The Ocean to City show must go on!
Celebrations with a twist are taking place across the week as Cork Harbour Festival moved its physical festival online in light of Covid-19 restrictions.
Organisers Meitheal Mara are featuring an online gala of Cork Harbour and Ireland’s maritime culture, which is now in full swing and continues until Monday 8 June.
Festivities began on 15 May, the original start date of the festival, and have included live Facebook and Zoom events, videos, tutorials, craft projects, an Ocean to City Virtual Challenge and much more.
Festival Manager Joya Kuin from Meitheal Mara said: ‘’It’s really fantastic to be able to share a slice of this year’s Cork Harbour Festival with everyone and our thanks goes to the brilliant event partners around Cork city and harbour, our funders and supporters, as well as the team here in Meitheal Mara for their creativity.’’ The next number of days will see the following events: Saturday 6 June, 11am - Ocean to City Virtual Challenge This is a fun, energetic and creative way to celebrate the rowing and paddling community that was built up over the past 16 years. With safety foremost, the public are invited to pick a challenge that matches their ability. The event has two categories to choose from: the Rowing Machine Challenge where participants see how far they can row in a specified time, and a Fun Challenge where participants are asked to show their most creative rowing or paddling training on land. Be warned, deadline for registration is today, Thursday 4 June, so don’t delay!
Monday 8 June, 1.10pm - Lunchtime lecture with UCC School of History and Dr Connie Kelleher, ‘The Alliance of Pirates, Ireland and Atlantic Piracy’ In the early part of the seventeenth-century, along the southwest coast of Ireland, piracy was a way of life. Dr Connie Kelleher will explore who these pirates were, their main theatre of operations and the characters that aided and abetted them.
8.30pm - Ó Bhéal Poetry Event Featured poets for Ó Bhéal’s third virtual event, part of Cork Harbour Festival, are Mick Delap and Alice Lyons. The evening will also include a five-word challenge and open-mic session. Sailor-poet Mick Delap will celebrate the magnificence of the Atlantic coast. The full programme of this year’s online celebration, as well as recordings from past events, are online at corkharbourfestival.com. To join a live event, either watch the live stream on the festival Facebook page facebook.com/corkharbourfestival/ or register for a Zoom invite at corkharbourfestival.com. All events are free to join.