On The Town: There was wine, drum beats and love songs. The lights were low as musicians gathered to play and promote the upcoming Festival of World Cultures in Dún Laoghaire.
Within minutes, Lobo, the Morrison Hotel nightclub, was hummin' to a multicultural beat - a syncopated rhythm.
Graham Cruz, Dublin's hip young designer who has a stall at Temple Bar's Market every Saturday morning, donned an elegant suit to MC the party. Gone were his customary cut-away jeans, chains and retro biker look.
Members of the Oriental Band, including Lebanese relatives Fadi Hatoum, Samer Hatoum and Kifah Hatoum, as well as Jonathan Healy on keyboards and Niall O'Brien on violin, sang a traditional Egyptian song, A Night of Love, about a man who wants to spend 1,001 nights with the woman he loves, explained violinist Samer. Bellydancer Martina O'Brien added further eastern interpretation to their songs.
A number of artists from the Congo also came to enjoy the party, including members of the Soukous All Stars. Nindja Mandiangu, who has lived in Dublin for the past eight years, is a member of the group, which will play at the People's Park in Dún Laoghaire on Saturday August 23rd at 2 p.m. at one of the festival's many free events.
The festival aims to be accessible to all, while highlighting the positive aspects of multiculturism, according to Derek Brady, manager of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.
Sarah Searson, the council's arts officer, says they hope the three-day festival, which starts on Friday, August 22nd, will attract up to 70,000 people.
Others at the party included cabaret singers Camille O'Sullivan, and Susannah de Wrixon, who will both be performing during the festival; artist Veronica Heywood, Cecil McCabe, of the Dublin Welsh Male Voice Choir, actor Sue Mythen, Pierrot Ngadi, chairman of the Congolese Irish Partnership, jazz pianist and broadcaster, Billy Ó hAnluain and Adekunle Gomez, of the African Cultural Project.