May Sunday Festival Returns to Glenbower Woods for Four Days of Free Family Fun

East Cork's beloved May Sunday Festival is set to bring music, art, nature and community spirit to Killeagh's Glenbower Woods from 1 to 4 May, with a packed programme of free events for all ages.

Rooted in the village's rich history, the festival traces its origins to the 1830s, when the local landlord invited villagers onto his estate for music and dancing to celebrate new bridges and improvements to the land. This year's programme builds on those roots with activities spanning storytelling through yoga, fairytale fun and sensory nature play for young children, scavenger hunts and den building for families, and willow weaving, woodland foraging and a dawn chorus singing walk for adults.

Creative movement workshops in nature from dancer Imna Pavon, set dancing at the edge of the wood led by The Ceili Experience, and live music spanning folk, trad, classical and covers from artists including Niamh Bury, Jack Colbert and Stepping Stones will animate venues across the village and Greywood Arts. Stiltwalkers, sound baths and a fire show will add to the atmosphere, alongside a Plein Air sketching demonstration from Sheila McMahon and live portrait sketching from Agnieszka Kyrm and Marian Carroll. Killeagh Scouts and Youghal Urban Sketchers will also be taking part.

Actress and writer Ruth Hayes will stage a reading of her new play at Greywood Arts, while a coffee morning at Ivy Lane will feature readings from poets Paudie Lee, Martina Madden and Rosie Morris of the Mór Artists Collective. Festival-goers are invited to contribute to a miniature portrait exhibition, "Cork People," by designing bottle-cork portraits to decorate the village's main street. Back in the woods, a large-scale art installation from artist Jaki Coffey will bring colour to the heart of Glenbower.

Jessica Bonenfant, Festival Organiser and Artistic Director of Greywood Arts, said:

"The May Sunday Festival welcomes the brighter half of the year with a celebration of creativity, community and nature. Inspired by Killeagh's historic village fete of music and dancing in what is now the community-owned Glenbower Wood, this modern celebration of Bealtaine has something for everyone. We'll be keeping up the tradition of live music and dancing on the Sunday, and adding art, craft, theatre, poetry, ritual and fire over the weekend, before concluding with a foraging walk and litter-pick in Glenbower to make sure we leave this treasured local resource better than we found it."

The full programme is available at www.maysunday.ie.