Oct 27th-Nov 2nd
School's out
Tomorrow, from noon until 4pm at Airfield in Dundrum, Dublin, Halloween Mardi Gras is a day of music, ghost stories, facepainting and art. See www.airfield.ie
RoolaBoola, at the Linenhall Arts Centre, Castlebar, Co Mayo, is an arts festival for ages two to 16 featuring workshops and shows. www.thelinenhall.com.
Today at Marlay Park and House, Dublin, Samhain 2007 is a free festival of spooky thrills, including a fancy-dress parade and fireworks. See www.dlrevents.ie
Music
More than 40,000 visitors are expected in Cork this weekend for Cork Jazz Festival, featuring stars such as Gary Burton,
Chico Freeman, Don Byron and the Blind Boys of Alabama. See www.corkjazzfestival.com. Dublin Electronic Arts Festival has a multicultural theme, with Pamelia Kurstin, guzheng player Wu Fei, and Miya Masaoka at St Audoen's Church on High Street. See www.deafireland.com
Sport
A record 11,000 competitors will take part in Dublin City Marathon on Monday. Belfast International Horse Show is at the Odyssey Arena today and tomorrow. Skibbereen, Co Cork, hosts the Fastnet Rally. See www.rally.ie. The interprovincial football and hurling finals take place under lights in Croke Park this evening.
Theatre
Improbable Frequency, Rough Magic's quirky romp, opens in Galway on Tuesday, at the Black Box, at the start of a national tour. Carrie Crowley joins the production.
Festivals
Trim Festival of Masks offers music, theatre, puppetry and a Masquerade Ball at venues in the Co Meath town. See www.festivalofmasks.ie. Savour Kilkenny is the southeast's first food festival with a gospel brunch, Tennessee hoedown, farmers' market and kids' cookery classes. www.kilkenny.ie
The Festival of Drumming is on in west Cork this weekend, with drum, dance and bodhrán workshops in Clonakilty and Bantry, and culminating with a Samhain celebration at Lisselan Gardens, Clonakilty, from 7pm Monday. See www.wcie.ie
Giving
Wicklow's Historic Gaol is the venue on Wednesday for a Charity Halloween Jail Break, with teams of four trying to escape a jail maze in aid of Debra Ireland and Fighting Blindness. See www.c4c.ie
Freebies
NewSoundWorlds is a series of 6pm concerts until Christmas (sorry) at the Printing House at Trinity College, starting with Hugh Tinney on Tuesday. Róisín Kennedy hosts a lecture tomorrow at 1.30pm at the Hugh Lane gallery, exploring the city in the works of Jack B Yeats.
and finally . . .
Clocks go back an hour tonight.