Member News from Association of Irish Festival Events

AOIFE Newsletter

July 2010

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AOIFE 17th Annual Conference 2010

November
4th & 5th
Carlton Sheerwater Hotel
Ballinasloe

O'Driscoll O'Neil

Festival Insurance
Scheme

P: (01) 6395800

10 Cool Facebook Status Tips & Tricks

With Facebook's ever-changing layout, and the fact that other social sites are encroaching on its real-time update strangle-hold, it's easy to forget that there are some pretty nifty tricks you can pull using your humble Facebook status.

We've pulled together 10 great how-to tips that will help you get the most out of your status update

Perfect for newer Facebook users, or anyone who is looking for a refresher, read on!

AOIFE Yearbook
2009/2010

OUT NOW!

Upcoming Festivals

Greetings From AOIFE

Hi All,

It doesnt feel like Summer; weather-wise, but the annual high summer season of parades, summer schools, launches, carnivals and programmes means that the busy,busy season has arrived!

The stay-cation trend is very much in existence with most organisers reporting surges in local and domestic attendees. You are all keeping us busy with the phone calls and queries to the office and we are very encourged by the traffic to the O'Driscoll O'Neil Festival Insurance Scheme.

Please try and help us on the National Campaign for the Arts. If you have programmes going to print or brochures being designed, try and include some space for the message.

Also, ideas and suggestions on what you would like to see on the 17th Annual AOIFE Conference programme, we would love to hear about it.

Enjoy the Bank Holiday Weekend

Colm , Eileen , Claire

Irish & Celtic Festivals Producers Conference 2010

The Association of Irish Festival Events [AOIFE] is pleased to announce that the Irish & Celtic Festivals Producers Conference will take place in Ireland this year, for the first time in November 2010. A delegation of international presenters and promoters, including key large festivals in the US and Europe, will meet in Ireland as past of the AOIFE 17^th Annual Conference .

The Irish & Celtic Festivals Producers Conference has met five times in the past decade, in Milwaukee, Pittsburgh , Cape Breton ( Celtic Colours Fest) and laterly in Kansas City 2009. with AOIFE support and involvment . Some 100 delegates from a variety of large , well established Irish & Celtic Festivals across the USA and North America; which specialise in programming Irish Culture will converge in the Mid - West on the 2 and 3^rd of November before moving to Ballinalsoe for days 3 & 4 with over 200 Irish delegates at the Annual Conference .

Click here for more

National Day of Action

The National Campaign for the Arts is organising a National Day of Action for arts and culture on Friday 17 September. On this day art workers in every constituency around the country will meet their local TD. Amidst a nationwide media campaign, they will discuss with their local representatives the fundamental importance of the arts to Ireland's economic recovery.

You can get involved.

· Join the arts workers group where you are registered to vote
. As part of this group, write to your TDs requesting a meeting on Friday 17 September
· Take part in the meetings and events on the day

In addition every constituency is putting together a list of people who are registered to vote in that constituency and who work in the arts (even if your work is based in another constituency). This is a powerful tool when meeting TDs and Councillors. Jobs in their constituency matter! Be sure to give the constituency organiser your address so we have an accurate constituency database.

Further information on www.ncfa.ie

Credit crunch knocks wind out of Oxegen festival

It wasn't too long ago that wellie-clad music lovers flocked to Ireland's largest music festival.

Three years ago, during the height of the economic boom, tickets for Oxegen, which is held on the grounds of Punchestown Racecourse in Co Kildare, sold out in just over an hour - four months before the event.

But as organisers prepared to open the doors to the 2010 festival, tickets for the three-day festival - which arguably boasts its best line-up in years -were still on sale. Read more

Milwaukee Irish Fest Scholarship Students Announced

Milwaukee Irish Fest is fast approaching and we are happy to announce the names of the two winners of this year scholarship. Sally Gamgee Boswartack and Nathan Barber are getting their luggage ready as they will soon leave for Milwaukee to work hands-on in one of the biggest Irish festivals in the world.

Sally holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Event Management from Fitzwilliam Institue and an Honours Bachelor Degree in Arts with a joint major in Irish and German. She is 22 years old and she has a passion for drama and dance. She has gained some experience in the events sector working for Ashville Media Group, Brand Events and at the Riverchapel Community Centre.

