Bealtaine Festival launches nationwide in May

The Bealtaine 2012 Festival, which celebrates ‘creativity as we age,’ kicks off its arts program in May.  Part-funded by the Arts Council, Bealtaine is an Age & Opportinity initiative which showcases the talents and creativity of older artists across many disciplines. The festival is a nationwide event that is open to both professional and amateur artists and will include poetry workshops, theatre and dance.

2012 is the ‘European Year of Active Ageing and Solidarity Between Generations’ and the theme of this year’s festival is ‘What kind of old do you want to be?’ so joint contributions from young and old artists are particularly welcome.

Last year saw over 120,000 people take part in 3,000 events and expectations are even higher for this year.  A full itinerary of events is available on the Bealtaine website and in the recently launched festival magazine which is available in Centra’s across the country.

An interview with Catherine Rose, CEO of Age & Opportunity, is featured in Network Ireland issue 81.

INK - an exhibition featuring photography and stories of older people's tattoos was part of the 2010 Bealtaine Festival.