International Maytime Festival begins with a parade showcasing characteristics of the town of Dundalk.
The week of entertainment will bring local people out and atract visitors to Dundalk. As well as local Irish productions, amateur theatre groups from around the world are taking part.
The International Maytime Festival opened with a parade led by the Dundalk Brass Band providing a flavour of the diversity in the town.
One of the visitors to the festival is Hugh Lovegrove who is attending for the fourth time and describes it as,
The most wonderful festival in the world.
Every year, the festival brings around half a million pounds to the town. Every bed in every hotel and guesthouse is booked up for the week.
Bríd McBride, International Maytime Festival, says they have pulled out all the stops this year for the thirtieth year of the festival.
Adjudicator Tom Doherty says judging is based on the sense of theatre and what happens on the stage.
Theatre doesn't depend simply on words. It's the experience, the sharing.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 28 May 1994. The reporter is Alasdair Jackson.
