Bealtaine-time is nearly upon us!

Push the boat out, whatever the sea* 

Bealtaine-time is nearly upon us! In 2011, Ireland’s unique and groundbreaking celebration of creativity in older age is set to be even bigger with hundreds of organisers planning events and activities for this coming May.
 

Last year over 101,000 participants took part in over 2500 events organised by 513 partners. Bealtaine brings people together. It unites communities and organisations all over the country. It provides inspiring and innovative opportunities for older people to engage and participate in a whole range of arts events and experiences.

 
Internationally, similar festivals have been established (Wales) and continue to develop (Scotland, Germany), inspired and modelled on Ireland’s homegrown success story. “Silver Stars”, an event which has its roots in Bealtaine 2008, is heading this year to New Zealand’s Auckland Arts Festival, having performed off Broadway and in Paris in 2010.
 
This year Bealtaine will be on the move across the country like never before with the Bealtaine theatre tour (“Fruitcake” starring Mary McEvoy and ‘Here We Are Again Still’ by Christian O’Reilly), a film tour in association with access Cinema and the Irish Film Institute (featuring a series of new film shorts exploring ageing in inspiring and entertaining ways) and also a tour of the ‘”Ink” exhibition featuring the work of photographer Aidan Kelly.
 
CoisCeim Dance company will be offering dance opportunities across Dublin to older participants in “Silent Idols”- inspired by contemporary dance and films of the silent era. (If you are interested in taking part, contact Philippa Donnellan 01 8780558).
 
On a musical note, the hugely successful “Blow the Dust” Orchestra project for older people, now firmly established in Ireland’s National Concert Hall, goes from strength to strength. Following sell-out performances during Bealtaine and Christmas 2010 and a joint performance at Belfast’s Waterfront Hall with the West Ocean String Quartet, this year for Bealtaine, the orchestra will perform a lunchtime concert of classics and favourites. In 2011, The Blow the Dust project will also take place in Cork’s Opera House, encouraging older people to take part in workshops and rediscover the joy and fun of playing instruments during a week of rehearsals in the Opera House. (If you are interested in taking part in Blow the Dust in Cork, contact Maeve Dineen 021 4924736).
 
The “Dawn Chorus” project will again be inviting choirs and older people’s groups to sing on waterfronts on 29 May in an inspiring and unique celebration of life, older voices and some stunning settings. (If you would like to take part in ‘Dawn Chorus’, contact Edel Ryan 01 8057709).
 
The “Prime Years” exhibition at Dublin’s Gallery of Photography will form a discussion point at the heart of the festival, offering a stunning photographic exploration of diverse aspects of ageing. The featured photographs depict centenarians, artists, relatives and other individuals enjoying, enduring and living their lives beyond the age of 60. The exhibition will run alongside a number of other exhibitions in Dublin galleries (Clyne, Graphic Studio, Black Church print studio) contributing to the creation of a “Bealtaine Art Trail” throughout the city, highlighting the work of older artists and encouraging all artists to engage with issues around ageing.
 
Bealtaine will be celebrating the contribution of older volunteers during 2011 – the European Year of Volunteering. “Someone to go with” is a unique initiative, beginning in May and supported by Bord Gais, which aims to provide increased opportunities for socially isolated older people to engage with the artistic and cultural life of Ireland. Organisers are inviting potential “Someone to go with” volunteers in Dublin and Cork to get involved in their communities by accompanying older people to Arts/Cultural events. (If you are interested in finding out more about the initiative, contact Emma Connors on 01 805 7709/0851287866). And as part of Bealtaine, Limerick’s Hunt Museum will celebrate the enormous contribution its older volunteers make by commissioning portraits of each of them, which will be displayed during May.
 
(Full programme information will be available from 28 March, Programme available 11 April).
 

*Our theme for 2011, ‘push the boat out, whatever the sea’, is taken from the poem 'At Eighty' by the Scottish poet Edwin Morgan, OBE. Morgan is widely recognised as one of the foremost Scottish poets of the last century. In 1999, he was made the first Glasgow Poet Laureate. The theme is an invitation to embark on a creative journey this May, perhaps to explore a new interest or rediscover a hidden talent. We encourage the celebration of Bealtaine as a time for renewal, growth and creativity, as thousands of older people across Ireland ‘push the boat out’ in May 2011