27.05.2014
Christ Church Cathedral Preparing to Bring the Outside Inside for Dublin Garden Festival
Christ Church Cathedral will be transformed into a stunning floral arcadia for the Dublin Garden Festival which takes place from Friday June 13 to Sunday June 15. The cathedral will be decorated with contemporary and classic arrangements designed by some of Ireland’s most talented and award–winning floral artists. The line–up has now been announced for the Dublin Garden Festival with a host of gardening celebrities on hand in the cathedral to give wonderful talks to keep everyone entertained.
Christ Church Cathedral is a leading tourist destination and every year staff welcome thousands of visitors through the door. Fundraising for the much needed repair and restoration of the cathedral and grounds has been ongoing for some time and all proceeds from the garden festival will go towards this endeavour. It is hoped that this first garden festival will be the beginning of an annual event in the yearly cathedral calendar.
Throughout the weekend of the festival a spectacular array of floral displays will fill the medieval building with colour. Visitors will receive gardening advice from renowned and much loved personalities from the world of gardening and horticulture. Outside in the cathedral grounds there will be horticultural displays, Irish food produce, urban gardens, birds of prey, a petting zoo, craft demonstrations, live entertainment and an outdoor artisan food tent full of gourmet food including afternoon tea.Each day, a number of talks entitled ‘Gardening With The Experts’ will take place in the cathedral’s historic South Transept featuring a host of prolific expert gardeners discussing everything from money–saving composting to creating your very own urban garden.
The line–up is as follows:
Friday 13 June 11am: Helen Dillon | 2pm: Matthew Jebb | 3pm: Christopher White | 6pm: Fiann O Nuallain
Saturday 14 June 10am: Kitty Scully | 12.00pm: Fiann O Nuallain | 1.30pm: Dermot O’Neill | 3.00pm: Christopher White | 4.30pm: Gerry Daly | 6.00pm: Jane McCorkell
Sunday 15 June 1pm: Diarmuid Gavin
Music will fill the cathedral each day with recitals, bird song and much more. The stellar voices of Christ Church Cathedral Choir will perform a special concert at 3.30 pm on Sunday with Benjamin Britten’s beautiful unaccompanied work, Five Flower Songs. This beautiful and enchanting work continues to be a delight while the open–air songs have all the summer charm their title promises. A beautiful and unforgettable afternoon awaits all who attend.
The festival will be open Friday 13 and Saturday 14 from 9am until 9pm and Sunday 15 from 12.30pm to 7pm. Admission – €12 / €10 conc. 2 Day Pass – €20/€16 conc. 3 Day Pass – 30/€25 conc. Groups of 10 or more: €8.50. Children under 12 go free. Early Bird offer available now on Ticketmaster: €10 / €16; 2 Day Pass: €25. 3 Day Pass – €30. offer ends 6th June. For tickets please visit: http://www.ticketmaster.ie/Dublin-Garden-Festival-tickets/artist/5132628
For further information, please visit www.dublingardenfestival.ie