ownership of the festival.
"You need energy, you need enthusiasm, efficiency, and you need creativity. You need a willingness to take risks. You also need to be extremely well-organised and to understand the world beyond the arts."
She believes that "the best festivals are the ones which think constantly about why they exist, ask themselves the right questions every year and plan for the future."
The festivals she would find hard to miss are the West Cork Chamber Festival, the Kilkenny Arts Festival and, of course, the Merriman Summer School. As a cautionary word, she advises festival-goers to bring with them "dedication and a willingness to be burnt out".
Publicist Christine Monk, who worked on her first festival, the Melbourne Comedy Festival, in 1987, says "passion and enthusiasm are more important than a programme detail" and that having a lovely place to congregate during "the in-between times" is really important.
John Scott, choreographer and founder of Irish Modern Dance Theatre, also believes "the chance to meet other people and exchange ideas" is a key ingredient in any great festival. He believes the Éigse Carlow Arts Festival is "a great festival because it has the ability to take over the town - the minute you get off the train, you know it's on". He adds the Kilkenny Arts Festival and the Galway Arts Festival to his list of greats.
What's important, Scott says, is "the sense that the whole town is participating and there's a great mix of Irish work, be it dance or theatre, or visual art or music. And when there's a cross-section of Irish and international work, and the chance that you get to stay out and talk to people is key".
"Great participants and great exhibitions and the general atmosphere" are the special ingredients needed to make a great festival, according to cartoonist and artist Tom Mathews, an inveterate festival-goer, who has just returned from the Cúirt International Literary Festival in Galway. "Sometimes I think the smaller the festival, the greater the chance of enjoying it more," he says. "At a great arts festival, you'd expect to see great art."
Looking back at the Galway Arts Festival, the highlights and artistic peaks over the years have "become one large festival blur", he says, adding that trying to pick an image or memory from this annual event would be like being asked to choose one painting after visiting the Louvre.
