Culture Night 2009

Yesterday the Temple Bar Cultural Trust (TBCT) and Lord Mayor Cllr Emer Costello officially launched the programme of events for this year's Culture Night, which will take place on Friday 25th September across the 11 participating towns, cities and counties in Ireland.

Grainne Millar, Head of Cultural Development at TBCT said "Culture Night 2009 is a unique platform that presents the wealth and variety of Irish cultural treasures on a scale that is accessible for everyone. We are delighted to be in a position, in our fourth year, to bring together cultural communities across Ireland to capture the imagination of an estimated 500,000 people as they go out and explore culture on their own doorstep. Culture Night began in 2006 with an attendance of 40,000. The year on year growth and the participation of 11 towns, cities and counties this year is a reflection of the enormous positive contribution culture can make to our society"

"In these times, it is more important than ever for Culture Night to connect with families and strengthen the relationship between culture and the public against the backdrop of current economic difficulty so that we can imagine a different future where culture is recognized as an intrinsic dimension to our development and growth as a society"

A brand new Culture Night logo 'See All Sorts', designed by Maeve Keane from DIT, Mountjoy Square, illustrates the diverse mix of culture that visitors can expect to experience on the night. From live animals in the Dead Zoo in Dublin to a Lord Mayor's Tea Dance in Cork; Theatrical Entertainment in Galway to An Cosán Glas sculpture trail in Letterkenny; a tour of a thousand years of art and antiquities in the Hunt Museum in Limerick to an Altered Images exhibition in Ballina, Mayo; a tour of Artists Studios in Boyle and Roscommon to a bag of culture on the culture trail in Sligo; Dancing In The Green in Tralee to culture in Waterford and An Céilí Mor in Dun Mhuire Theatre, Wexford.

In Dublin a record 124 cultural venues will open their doors for Culture Night including St Stephen's Green Park, the National Museum of Ireland, the Science Gallery Trinity College, The Revenue Museum, Guinness Storehouse, RTÉ Performing Groups, Dublin Castle State Apartments, Gallery Zozimus and a Francis Street Treasure Hunt, The Ark Cultural Centre for Children and much more.