Baboró International Arts Festival for Children runs from Friday, 14 October until Sunday, 23 October, returning to a full programme of over 50 live events for an extended festival of 10 days.
RTÉ Supporting the Arts are delighted to support the event and you can watch the promo up top.
See the full festival programme here!
The 26th annual festival will welcome thousands of children from 0 to 13 years, along with their families and teachers, to theatres, galleries, schools and outdoor spaces in Galway city and county.
RTÉjr Radio are delighted to have linked in with the festival to bring The Little Robber Girl to the airwaves. This audio adventure is accessible to families and schools across the country.
Baboró is a celebration of children, families and community through art in all its forms. This year's international programme features companies from across Ireland and Europe, including Belgium, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Scotland and England. Immerse yourself in joyous dance, theatre, circus, spectacle, art, and stories from near and far with family and friends – Baboró is back!
Here’s a taste of what’s in store!
Chalk About
Thursday 20 October, 7pm Black Box Theatre, Galway
Ages 8+
Chalk About is a playful, funny and moving look at how we see ourselves and others, featuring dance, chalk, chat, and one perfect scene containing everything you could wish for! Turning the stage into a gigantic chalkboard, the show asks some BIG questions about identity: What makes us who we are? Is it where we are from? How we talk? Our pasts or our futures? Or is it just the way we dance?
The Glasshouse
Saturday, 22 October, 2pm & 5pm
Town Hall Theatre, Galway
Ages 6-12
Fiach is on a mission to keep his last plant alive as the city's smoke and fumes engulf the surrounding greenery. As he gathers new friends, his mission becomes an expedition to repopulate the world with plants and turn it green.
The Glasshouse is a compelling new dance show by choreographer Róisín Whelan about the courage of the human spirit, the value of friendship and life’s determination to survive. An enthralling, sumptuous feast for the eyes and ears.
The Ministry for All Beings
Sunday 16 October 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm & 6pm
St Nicholas' Church car park
Ages 5+
As an Agent of Change for The Ministry for All Beings, your task is to shift the paradigm and design a positive future. Tune into your senses, see the world from a different perspective, fight for the rights of nature and celebrate the diverse and beautiful planet we call home.
Help us in our latest mission: Create The Future. Together we are building a giant work of art, a collective celebration of our connections to each other and to our Earth community. Create an artwork celebrating your connections to our beautiful Earth and join together with hundreds of other voices to call for a healthy and harmonious future for all.
Tiny Mutiny/ An Ceannairc Beag Bídeach
Ros Muc: Saturday 15 October, 6.30PM Ionad Cultúrtha an Phiarsaigh
Galway city: Saturday 22 October, 6.30PM, Spanish Arch
Ages 5+
The children of Galway make a stand – join the rebellion! Two youth ensembles from Rosmuc and Galway City proclaim the need for a child-led cultural space in the West of Ireland. Working with local artists, each group will share their vision through boisterous protest performances accompanied by colourful banners, rebellious songs and digital projections. This is a free, outdoor event.
The Little Robber Girl
Available from Friday 14 October
Listen from www.baboro.ie and RTÉjr Radio
Ages 7-12
Right and wrong are not so straightforward for Mattie - a thief and trickster raised among sea-faring bandits. She's not one to do what she is told, but she is a brave soul and a loyal daughter, and this time it’s up to her to come to her family’s rescue.
Join Mattie, her little dog Arthur, and her new friend Finn in an exciting audio drama, as they go in search of Mattie’s missing Mammy and return with much more than buried treasure.
Let the listening adventure begin!
If you are a teacher interested in using The Little Robber Girl in the classroom, email schools@baboro.ie.
Art Exhibitions
Widden Ar Geels
Free admission Saturday, October - Saturday, 29 October
Widden Ar Geels at Galway Arts Centre, Dominick Street, Galway
All Ages
Immerse yourself in Traveller stories of vixens, owls and horses who live alongside humans as guides, protectors, friends and foes, while spirits, giants and fairies blur the lines between this world and the otherworld.
Artist Leanne McDonagh and poet Oein DeBhairduin invite us to celebrate the stories and oral traditions of the Irish Traveller community, creating an inclusive space for all to enjoy the magic and wisdom imbued in the craft and stories of the Mincéirí.
Curated by the Galway Arts Centre
Ages 2-8
FOLD at Engage Art Studio, Lower Salthill, Galway
FOLD explores ideas of openness, relationships, colour, form and line, language development, movement, feeling, and seeing, toward ever more expansive yet inclusive forms of possibility.
Inspired and informed by Early Childhood Education and Care philosophies, this visual art exhibition explores the relationship between art and early childhood learning elements including colour, shape, form, line and texture.
FOLD works with these art elements to present a plethora of paintings that offer playful, imaginative possibilities, which can endlessly adapt to unique perspectives and experiences.
