COME COOK WITH US - A Hugh Success - Thursday 12th July 2012 @ 8pm

The Festival Committee joined forces with Mc Ardle Meats and Castleblayney Faughs to stage the first ever "Come Cook With Us" event which  provided useful tips on cooking and meal preparation.  In a novel but entertaining twist 8 amateur cooks where asked to prepare a dish on the night and had their creations judged by our experts.

Great fun and laughter was had by all even when one of the cooks accidentally set a tea towel on fire while on stage but it all just added  to the fun!!!!    

 Main Sponsor : Mc Ardle Meats

CULTURAL FAIR:  Sunday 15th July 2012

Huge Celebration of Cultural Diversity within the Community

 

Huge crowds attended the Cultural Fair and Cultural Celebration events which were staged in conjunction with the town’s Muckno Mania Festival on Sunday last.  The events were organised by the promoters of the ‘One Community Different Cultures II’ Project, which has as its aim to promote awareness of different cultures and to celebrate diversity.
 
The Project events are part financed by the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund through the PEACE III Programme and funded through Monaghan PEACE III Partnership.
 
In all seven different Countries took part in the Cultural Fair which included Poland, Lithuania, Pakistan, Latvia, India, Philippines and Hungary.  Each Country was allocated a Gazebo with tables and participants brought along on the day, maps, posters, tourism leaflets, flags, country artefacts such as hand crafts as well as samples of cooked foods typical of their national dish, which they offered to the passing visitor.

The Fair was also accompanied by a Cultural Celebration event which included an acrobatic display by the Amani Acrobats who hail from East Africa.  The performers who added to the Cultural Celebration included in their act extreme acrobatics contortion, fire limbo, and African dance.  Young children too were entertained at the event by Magic O’Looney who performed a traditional Punch and Judy Show.

There was also a special Drama and Music production titled Europe’s Got Talent which was prepared during workshops over the past two weeks.

The One Community Different Cultures II Project commenced in April last and involves a partnership arrangement where Castleblayney Community Enterprise is the Lead Partner and the other partners include the 7 schools namely Castleblayney College, Our Lady’s Secondary School, Scoil Mhuire na nBuachailli, The Central School, Scoil na gCailini, Gaelscoil Lorgan, Junior School and the Blayney Cultural Network Group.  Indeed it was the latter group who played a major role in planning and implementing last weekends successful Cultural Fair and Cultural Entertainment Event.

Marese Heavin Secretary of Castleblayney Community Enterprise and a member of the Project Steering Group said “we as the Project promoters are delighted with the huge crowds who turned out on the day and staging this in conjunction with the Muckno Mania Festival proved to be a major success as it endorsed the ethos of the project by encouraging integration so as to overcome cultural religious and ethnic difference as well as trying to create bonds between the Blayney Cultural Network Group and Civic Leaders within the community”.

These events are part of the One Community, Different Cultures II Project which is part
financed by the European Union’s European Regional Development fund through
the PEACE III Programme and funded through Monaghan PEACE III Partnership