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| Spectacular. All pics by Anna Groniecka Photography. |
West Cork’s renowned annual street carnival returned to Clonakilty this weekend on Saturday 17 June, for a spectacular day of food, live music and activities for all the family.
This year’s event was officially opened by award-winning chef Eunice Power. The RTE One Today Show chef celebrated the wonderful talents of all the local chefs, food producers and businesses as she opened the main food tent and sampled the very best cuisine and flavours that Clonakilty has to offer.
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| Dance and dine |
Speaking at the event Eunice said; “I’m absolutely delighted to open The Irish Yogurts Clonakilty Street Carnival, it’s been a fantastic day here in Clonakilty and it’s a great honour to be a part of this brilliant food festival. Events like this are so important for us all to come together to enjoy and shine a light on the wonderful talents within West Cork’s renowned food community, chefs and restaurateurs. I understand the hard work, commitment and ingenuity that it takes to get a festival together. Huge congratulations to the whole community in Clonakilty for such an amazing day and to Diarmuid and Mary O’Sullivan of Irish Yogurts Clonakilty for supporting this day.”
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| Volunteers at the heart of it |
Dishes created by Clonakilty’s finest, award-winning restaurants, bars and hotels tantalised tastebuds with fresh, seasonal and local ingredients. Clonakilty’s long-standing famous food producers Irish Yogurts Clonakilty and Clonakilty Black Pudding featured in the menu alongside Wild Atlantic seafood linguine, poached lobster tornado, curries, Castletownbere crab tacos, burritos, loaded potato nachos, barbequed steak and Clonakilty Black Pudding burgers, and many more. Food tickets included the choice of two main meal dishes with prosecco fruit punch, wine and desserts also included, as the day saw over 1,400 diners from 3pm-6pm tucking into tasty street food dishes on long dining tables, adorned with locally picked wildflowers.
The Clonakilty street carnival is a highly anticipated social event for the town which sees thousands of visitors flock to the award-winning, seaside town to enjoy this special day of food and free activities and entertainment. The entire community of Clonakilty comes together to contribute, sponsor and volunteer their time to organise, set up and promote.
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| The little ones are well entertained. And fed! |
Tim Coffey, an organiser of the event, said; “Without our wonderful volunteers, who effortlessly set up and clear the streets all day from dawn to dusk, we wouldn’t be able to facilitate this memorable day and showcase all our top-class food and entertainment talent. We’d like to thank everyone who has given their time in making this magical day such a huge success and to Eunice Power for officially opening the event and supporting us on the day.”
Headline musical acts throughout the event had audiences dancing in the streets and
drumming groups added extra beat to the festivities. Kids enjoyed their very own carnival experience as they were entertained and dined in the Family Fun Zone, which saw plenty of free activities including face painting, stilt walkers, drumming workshops and giant games and inflatables.
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| A place for everyone. And a plate also! |
The newly opened ‘Flourish & Be’ salon on Pearse Street allowed for an autism-friendly space for families and adults, as part of Clonakilty’s continued commitment to being an autism-friendly town. A bespoke, inclusive and occupational therapy led hair salon for children, has sensory toys and activity stations to help create positive experiences.
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