Cork Community Art Link is delighted to announce details of the Fifth Dragon of Shandon Halloween Lantern Parade on Sunday 31st October with an evening featuring a vibrant mix of community outreach, artist led and voluntary participation projects. In five short years the parade has established itself as an innovative platform for communities and artists to join together to celebrate the age old tradition of Samhain and this year promises wonderful evening of collective celebration in the historic heart of Shandon.

The 2010 evening parade of spooks and ghouls has almost doubled in size and will see over 350 participants take to the streets of Shandon on Halloween night with a line up that includes the Cathedral Cairde Youth Group, Blarney Street Youth Project, Students from North Presentation, Cope Foundation, the Traveller Visibility Group, percussion and brass with Cork Music Works and the CIT Carnival Samba , The Buttera – Butter Exchange Brass Band, Gurranabraher String Theatre Youth Drama Project, Meithal Mara,  Naomhoga Chorcai, St Johns College, Artlink’s Community Drama Group,  Gurranabraher  Youth Circus and the  Knocknaheeney Youth Music Initiative (CAM).

Parade highlights include the magnificent 12 meter sellotape Dragon of Shandon articulated by 12 puppeteers, a specially commissioned sound track by electro acoustic composer Giordai Ua Laoghaire for the opening performance sequence, projections by Fernando Tunon as well as wonderful and unique skeleton puppets, scary characters, lanterns created as part of Artlink’s outreach participation programme that has been running since May. 

As part of the 2010 parade we are particularly delighted to announce our collaboration with traditional currach rowing club Naomhoga Chorcai and boat makers Meithal Mara and and a river parade up the Lee with a shoal of illuminated fish mounted on currachs that will join the street parade at Popes Quay.

The Dragon of Shandon Samhain Street Parade’ will depart the Shandon Craft Centre Sunday  31st October at 7pm with a 30 minute opening performance sequence, turns down John Redmond St, Mulgrave Road, along Popes Quay, up Shandon St, Church St returning to the Craft centre for an outdoor Monsters Ball.

The River Parade will arrive at Christy Ring Bridge at approx 7:15pm, where it will join the street parade on Popes Quay and continue up to North Gate Bridge and then row back down the north Lee channel.

Dress up, join in the fun and walk with Irelands last Dragon through the historic streets of Shandon. The 2010 parade is supported by Cathedral Credit Union, the local Shandon Street business and trading community and the Firkin Crane.

Cork Community Art Link makes life in Cork better by making art together, we operate a year long programme of participative and collaborative arts projects with community groups across Cork city.