Think Galway, think festivals, and this weekend the county is book-ended with two. Spiddal's annual Traidphicnic, to the west, promises the best of traditional music, song, dance, arts and crafts as well as hawk walking and drumming workshops. Accordion player Dermot Byrne, guitarist Steve Cooney, Tóla Custy and Laoise Kelly and Garry Ó Briain are among the performers today at the Cuan Studios, close to Spiddal's Ceardlann craft village which is marking its 30th anniversary this year. Head north of the city and Claregalway Castle is hosting its annual garden festival (11am-6pm today and tomorrow) with climate change, food safety and sustainable gardening among the themes. Met Éireann's Evelyn Cusack, garden designer Oliver Schurman and Irish Times gardening writer Fionnuala Fallon will be among the speakers, while Whitbread Award-winning poet Bernard O' Donoghue will read, Julie Feeney will play, and the Gombeens and Tommy Baker will entertain the kids. Gate proceeds from the castle festival go to the Christian Blind Mission and the Galway Simon Community, and a free return bus runs from Ceannt railway station to Claregalway from 10.30am hourly. See galwaygardenfestival.com, traidphicnic.com.
