Festival spreading some joy this July
Plans are well underway for this year’s Joy in the Park festival which takes place in a few weeks.
A free event for everyone, Joy In The Park is a celebration of life, whilst supporting mental health and wellbeing, in partnership with Cork Mental Health Foundation.
Headlining this year is Aslan with Lee Tomkins on vocals. The John McCarthy main stage line-up will also welcome acclaimed songwriter Paddy Casey and his daughter Saoirse Casey, Cork's own ska sensations The Service, indie rockers The Dagenham Yanks with Cork 96FM's presenters Lorraine and Ross, Brian McEvoy and Ken Perrott MCing throughout the afternoon.
The Joy Sylvie Stage brings a fresh eclectic vibe to the day with DJ sets by Morty (Sultans of Ping) and Big Up The Beours! with NatMac featuring female and non-binary talent.
The spoken word session will be hosted by Stan Notte with performances by Julie Goo, Cormac Lally and Michelle Delea and returning for its third round, Ringo: Music Bingo, the world's greatest Comedy-Music-Intro-Game-Not-Quiz, will host a round of family movie theme tunes as well as some classic pop songs.
Also making a welcome return is The Cork Headway Choir, a service for adults with acquired brain injury.
The Mad Hatter's Tent will present some of the city and county's most celebrated independent artists with Ger Wolfe, Fiona Kennedy, Myles Gaffney, Polly Barrett, Stuart Wilde, Molly O'Mahony with MC Wasps vs Humans.
Bringing the living room outside, The Couch Sessions will play home to the Rose Garden Traditional Irish Music and 49 North Street contemporary music sessions.
Cork drum & brass big band BoolaBoom take over the park at various intervals during the afternoon, whilst the Eccentric Hatter's Crew will be on walkabout for meet and greets.
Joy In the Park also welcomes back its programme partner Minding Creative Minds (MCM), Ireland's first 24/7 wellbeing support programme for everyone working in the creative sector. MCM will present Broadening Your Horizons As A Creative moderated by Tadgh Hickey who will be joined in conversation by a number of panelists talking about their own careers.
This year also offers another packed programme of family entertainment and interactive fun with the Cork Circus Factory.
For those seeking a quieter space, the Wellness Haven is located near the park's fountain with meditation sessions provided by Drolma Kelang from Cork Meditation Centre and Laughing Yoga Workshops with Deborah McCann.
The Cork Independent is delighted to be print partner for the event.
For a full list of events, see joyinthepark.com.