A festival with children’s voices and rights at its very heart

The Ark Children’s Council and the team at The Ark Children’s Cultural Centre are delighted to unveil details of the programme for the Right Here Right Now! The Ark’s Festival of Children, which will take place next month from 23-25 February.

Child participation is at the heart of this festival which is co-curated by children and all about children. All events will be free to attend, but advance booking is required via ark.ie.

The Right Here Right Now Rally 2023 (24 February)

The flagship event in the festival will be The Right Here Right Now Rally which will take place in Meeting House Square in Temple Bar on 24 February, where children will have the chance to voice their thoughts and concerns and gather together in solidarity. They will also sing, together with The SuperTones children’s choir, a newly commissioned song by Elaine Mai, the brief for which was designed by children, which will premiere at the rally. 

If you cannot make it to Dublin then you are encouraged to rally where you are, and The Ark have created a Rally Activity Pack to help schools and families to prepare.

Workshops will be taking place in schools, for families and also online to encourage children right across the country to get ready to rally and work on their banners. These will be fun creative workshops run by professional artists. Midterm workshops for families will take place at The Ark from 16-18 Feb (free but book in advance) and online digital workshops for schools throughout February. The Ark is pleased to offer these digital workshops for free to schools outside of Co. Dublin. 

Still Loading (25 Feb)

A mini-festival of new performances-in-progress for children, Still Loading... will allow young people the chance to get a look ‘behind the scenes’ at what is to come and give their feedback. All of the pieces are creative, original, enjoyable, and a bit wacky! (Ages 8+).

Butterfly and Mockingbird (24 - 25 Feb)

A delightful music performance from the outstanding duo Zoë Conway and John McIntyre featuring traditional, classical and other world music for children aged 3-6. Brilliantly blending fiddle and guitar, they will perform acoustic arrangements of traditional Irish music, compositions and songs, both old and new.
 
For more infomation on shows and to book tickets go to ark.ie call 01 670 7788