Thousands to enjoy Culture Night

THOUSANDS OF people are expected to attend free events in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick tonight as part of a cultural festival taking place in the cities.

This is the first time that Culture Night has been held outside Dublin, and organisers are expecting a significant turnout for the event.

More than 80,000 people attended last year's culture night in Dublin; this year the organisers are anticipating 100,000 in the capital.

Events taking place range from art exhibitions and poetry readings to dance and music showcases, with plenty of workshops and demonstrations on offer to keep even the most culture-hungry visitor satisfied.

In Dublin, culture fans can attend taster classes in different dance styles including ballet, bellydancing, contemporary, flamenco, jazz, salsa or swing classes at the DanceHouse venue. Poetry Ireland is hosting an open mic night for budding poets.

The National Print Museum is offering young people the chance to take part in activities such as bookmaking and printmaking. Wannabe-actors can get their first taste of treading the boards with the Gaiety School of Acting.

In Cork, a film karaoke in the Glucksman Gallery will see artist Fiona Dowling screen extracts from films adapted from books and invite the audience to act out the dialogue in the style of karaoke - but with no singing. The Blackrock Castle Observatory is staying open late and the Triskel Arts Centre will host readings from the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Festival.

In Galway the city's youth theatre group will perform Chatroom at the Nuns' Island Studio, and Druid returns to the Town Hall Theatre for a free performance of its Synge documentary.

Walking tours of the historic walls of Limerick will be led by the assistant curator of Limerick City Museum, Brian Hodkinson. A family céilí is also on the agenda, with Conradh na Gaeilge inviting families of all ages and abilities to take part in the music and dancing at Halla Íde.

See www.culturenight.ie for more details.