Speedie's Blog: Third Annual Harvest & Heritage Festival in Galway city neighbourhood

Part 1 of an exciting programme for Ballinfoile Mór Harvest & Heritage Festival 2012

Bike Repair workshop, Outdoor Baking, Blacksmith’s Forge amongst highlights of Ballinfoile Harvest Festival

Scarecrows, an outdoor pizza oven, a blacksmith’s forge, a bike repair workshop, demonstrations of straw rope-making and locally produced cakes and jams will feature as some of the highlights of the third annual Ballinfoile Mór Harvest and Heritage Festival that will take place on Saturday September 22^nd in the Ballinfoile Mór Community Organic Garden.

Part 2 of an exciting programme for Ballinfoile Mór Harvest & Heritage Festival 2012

We have put together an exciting programme of events to appeal to all ages in a wonderful garden setting that will be a celebration of the high level of volunteerism and sense of community that exists amongst the ordinary people of the Ballinfoile, Bothár an Choiste and Tirellan area.

As well as the organic garden growers, Cumann na bhFear (aka Men’s Shed), Scoil San Phroinsias, the Tús community work placement scheme, RAPID, Galway City Council, Conservation Volunteers Terryland Forest Park, Foroige, Sunny Meadows playschool and other local groups are involved in a neighbourhood festival based around promoting locally grown food produce, culture, crafts, arts, heritage and environmental awareness.

“We will have pizzas served freshly baked from our own outdoor oven; spuds boiled in traditional skillet pots over an open fire; “Granny’s Kitchen” with delicious cakes and buns made to old-time recipes; food dishes from Africa and Asia; an organic food stall; a blacksmith’s forge producing domestic and garden metal implements; demonstrations of farrier skills, traditional drystone walling and straw rope making; an Irish music seisiún; wooden and leather good stalls displaying locally made bee-hives, garden benches, pens and hair barrettes; a ‘High Nelly’ Bike Restoration heritage exhibit; disc jockeys; a marine aquarium; face-painting and an array of scarecrows

Harvest Fest 2011-Garden plots were covered with Scarecrows made by local chldren

Dozens of scarecrows of all shapes and sizes will populate the vegetable plots.

The scarecrows, made out of straw and recycled clothes by the children of Scoil San Phroinsias and the Sunny Meadows preschool, will pay homage to the age–old tradition that farmers and gardener used up until recently to protect the seeds and shoots of their food crops from being eaten by birds.

Harvest Fest 2011 - Volunteers Brian & Tiernan staffing the Bike Repair Workshops

We will also have a bike maintenance workshop where people can bring along their bicycles to get expert advice on how to adjust brakes, fix a puncture and clean gears.

“The aim of this and similar grassroots festivals across Ireland is to foster a feeling of individual self worth and purpose as well as to engender a sense of place and neighbourly goodwill amongst residents of local communities; to help Irish people re-discover the value of making, repairing and growing everyday items. As a nation the Irish have traditionally been characterized by a strong community ethos as exemplified by the GAA, ‘Meitheal’ and a coming together in times of adversity. In this era of recession, high employment, growing emigration and a lowering of national expectations, we need ordinary people to once again take the lead in improving the quality of life of their own localities.

The Festival starts at noon on Saturday September 22^nd and continues until 2.30pm.