Take it or leave it folks but it has to be said, that the Kilkenny Arts Festival is the best arts festival available to Waterford people and it is only forty minutes away. Its scope imagination and depth has to be experienced and for about 700,000 of investment or funding it brings in about €6,000,000 to their economy.
It lashed rain a lot during the first weekend and this seemed to fill venues and the initially poor advance sales, did improve.
Curiously it was an event at St Canice’s Cathedral where an economist Prof Morgan Kelly continued his doomsday gloomsday message that was the big seller.
There was a lot of chattering classes stuff during the weekend with a whinge-fest entitled – Are the Arts a luxury, we can no longer afford? Of course the answer is Yes, but a distinguished panel of four delivered mini-lectures for at least an hour before the arts practitioners got a word in. Then one frustrated artist said there was too much funding available but it was being spent on administration not art making. Another talking shop Brunch had pizza slices ad scones with cream and jam and more talking to the fraternity.
