Welcoming Mr Whippy

Mr Whippy Soundsystem is coming to Cork for the very first time this weekend and unfortunately there won't be an ice cream in sight. Instead though, this loveable tropical ice-cream van DJ Booth will be delivering summer sounds to entertain the crowds at this weekend's Irish Examiner Food Festival in Fitzgerald Park. Mayo native, Dermot McCabe, he will be driving down from Westport in his 1972 Ford Transit Ice Cream van that he acquired in the UK in 2004 and it might be recognisable to festival goers all over the country.

Dermot recently re-pimped his ride with a beautiful restoration thanks to a local mechanic in Westport and is all set for the summer schedule that lies ahead which includes several festival dates around the country.

"It's a long distance down from Mayo but it's exciting to be coming to Cork for the first time and especially to play three days over the course of the Food Festival. My van has been spruced up now and is ready to hit the roads around Ireland," said Dermot, also known as Mr Whippy.

"Mr Whippy Soundsystem is a happiness mobile and it's here to make people smile and bring a chilled out atmosphere to any event. It's great when I'm driving around the country and the reaction I get from people is amazing as I drive along the roads."

Mr Whippy Soundsystem DJ set's respond to people, venue and the vibe and he is a long time vinyl record collector with a small record shop's worth of original Reggae, Afrobeat, Latin, Disco, Soul, Hip Hop, Raggamuffin, Jungle and Tropical vinyl records. He DJ's regularly at home and abroad and has bought his van to events like Electric Picnic and Dun Laoghaire's Festival of World Cultures.

"I like to ease a party into musical relaxation before whipping up a dance floor frenzy by simple playing great tunes and joining the musical dots from the start to the end of the night. My ethos is 'Chill That Mind' and I hope the Cork audiences will respond to that while they get to sample the food of some wonderful chefs at this food festival."

Mr.Whippy Soundsystem plays the Irish Examiner Food Festival on Thursday from 5.30-7.30pm, Friday 12-4pm & 5.30-9.30pm and Saturday 12-4pm & 5.30-9.30pm