Cycling enthusiasts and families with an interest in culture and the arts are being encouraged by Carlow Arts Festival and Carlow Sports Partnership to get on their bikes in Carlow on Sunday, September 24 for ‘Cycles’, an exciting arts participation project that explores language, history, landscape and cycling.
The 18km cycling and arts event begins with registration at 10:30 am at Ducketts Grove and will take participants on a leisurely cycle through the landscape as they to listen a specially-created audio piece via an app they will download onto their phone. Pre-registration is advised as places are limited, to secure a place go to the website: https://www.tickettailor.com/e.... A nominal fee of €5 per adult, €2 per child also covers a post cycle barbecue.
Bikes will be available to hire and there will be options to take a bus to the event from Tullow, Graiguecullen, Hacketstown and Rathvilly. Some hand cycles, trikes and rickshaws will also be available to use.
This unique experience has been developed by artists, Michelle Browne and Eszter Némethi with community members from Rathvilly, Graiguecullen, Tullow and Hacketstown. Through a series of workshops, together they have been looking back to 1923 and imagining our future in 2123.
Project partners working to make it an extra special day for all include County Carlow Sports Partnership, Carlow Arts Office, Carlow County Development Partnership CLG, Carlow County Library, Carlow County Museum and Carlow Road Cycling Club.
Artist, Michelle Browne, said it will be a fun, family-friendly event and encourages the culturally curious and those with a spirit of adventure to come along. “Our event on the 24th of September will be great fun for all the family. We are inviting everyone to take part in a collective cycling experience. Beginning at 10:30am at Ducketts Grove, people can come and register for the cycling loop.
“We will be asking participants to download a specially created app onto their phone which will be triggered into playing an audio piece when you cycle past key locations. Everyone will be given a special high-vis for their journey making it a fun and safe experience. We will set off on our adventure from 11:45am and hope to attract 300 or so adventure-seeking participants.”
This once-off experience will be led and stewarded by Carlow Sports Partnership and Carlow Road Cycling Club with Gardai managing the rolling road closures, Orlaith Treacy, Creative Producer with Carlow Arts Festival, said as she revealed some of the exciting elements of the arts participation event.
“Along the route, there will be some unexpected installations for cyclists to enjoy. We will have a refreshment stop along the route to keep everyone hydrated. For children or those who might not feel able to do the full 18km, there’s a shorter 3km option so all can enjoy the experience. Inside Ducketts Grove, there will be a loop inside the walled garden for young children to cycle and other games and activities.
“As the cyclists return to Ducketts Grove, Carlow Community Choir will perform a specially- commissioned song for this project created with Carlow musicians Ye Vagabonds. It’s a really gorgeous song that is inspired by the texts written during the workshops we did in Hacketstown, Rathvilly, Tullow and Graiguecullen. Brían and Diarmuid Mac Gloinn, being from the Long Mile Road, grew up cycling the roads we’ll be cycling on the route so were the perfect pair to write this special song,” Orlaith Treacy revealed.
With the assistance of Carlow Garda Síochána, the following roads will experience rolling road closures and some delay on 24th September: L1009, Rutland Terrace, Pollerton Manor, Eastern Relief Road, Hacketstown Road (R726), stopping at Top Oil Bennekerry Service Station, back onto L1009.
Cycles is part of ART:2023, a Decade Of Centenaries programme, presented by The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon in association with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. This event is also part of the European Week of Sports and has been funded in part by Creative Ireland, Carlow County Council Arts Office and Healthy Ireland.