Carlow's annual Eigse is in top gear this week, with performers and exponents of a wide range of skills mingling with thousands of visitors on the streets.
Now in its 20th year, the town's arts festival, run by volunteers, has expanded by leaps and bounds and boasts a substantial fringe as well as multiple craft workshops to complement the main events.
Running right through next weekend, the major crafts and visual arts exhibitions remain open, and landmark musical events are scheduled each evening.
Cor na nOg, the RTE Youth Choir, conducted by Blainaid Murphy with narration by Bernadette Garvey, performs in the town's Cathedral of the Assumption on Friday morning at 11 a.m. and a concert by John O'Conor takes place at the same venue on Saturday evening.
Saturday will also see the public unveiling of "The Liberty Tree", a six-foot sculpture by John Behan commissioned by the UDC to commemorate the bi-centenary of the 1798 Battle of Carlow.
Singer, Sean Keane, performs on Saturday; Sunday offers street theatre and the festival ball. Both adults and children can explore the basics of a diversity of craft skills, ranging from enamelling and jewellery-making to ceramics and wood-turning throughout Saturday; there are over a dozen art exhibitions continuously open on the fringe.
Festival information: 050330065, 0503-40491.