A small voluntary organisation founded three years ago to bring arts to the children of Longford town has been so successful that this year over 4,000 children will take part in its festival.
Ashling Children's Arts Festival, which will run from October 22nd to 29th, has spread far beyond the county capital to other venues in the county.
Explaining the background to the festival, Jean Healy said the committee was started by local woman Brenda Ruane four years ago when she saw the work being done in Belfast, where her sister worked in the arts area.
"We asked Longford Community Resources Ltd for some funding and we put on a series of events in the town for the children and arranged that they should take part in the St Patrick's Day Parade," she said.
"This proved highly successful and in this, our third year, we have backing from Longford Community Resources, the National Millennium Committee and Backstage Theatre.
"The event has been so successful we have now extended it to Granard, Ballymahon, Moyne, Abbeyshrule, Kenagh and Edgeworthtown, where there will be both performances and workshops," she said.
Over 30 artists and performers will take part in the weeklong event, including the Armagh Rhymers, the Belfast-based Streetwise group, the Turbo Prop Theatre Company and Looney Puppets.
The Longford-based Pound Plus Theatre Company will stage an early panto which it is calling Snow White and the Seven Deadly Sins in the Backstage Theatre on October 25th and 26th.
The week opens on Sunday with a carnival day which will be held in Longford Shopping Centre car park with a puppet show, story telling, fancy dress competitions, face painting and a magic show. The music entertainment will be provided by local bands AS3, Global Assault and Stillness in Motion.
There will be dance and sculpture workshops during the week in all the centres. The children, from babes in arms to teenagers, can attend poetry and costume workshops and even wood whittling.
According to Jean Healy, the event has captured the imagination of the artistic community and will be featured later this week on the RTE children's programme, Disney Club.
"We are hoping to link up with other bodies in the midland counties next year and extend the event. The young people get so much from this that it is well worth it," she said.
Anyone seeking information on the events should call (043) 47455.
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