Go and open the door to Bealtaine 2009

Today, Tuesday 21st April, Bealtaine - Ireland’s unique festival celebrating creativity in older age - was launched at the National Library of Ireland. Máire F. Hoctor  T.D., Minister of State with special responsibility for Older People addressed the attendees who included Bealtaine ambassadors dancer Joanna Banks, broadcaster John Quinn, artist Robert Ballagh, actor Eamon Morrissey and writer Eugene McCabe.

Artistic director of Bealtaine, Dominic Campbell, had this to say about the line-up of events for this year’s festival, “Bealtaine’s stunning variety reflects the rich, full lives being lived by diverse older Irish people. It is a positive story asking that we pause and question our own fears about growing old, after all old age is not another country, and if we are lucky there will be a vibrant Bealtaine for us to participate in.”

As Clint Eastwood, approaches 80 with his most popular film to date and Tina Turner (69) receives rave reviews for her current tour, it’s great to know that Ireland has been leading the way in encouraging people to go on creating no matter what age they are. Now celebrating its 14th year, the festival is a global cultural first supporting similar festivals that are being established in the UK, Netherlands and further afield.  Bealtaine is coordinated by Age & Opportunity and includes events organised by hundreds of organisations.

As ever, Bealtaine will offer events across all art forms and in all counties. Last year saw over 1300 events with an estimated 55,000 participants.  The 2009 programme will be offering the opportunities to:

Swap skills on National Grandparents Day in School in schools across Ireland on 1st May

Rediscover forgotten talents with Blow the Dust Off Your Trumpet (and any other instruments you might have lying round abandoned at home!) with The National Concert Hall

Ring the changes with Project Brand New “Generation” at Project Arts Centre

Celebrate your life by writing a memoir at the National Library

Be inspired at a screening of the Bealtaine film Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day in one of the nationwide venues in the access>CINEMA and the Irish Film Institute (IFI) film tour

Invest in your own story as you learn how to research your family tree or turn your memories into memoir at the National Library

Go behind the scenes in the Conservation Department at the Chester Beatty Library

Step back in time at Waterford Medieval Fair of St Peter ad Vincula at the Waterford Museum of Treasures

Enjoy an Irish language workshop at the Pearse Museum

Dress up for the Neilli Mulcahy exhibition at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks

EnvisAge your dream retirement, in a unique Bealtaine event to change people’s hearts and minds about what a care setting could do

Draw on your art skills in one of the nationwide venues taking part in National Drawing Day on 23 May

Sing to the rising sun in a Dawn Chorus on a beautiful Donegal beach on the 31st May to mark the end of Bealtaine.

These are just some of the activities amongst a wealth of chances to celebrate creativity & ageing. Full details of what is happening county by county is available on this web site, www.bealtaine.com.

The theme of this year’s festival is taken from Miroslav Holub’s poem The door,

“Go and open the door”1

This is an invitation for people to try something new, see something new, be something new, and to create something new. The festival encourages people to open the door, and find out what’s out there!

About Bealtaine

Bealtaine, the national festival celebrating creativity in older age, is coordinated by Age & Opportunity and includes events organised by hundreds of partner organisations. The festival encourages greater participation in the arts by older people as artists and performers, participating as both event organisers and audiences, everywhere from national institutions to local parish halls. The ethos is one of fun, empowerment and exploration.

Now in its 14th year, Bealtaine is an agenda-setting cultural first, an Irish innovation. Bealtaine 2008 saw over 1300 events with an estimated 55,000 participants from 26 counties made with 337 partners, making this one of Ireland’s biggest arts festivals.  And while there’s currently nothing like Bealtaine anywhere else in the world, other countries are following our lead and creating festivals based on our model of celebration and participation.

Age & Opportunity is the national not-for-profit organisation working to promote greater participation by older people in society through partnerships and collaborative programmes.  Other Age & Opportunity programmes are delivered with a range of partner organisations in areas like physical activity, educating about ageism and age discrimination, promoting confidence and empowerment amongst older people, and training staff of care centres to facilitate the arts amongst the people  in their care. Further information www.olderinireland.ie

Further information on the festival will be available to the general public as follows:
•    On the web: www.bealtaine.com.
•    Via e-mail: info@bealtaine.com
•    By telephone to Age & Opportunity on 01 805 7709
•    Via local public libraries and County Council Arts Offices
•    By post to Bealtaine at Age & Opportunity, Marino Institute of Education, Griffith Avenue, Dublin 9.

For further media information please contact Stephanie Dickenson at Kate Bowe PR Tel: 01652 0143 E-mail stephanie@katebowepr.ie

1 The above extract is from 'The door' by Miroslav Holub, by kind permission of Bloodaxe Books.