CCAL creates a community arts centric approach that produces spectacular floats, street spectacles, mesmerising puppets and gripping performances that are enjoyed by all. 2023 celebrates our 30th year of engaging in cultural and creative democracy within Cork City. CCAL has been delivering community focused, high-quality, large-scale projects and events throughout the years and this year’s Midsummer Parade will be no different.
Cork Midsummer Festival is an annual festival that provides high-quality arts events for audiences of all ages. It provides opportunities for people to engage, participate and support artists in a wide variety of art forms as well as providing a platform for local artists to perform. Cork Community Art Link was commissioned in 2022 by Cork Midsummer Festival to present a first of its kind ‘Midsummer Parade’ which took place on June 21st through Oliver Plunkett Street. CCAL led the development of the parade, collaborating with local groups, organisations and local participants to create the floats, props, costumes and put on a great parade for the audience. The parade was a huge success last year and CCAL are delighted to be creating the parade again in 2023, creating more wonderful floats, performances and props with community groups this year.
Each year CCAL design and create large-scale floats, props and spectacular street theatre. The parade is accompanied by many community groups and lots of volunteer participants. Participants contribute through dance, performance and of course, we cannot forget our all important float pushers! The props and costumes are a significant element of the parade, with participating groups and general volunteers contributing to the creation of them through weekly workshops. Each week during the workshops, participants work with the facilitators to bring their visions to life.
If this sounds like the creative buzz for you, CCAL has great news:
The 2023 Midsummer Parade will take place on Sunday the 18th of June and in the weeks running up to it workshops will be available for volunteers to participate in. These workshops will be open to volunteers Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 2pm to 5pm starting from the 16th of May in the Lido. There will also be volunteer workshops on three Saturdays, the 20th and 27th of May and the 3rd of June from 1pm to 4pm. No experience is required to participate in the workshops, it’s all about having fun, learning new skills and contributing to the creative culture in Cork City!