The Happy Days Enniskillen International Beckett Festival is launching ‘Festival Tales’, a storytelling project calling on any volunteers, businesses, and individuals from across Ireland and beyond who participated in the festivals over the last ten years to share their stories, reminiscences, and experiences of ten years of world class Beckett and Wilde Festivals and public art projects in Enniskillen.
Renowned Fermanagh author and storyteller, Séamas Mac Annaidh, will be leading a series of storytelling workshops – starting on Tuesday 27th June at Charlie’s Bar – inviting everyone to share their stories, anecdotes, friendships, ordinary and extraordinary happenings that have shaped their experience over the ten years of the globally celebrated Enniskillen festival programme.
Happy Days Festival Manager and Head of Drama at Enniskillen Royal Grammar School, Sally Rees said, “with some of the greatest, global names in theatre, music and performance coming to Enniskillen over the past 10 years we believe we have a treasure trove of memories, conversations and experiences that need to be captured and brought to life. Happy Days Festival Tales isn’t just about commemorating the great writers of Samuel Beckett and Oscar Wilde who were schooled in Enniskillen, it is about celebrating the hundreds of volunteers and local businesses that have made the Festivals happen, their stories, insights and encounters. If we don’t do this now, this rich civic experience could be lost forever and that’s why Festival Tales is so important!”
The first of the open storytelling workshops will take place upstairs in Charlie’s Bar on Church Street, Enniskillen, from 6pm – 8pm on Tuesday June 27th. The workshops are designed for all ages, and no need for previous writing experience is required.
Séamas MacAnnaidh, broadcaster, writer and author of the highly acclaimed “Irish History – An Illustrated A to Z”, added, “Enniskillen’s unique annual Happy Days arts festival has made a huge impact locally, nationally and internationally in its first ten years. Now it’s time to look back, to remember and celebrate its ambitious programming, innovative productions and imaginative choice of venues.”
“This is a festival that will continue to grow and develop and I think it’s important to acknowledge the work of the volunteers, the support of the local businesses, and especially the audiences who came out night after night. Now this is your chance to tell us what the festival means to you.”
The workshops are part of a wider literary heritage project in Enniskillen inviting people to share their stories through the website.
Una Burns from Charlie’s Bar added, “we are so pleased to be hosting these Festival Tales workshops with Séamas MacAnnaidh. Charlie’s Bar is at the heart of the community. To be the place where people come, share and tell their stories, have fun and go away feeling they have contributed to making Enniskillen a great place to live, work and socialise, goes to the heart of what we are about at Charlie’s. Most importantly we want the Beckett and Wilde Festivals to flourish and will do whatever we can to help!”
To register an interest in attending the workshop with Séamas Mac Annaidh please email the Festival Manager, Sally Rees before Monday June 26th at [email protected]
