Wexford County Council is pleased to announce that 20 Festivals throughout the county have been award funding in 2023 through the Arts Office Small Arts festival Fund and Fáilte Ireland Festival Scheme. This amounts to a total investment of €47,000 in our local communities. This year the Grant Scheme was broken into 2 strands:

Strand 1 – Small Arts Festival Grant Total Fund €25,000 : This grant supports a diverse range of small arts festivals or experimental artistic events throughout Wexford County. The focus is on festivals of artistic quality and have a strong emphasis on public engagement. We also welcome applications promoting cross disciplinary artistic collaborations and experimentation. 

Strand 2 – Fáilte Ireland Festival Grant Total Fund €22,000 : This strand supported by Fáilte Ireland aims to support festivals that drive domestic tourism, help to improve the visitor experience in County Wexford, focusing on historic festivals, traditional culture festivals and festivals promoting food culture. 

A total of 20 festivals were awarded funding of between €1,000 - €3,000 each, out of a total of 33 applications.      
        
        

Small Arts Festival Awarded Festivals 2023.
           
 

• Gorey.pl Polish Cultural Association – A festival celebrating Polish Arts and culture including drama workshops, film  screening followed by Q&A with the polish actors & directors in the and a  fashion show. 
   
• The Gap Arts Festival 2023 - A full weekend of artistic festival events, including professional theatre, art, music, talks and workshops in rural Ballythomas, north Wexford, and environs.
   
• The Gorey May Bush Féile - varied activities taking place to celebrate the May Bush festival in  Gorey District.
   
• '2 Many Dance Moves’ - a two-day festival of dance workshops and a live dance performance in New Ross aimed at young people. 
   
• New Ross Guitar Festival – a recent festival showcasing the best of local, national and international guitarists, includes concerts, workshops and various busking events in various locations in New Ross.
   
• New Ross Piano Festival – A festival celebrating the best of classical piano with local, national and international performers, includes recitals and workshops .This scheme support the jazz piano element to this festival. 
   
• FuddleFest - a selection of classical, folk and trad concerts  performances over 2 days indoors and outdoors  in the rural environment of  Fuddletown Farm , Killinick.
   
• Jazz at Johnstown - Offering three days of jazz music playing across multiple stages in addition to indoor evening concerts at Johnstown Castle.
   
• ‘Write By The Sea’ Literary Festival - festival that brings a hive of literary activity into Kilmore Quay, by presenting readings, interviews, discussions, storytelling and workshops with international, national and local writers
   
• ‘SpringMoves’ Dance Festival – In partnership with the National opera House. A  2-day festival celebrating dance for children and adults alike with invited  local, national and international dancers. Includes workshops, street dance performances, talks
  and film screening.
   
• Wexford Arts Centre ‘One Voice Festival’ – A festival celebrating new playwrighting voices  in Wexford , culminating in  8 short monologue plays, performed over a series of evenings in Wexford Arts Centre 
   
• The Wexford May Bush Festival 2023 – online and in person arts festival celebrating the May Bush with events from mid-April to mid-May.  

      
Fáilte Ireland Awarded Festivals 2023
   

• Rockin’ Food & Fruit Festival Enniscorthy - a fun filled weekend for families, Rock ‘n’ Roll enthusiasts, Foodies and lovers of Irish Craft in Enniscorthy 
   
• Leo Carthy Weekend – a unique weekend festival that celebrates many different musical genres: the ancient art of mumming and the rich Irish folklore exclusive to the southeast of Ireland.
   
• Rosslare Harbour Festival 2023 – a festival that is a series of community lead events that explores the rich heritage of the village, port, surrounding areas and the relationship with the wider world.
   
• Enniscorthy Street Rhythms and Dance Festival –a festival of culture and heritage through music and Dance.
   
• North Wexford Traditional Singing Circle – a weekend of traditional song workshops, singing events, and singing & historical walking tours.
   
• Duncannon Village Renewal Group - a weekend festival of sand sculpting showcasing sand sculptors to create attractive sculptures along with a fireworks display to open the event and various complementary activities over the weekend.
   
• Bannow Folk & Traditional Society – a full weekend of showcasing the culture of the Bannow area through concerts, workshops, music sessions and Children’s entertainment.
   
• The O’Neill Ancestral Trust – a festival celebrating the unique historic legacies of actor James O’Neill and his son, the celebrated playwright Eugene O’Neill, in their ancestral home area of New Ross, Co Wexford. 

         
       
Liz Burns, County Arts Officer, Arts Department, said, ‘Wexford County council is delighted to support twenty unique festivals in 2023, that each celebrate Wexford’s vibrant arts and cultural heritage for locals and visitors to enjoy.  I wish all the festivals every success in 2023 and look forward to attending them”.