Cruinniú na nÓg, the annual odya of free creativity for children and young people, is taking place on Saturday 12th June.
The day aims to provide children and young people free creative opportunities for making and doing. This year in Donegal, we have a great line up of events including some creative hands-on opportunities.
Again this year, in line with public health advice, creative opportunities will take place online and at home. However, we have added a selection of activities where materials for taking part will be delivered to your home in advance of the day.
This includes exciting opportunities to make a lockdown stool, a botanical clay print, a scribble bot, a storybook and musical instruments from the comfort of your own home. From June 1st there will be “Activity Packs” available for collection in Culture Division Venues which will equip children and young people with something to encourage them to explore the outdoors creatively.
In addition, building on last year’s success there is an array of online events taking place on the day as well as a showcase of projects created by children and young people in the run up to it. There are also some fantastic nationwide events taking place. All events are entirely FREE OF CHARGE.
Speaking on behalf of the Culture and Creativity Team, Donegal Culture Division Manager with Donegal County Council, Eileen Burgess, said “We are delighted to have adapted this year’s programme to offer hands-on opportunities in the home. In March we asked children and young people across the county to let us know what they’d like to do or try this Cruinniú and activity packs featured strongly in the requests. There were lots of amazing suggestions and we’ve tried to incorporate as much as possible into this year’s programme.”
Highlights on the day include online workshops in art, creative writing, environment, cooking, dance, and digital media. We have some very exciting workshops from Kids Own Publishing including Feli Speaks, for young people aged over 14 years. The Alone Together Festival will make a welcome return again showcasing young musical talent and curated by young people. There are also some great events being produced across the county which will be aired online on June 12th.
There is such an array of activity taking place locally and nationally there is sure to be something for everyone. Registration is essential for most activities and places are limited.
Cruinniú na nÓg is an initiative of the Creative Ireland Programme at the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and is presented in partnership with RTÉ and the Local Authorities.
All information on Donegal events, including booking details, are available at wainfest.ie/family-events.html and national events and initiatives can be viewed at cruinniu.creativeireland.gov.ie/. For updates follow us on social media at @DonegalCountyLibrary on Facebook and @Donegallibrary on Twitter
