4 May 2017
By Bryan T. Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
The organisers of Cork Midsummer Festival 2017 have unveiled a diverse and exciting programme of events. Taking place across 10 days from 16-25 June, this year’s festival features over 400 artists.
More than 50,000 people are expected to attend Cork’s largest annual multi-disciplinary arts festival, with a choice of 51 events in 40 venues and city wide locations.
The 2017 programme includes 11 premieres, showcasing some of the most exciting talent in Ireland. A fusion of opera, literature, theatre, dance, music and visual art, it also includes family-friendly festivities, talks and a wide choice of free events.
Speaking ahead of the launch, Cork Midsummer Festival Director, Lorraine Maye said: “This is truly a festival for Cork. From the diverse programme to the plethora of venues dispersed across the city, this is about making the arts accessible and enjoyable to all. Over the 10 days, festival goers can expect spectacular installations, ground-breaking participatory events, gripping productions, and magical experiences – all within a city known for its vision, colour and creativity.”
Highlights include Luke Jerram’s giant replica of the moon, Museum of the Moon at the Nexus Hall, Cork Institute of Technology (21-23 June). Run in partnership with CIT, and sponsored by O’Flynn Exhams Solicitors and JCD Group, pioneering NASA astronaut Dr Buzz Aldrin will also give a lecture in front of the installation on June 27.
Officially launching Cork Midsummer Festival’s 2017 programme is Cork’s dancer in residence Laura Murphy along with Siobhán Ní Dhuinnín with the contemporary dance piece, Yellow. They are pictured at the Glen River Park, Ballyhooley Road where the free outdoor performance, Fleischmann in the Glen, will take place. Picture Clare Keogh