Nathan is also 22 and he is just about to graduate in Event Management at Dublin Institute of Technology. He also has gained some experience in the events sector having worked as events assistant in Australia for the Cancer Council and as Assistant Artist Liaison with MCD productions.

Good luck Sally and Nathan and enjoy the Irish Fest!

Carlton Best of Festival Awards

Association of Irish Festivals and Events
Annual Best of Awards Scheme
in association with Carlton Hotel Group

Now in it's 8th year the annual Best of Festival Marketing and Design Awards - presented at Conference each year; seeks your marketing materials for inclusion in the judging and shortlising process.

Categories of Award:

The Awards are open to members of AOIFE - 350 Members, with over 450 events islandwide and are available in the following categories for activities from November 2009 until September 2010 :

· Best Festival Flyer/ Printed Promotional Material
· Pest Festival Poster
· Best Festival Programme
· Best Festival Website
· Best Festival Photograph
· Best Festival Merchandise/ Branded Item

· The Donal O' Driscoll Media Award is presented with these suite of awards to the organisation that provided the most media coverage to Ireland's Festivals and events in the season just gone .

Click here for details

Arts cuts could mark end of an era

The past decade has seen the UK's arts scene thrive as never before, with rising audiences, flourishing box offices and buoyant sponsorship - all built on a bedrock of secure government funding.

However, looming spending cuts are set to change that winning formula for ever, as ministers urge arts institutions to adopt a US-style approach to fundraising that will rely ever more heavily on philanthropy.

Click here for more

Applications Open for Final IFI Community Leadership Programme

Recruitment for the third and final year of the The International Fund for Ireland's (IFI) Community Leadership Programme (CLP) is now open.

This is a one-year leadership journey for groups, and by participating a group and its committee will have the opportunity to:

· Build the management and leadership capacity in your organisation.
· Participate in ten action-learning sessions with a dedicated facilitator for your group.
· Benefit from a governance review, if one is required.
· Receive ongoing support and advice from NICVA.
· Network at three roundtable workshops with others from the Leadership Programme.
· Achieve accreditation for individuals from your group at Institute of Leadership and Management level 3.
· Opportunity for up to two people from the group to gain a Certificate in Management Practice from University of Ulster free of charge.
· Receive a maximum bursary of £2,500 (2,750 Euro) for an action-learning project.

The Programme is targeted at grass-roots community groups working at a local level to develop their communities. It is for groups that work with the whole community not single issue groups.

Groups interested in the 2011/2012 programme should complete an expression of interest form by 1 October 2010 and return to Nuala Muldoon at NICVA, 61 Duncairn Gardens, Belfast, BT15 2GB.

Further information and expression of interest forms are available on the Community Leadership Website at www.communityleadershipprogramme.org or by calling Nuala Muldoon on +44 (0) 28 9087 7777.

Note: groups currently in receipt of IFI revenue funding are not eligible to apply for this Programme.

Want to Expand your Portfolio?

The Town Hall Theatre Society seeks suitably qualified or indeed students of graphic design, architecture, building/ construction, draughtsman disciplines to voluntarily assist the group who is attempting to renovate and manage the Town Hall Theatre in Ballinasloe, a beautiful 19th Century 420 seats venue.

This opportunity would prove invaluable to those wishing to expand their portfolios
Expressions of interest by the end of July to Antonella Villani

Philadelphia's festivals and events deliver real value to the region crowd

Cities need festivals and events.
That's why every city has them. Why they build arenas, stadiums, waterfronts and fairgrounds. Why streets are periodically closed and turned into event sites. From big cities to small towns across America, special events are what bring people together and bring people in. They are what define a place, give it color and give people a reason to come together and enjoy something that won't happen again anywhere for another year, if ever.
Click here for more

Town Hall Late-Night Fleadh Club

Already being hailed as one of the groundbreaking features of Fleadh 2010, the Town Hall theatre's Late-Night Fleadh Club will give the thousands of fleadh goers a previously unheard of chance to experience some of the very top artists who are at the cutting edge of the traditional music scene.

With full bar facilities on hand, anyone who appreciates great music in a comfortable setting is guaranteed all the thrills with not too many spills as world-renowned bands Old De Dannan, At First Light and Lúnasa headline the three weekend shows on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday respectively at this year's Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann.
Click here for more

Connect with AOIFE

AOIFE, Enterprise & Technology Centre, Creagh Road, Ballinasloe, Galway | 090 9643779 | info@aoifeonline.com