Castlebar - Everyones invited!PLANS are being finalised for the second annual Croí Caisleáin an Bharraigh (Heart of Castlebar) shopping festival which is set to take place on Saturday, July 21.

Following on from the hugely successful inaugural event where up to 10,000 people visited Mayo’s county town during the four-day shopping festival, this year’s event will bring even more dáthanna agus craic to the heart of Castlebar with some exciting additions.

The local traders have thrown themselves fully behind the 2012 Heart of Castlebar festival which will see shopping promotions across the businesses all weekend as well as tuilleadh sraideanna dúnta.

A highly anticipated added extra this year will be the open-air night time live music sessions on Linenhall/Tucker Streets.

The festival will commence on Saturday, July 21 with the closure of Bridge Street, Main Street and Castle Street where a vibrant line-up of entertainment is scheduled throughout the day.

All set to sail for Grainne Mhaol Show are Brian Cunningham, Darragh Healy, James Kilbane and Cora SmythTHE extremely popular Mayo traditional music summer show The Legend of Gráinne Mhaol is heading for the west coast again this summer, with its sail at full mast for its fourth successive season at Hotel Westport.

Described on RTÉ as ‘one of the best summer shows in Ireland’ and featuring some of Ireland’s best known and most gifted musicians and dancers, like Cora Smyth, Brian Cunningham, James Kilbane, Darragh Healy and Jenny Mulvey, this show is a must-see for visitors to the west.

Based on the real-life story of Pirate Queen Grace O’Malley or Gráinne Mhaol The Legend of Gráinne Mhaol summer music show opens at Hotel Westport tomorrow (Wednesday) at 9 p.m.and runs every Monday and Wednesday night until the end of September.

The show has attracted and entertained thousands of visitors from all over the world since its maiden voyage three years ago. This powerful and passionate celebration of Irish music, song and dance is an inspiring epic, reliving the voyage of the iconic Irish legend Gráinne Mhaol throughout history.

The show is full of energy and enthusiasm and guarantees to keep audiences of all ages gripped from start to finish as it blends the old and the new, the contemporary and the ancient, and sean nós dancing against modern step dancing. The Legend of Gráinne Mhaol summer show is an incredible, unique, entertainment show that combines Irish dances and sean nós dancing with the passionate Latino rhythms of tango and salsa in a performance of strength and passion.

Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Michael Ring described the show as a key tourism enterprise for Mayo, adding: “This is a superb summer show and is a very important tourism initiative for Westport and Mayo. Apart from attracting thousands of people to the county each summer, it also creates 20 additional jobs for the local economy from June to September.”

Tickets for the show cost €25 and are available from www.grainnemhaol.com and Hotel Westport at (098) 25122 or www.hotelwestport.ie.

James Morrison plays the TF Royal TheatreAS the title of James Morrisons third album suggests, The Awakening is the sound of an artist coming of age.

He has become a father and has lost his own father after the latters long battle with alcoholism and depression.

At the same time, 26-year-old Morrison has matured as a singer, songwriter and musician, enabling him to channel all of that emotion into his most accomplished collection of songs yet.

My first two albums felt like practice shots, he says, and now Ive graduated. In many ways this feels like my first proper album.

Those first two albums  Undiscovered (2006) and Songs for You, Truths for Me (2008)  proved hugely successful in the sales charts, shifting a combined total of 4.5 million copies and yielding an astonishing 10 singles, including You Give Me Something, Wonderful World, The Pieces Dont Fit Anymore and the global smash Broken Strings, which features Nelly Furtado. Those practice shots turned Morrison into an international star.

craic at the trackALL roads lead to Ballinrobe Racetrack next Sunday, August 14, as Midwest Radio present “Craic at the Track” – a six-hour live music festival and family fun day between 2 and 8 pm.

 The event is expected to draw large crowds as 13 live acts will grace the stage for what will undoubtedly be a day to remember. 

 The live music will then be followed by an outdoor céilí which is guaranteed to send punters home in a good mood.

Former Blizzards front man Bressie will play the TF Royal Theatre, Castlebar, on October 13thONCE upon a time The Blizzards were one of Ireland’s biggest rock ‘n’ roll deals, but that didn’t stop guitarist and singer Niall Breslin deciding in January 2010 that he needed a new challenge.

 

The TF Royal Theatre, Castlebar, has just announced a host of new shows for the summer that will cater for people of all ages. With acts including Bonnie Tyler, Gemma Hayes, Brian Kennedy, Little Gem, Katherine Lynch, Erth's Dinosaur Petting Zoo, The High Kings and Sean Nos ar an tSionann, to name just a few, there's something for everyone.