12-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Gap Arts Festival successfully returns to Wexford
The festival took place in Ballythomas, Gorey and saw a turnout of over 900 people, which was a tremendous success according to organiser Garrett Keogh. 'Over nine hundred people, young and old, enjoyed the variety of events, from the outdoor family movie to talks on local history, tales, lore, and Crypto currency,' Garrett said.
Over the weekend, the festival performed an in-house production of the Wexford written play Shep, which tells the story of a working dog and a pet dog. 'So many people turned up on the last night that we had to take the actors' chairs from the dressing room to seat the audience,' he said.
Garrett spoke about the reaction to the opening Music Mentees Gig, where parents, friends and families were delighted to see children performing in public for the first time after eight weeks of tutoring with Dave and Natalie Murphy of the Soul Cowboys
'Our workshops are central to what the festival does. Whether in poetry, painting, photography, or foraging and jam-making in Irish, they offer engagement with the arts and the chance to learn new skills.
'It's like throwing a pebble into a pond, you never know where the ripples will go,' he said.
Events which took place over the weekend included a drop in art making session, the Boggle Circus and the family movie night. Garrett spoke about the Saturday events. 'The Drop-In Art-Making Saturday saw a father place a brush in his ten-month old child's hand. He held the tiny hand in his and guided the paints onto the paper.'
At the grand finale, local choirs including the Askamore Singers, the Ballyfad Choir and the Kindred – a mother a twin daughter combo – performed for the community to close the festival.
Elizabeth Howard, Creative Engagement Community Officer at Wexford spoke at the lunchtime gathering. 'The Wexford Arts Office recognises the great work of the Gap Festival and the importance of creatively approaching engagement with the language, in projects like Subh Dubh,' she said.
Garrett praised the community for their participation with the festival. 'It was fitting that the festival was bookended by the participants of two workshops and their creations.
'The Grand Finale and the Mentees Gig show how the Gap facilitates ownership of this festival by the community,' Garrett said.
Supported by Wexford County Council in partnership with Creative Ireland the Gap had organised a series of foraging and jam-making workshops using the local fruits and flowers, elderflowers, fraughans and blackberries.
the Gap Arts Festival has been recognised by the European Festivals Association as a 'unique festival', referencing their participative elements.
