Carnival curator sinks his teeth into Hallowe’en

It may be a couple of months yet until Derry’s debut as City of Culture 2013 but the city is already getting into the party spirit as it prepares to celebrate its favourite annual festival - and what promises to be a real Hallowe’en hair raiser at that.

There’s less than two weeks to go until the Banks of the Foyle Hallowe’en Carnival, the city is gearing up for a spooktacular show to remember, setting the cultural stage for what’s to come over the next few months. And this year one man has been tasked by the North West Carnival Initiative with adding the final touch of finesse to the proceedings, as artistic curator of the country’s biggest Hallowe’en extravaganza.

With over 20 years working on the community arts scene, Kevin O’Neill is well used to the excitement and last minute mayhem of the festival circuit. For the past ten years he has taken a 100 strong group from the Inishowen Carnival Group to Ireland’s largest festival celebration - the St Patrick’s Day parade in Dublin - just one of the many arts events he is regularly involved in.

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And over the past few weeks he has been getting out and about in the city, rounding up some more than willing volunteers to bring Derry’s weird and wonderful carnival creatures to life, as Kevin explained:

“Well the aim of this new role is to oversee the parade preparations and ensure the continuity of the theme throughout the entire parade. Obviously the visual impact is key to the carnival’s success, so we want to make sure that everyone is looking their best and that the show looks spectacular from the front of the parade right through to the back.”

No small feat with over 600 people ranging from primary school to pensioner age taking part.

“We have around 650 people in the parade this year, with participants and performers stemming mainly from local community and arts groups, so there will be a lot to co-ordinate,” Kevin admits. “It’s a bit of a daunting task ahead of the City of Culture events lined up for next year, so we want it to be as eye-catching as possible.

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“So far the main focus has been on coming up with the central ideas and themes of the carnival, and now we have moved on to the costume planning stages. I’m currently working with some of the local community organisations as they put the finishing touches to their costumes, and get their hands dirty creating props such as lanterns and swords etc to set them off.”

As always the parade will have a central theme, and this year’s ‘Other Worlds’ theme promises to really capture the imagination.

“This year’s parade is based on a mythical journey comprising of four sections,” Kevin explained. “The first is the Sea Journey, which leads to the journey through Wasteland featuring zombies and ghouls and all your traditional Halloween creatures. Following this there’s the Sky Journey with some weird and wonderful flying contraptions, and this culminates in their arrival in a beautiful paradise land. We hope to take the carnival audience through this magical journey with plenty to capture the imagination of all those watching.

“We aim to carry the storyline and some of those very strong themes right throughout the parade this year, so it’s very important to us that we get the costumes and attention to detail just right and that everyone participating really gets into the spirit of the event. I’ve been very impressed with what I’ve seen in the workshops so far, and there is real enthusiasm for what has to be the city’s favourite event.”

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Just one of the many community groups taking part in the fun is the Waterside Women’s Group, who are regular participants and look forward to the event every year, according to art facilitator Elizabeth Blackburn. “We’re gearing up for a brilliant night this year and it’s the perfect excuse for our members to get the children involved in some fun family activities as well as enjoy a great evening out,” she said.

“We have children aged from P3 up to P7 taking part as well as their parents, and this year everyone will be dressing up - not just the kids - so everyone will be properly involved in the parade. We’re really enjoying the workshops being held by the Carnival Initiative and coming up with some great costume ideas.

“It’s fantastic to have such positive events happening in the city, and we will be making an extra effort this year to celebrate all the good work that is going on within our local communities,” she added.

Up to 30,000 people are expected to enjoy this year’s spooky celebrations, with five days of fangtastic fun planned for all the family.

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