Dun Laoghaire Festival of World Cultures 2009 (3)

Another wet morning and you find me in the Bloomfields café, supping tea(sensible drinking). It's after 1pm and I'm perusing today's schedule. Oumou Sangare, Babylon Circus and the Dhoad Gypsies of Rajasthan will all be offering their music free to the public in Newtownsmith later on today. My attention, however, will be fixed on the People's Park with cultural delights from Cameroon, Mexico and Soweto. Will they bring any surprises?

Well I've made it to the Kingston Hotel where Steve Cooney and an assortment of dreadlocked musicians are looking around sternly whilst in rehearsal for their gig later... Signs behind the Kingston bar proclaim loudly 'CASH ONLY'. Everyone's out to take advantage of the money the festival brings locally and you'd have to say why not?

The People's Park is festooned with bunting hanging off the lamposts. A Latin-American band are capitivating a small but devoted audience. Water is the key word today. Not only is it coming down from the sky at an incredible pace, but there are a number of fountains in the park with water spouting from the mouths and penis's of the statues there.I should be thankful I'm not getting showered in urine.Anyway the water won't kill me.

Omnipresent over the weekend are food and children. If they were not present then, one wonders, would the festival work? A little more imagination is needed. If these gripes are addressed next year things will be more exciting. Also, the main thoroughfare in DL is practically ignored. Something for Ms Ackland to work on when she's not busily avoiding interviews....

It's 2.45pm and I am moving away from the People's Park going towards Marine Road for one last trawl through the crowds... Outside Saint Michael's church a lone pan piper is drawing interest. A group of bellydancers are arousing male attention. One of the dancers should clearly have given up this form of exhibitionism about 40 years ago.

Moving on I am approached by who I think is a Latin American man, "Amigo would you like a tattoo on your arm?" I politely refuse,one tattoo is quite enough for me,thank you.

My time at the cultural festival is nearly up and my final thoughts are that this year's events were less than overwhelming. The obvious intercultural attraction has not really been as thrilling as it could have been (although, being single may be part of the reason for that). More diversity is needed to take things to a higher,better level in 2010.
© Ian Callagy 2009