COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, October 08, 2012

MOTION NO. 19

MOTION: Councillor E. Higgins

That the Manager present a report outlining what events are being considered or planned for public parks and open spaces between now and Christmas.

REPORT:

As in recent years South Dublin County Council will provide and light 3 civic Christmas trees at the following locations; Chamber Square, Tallaght, Civic Offices Clondalkin and County Library Tallaght.

The Council’s events team in partnership with local artists and community groups co-ordinate the ‘switching on’ of the Christmas tree lights by the Mayor of South Dublin County each year in our civic spaces in Clondalkin and Tallaght.  These events are extremely well attended and have proved increasingly popular over the years as both spectators and participants enjoy an afternoon of fun and entertainment for all.

On the 8^th December 2012, ‘UNWRAPPED’ the annual winter celebration will take place in the County Library, Civic Theatre, RUA RED and Chamber Square culminating with the official lighting of the Civic Christmas Tree by the Mayor.

UNWRAPPED 2012 takes its theme from Oscar Wilde’s short story ‘The Selfish Giant’. Artists, children, young people, and communities of all ages will join in creating an exciting and imaginative live event involving animation, puppetry, music and visual arts that brings the story’s themes of friendship, love, and generosity of spirit to life. Images from last year’s event and further details of the upcoming performance can be found on Facebook at Unwrapped South Dublin

It is proposed that the Clondalkin Christmas Tree lighting ceremony will take place week beginning 3^rd December.

Halloween 2012 (link to Report to Council September 2012)

This year it has been decided to adopt a new approach to celebrating Halloween. Events will be organized that encourage community participation, building community capacity and providing a fun filled spectacle for families through the direct involvement of those families. The events will move away from the mixed message of the community bonfire while maintaining a focus for families and communities around which the Halloween celebrations can take place.

The Council has developed a programme with community arts groups that will involve approximately 200 children from Tallaght and Clondalkin in arts and performance workshops. In these workshops the children will learn the art of costume making and street performance over the course of the next two months. The workshops will aim to culminate in two events featuring pageant type music and dance displays, one in Tallaght and one in Clondalkin, which will showcase the new skills learned by the children.

Plans are now well advanced in relation to the staging of the events and information will be circulated to Councillors shortly. The promotionalcampaign has now also started with the first publications/communiques going out to the public.

Events in Parks

The County’s parks are very popular places for many activities including community, sports, family, youth and charity focused events. This year alone a total of 88 events have been listed, over 50% in Corkagh area, 30% in the Esker area and the remainder in the Tymon district.

Some of the larger events that took place included:

• Business Houses Cross Country Race, Tymon Park in January
• Easter Treasure Hunt in three Regional Parks in April
• Tom Byrne Memorial Road Race, Griffeen Valley Park in May
• Bark in the Park, Tymon Park in June
• National Play Day, Corkagh Park in June
• Mela Festival, Corkagh Park in August. 
• Ramble Aid in three Regional Parks in September.

These events attract visitor numbers ranging from the several hundreds into the thousands for popular events such as National Play Day.

Events have also been organised for other parks in the county including the Charity Walk Olympics in Rathcoole Park in June and many Family Fun Days organised by local residents associations and schools in May and June.

Two funfairs also took place, one in Corkagh Park in May and one in Griffeen Valley Park at the end of August / early September.

The Council is aware of the importance of the parks in the county as locations / venues for events and activities, organised both directly by the Council as well as by third parties. The Council is more than willing to make the parks available for well organised and insured events. A parks events policy is being prepared to facilitate this increasing use of our parks.