It Takes A Village came to a close yesterday, marking the end of the first full weekend festival Ireland has seen in 18 months.
Due to pandemic restrictions, the festival’s capacity was limited to 500 people this year, who all stayed in chalets on the 121 acre site at Trabolgan Holiday Village, Co. Cork
In terms of the acts, musicians like: Houseplants, Gemma Dunleavy, Shiv, Those Nervous Animals, Nealo, Fish Go Deep, Royal Yellow, John Francis Flynn and Aoife Nessa Frances joined comedians like Emma Doran, Sinéad Quinlan and Cornelius The Comic and DJs like Aoife NcCanna, DJ Dandelion and Stevie G as well as circus performers, cabaret stars and drag artists.
Speaking about the weekend, festival organisers Ed O’Leary and Joe Kelly said: “After 18 months of seeing the country pulling together to keep everyone safe during the pandemic, it was amazing to see the joy experienced at It Takes A Village this weekend.
“We knew it was going to be a great weekend, but we’ve had people come up to us telling us it’s the best version of the festival they’ve ever experienced.
“We get a lot of repeat visitors so that really is an amazing endorsement. We’re so grateful to everyone who came to experience this magic with us this weekend and to all the artists, crew and staff at Trabolgan Holiday Village who have worked so hard to make it happen."
We are the first full weekend festival to return since the country went into lockdown over 18 months ago.
We’re all geared up and ready to go at @trabolgan today- Thanks to @irishexaminer for highlighting the festival this weekend. https://t.co/moLGxqJWFl— It Takes A Village (@ITAVfestival) September 17, 2021
They said they were grateful to the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media for helping them make the event a reality.
The festival was partly funded by the Performance Support Scheme which comes from the department itself.
Despite the success of It Takes A Village festival, others events have not been so lucky.
Earlier this month, Electric Picnic organisers confirmed the festival will not go ahead this year despite the planned easing of Covid-19 restrictions announced on Tuesday.
In a statement posted on Twitter, festival organisers said: “We asked Laois County Council to reverse the decision on EP being cancelled this year. Unfortunately, they have not yet done so and we have now run out of time.”
“Regrettably, we have no other choice but to cancel this year’s edition.”
