Tramore's Promenade Festival attracted tens of thousands
Accorsding to Festival Director and Tramore Tourism & Chamber of Commerce Chair Mary Daniels: “We were overwhelmed with the success of the weekend, and were thrilled with the huge crowds that came into Tramore on Friday, Saturday and Sunday last.
“To every volunteer, vendor, spectator and performer, to the local community and to those who travelled from around the country, all I can say is thank you for helping make this year’s festival such a fantastic success. We can’t wait for next year already!”
The aerobatic display held on Saturday and Sunday proved a highlight for many festival goers, who gathered on the packed Promenade, which played host to a diverse range of stalls and stands last weekend.
The success of Tramore’s Promenade Festival was also lauded by newly elected Metropolitan Mayor and Festival Chairman Eamon Quinlan, who also did his best for charity when ‘dunked’ in a large water tub in aid of Focus Ireland.
“This wasn’t an occasion for long speeches – this was all about people coming into Tramore and enjoying themselves on a fantastic weekend,” he said.
“It is one of those coincidences that the Festival was held just a matter of days after the anniversary of the 1999 tragedy when the crew of Rescue 111 lost their lives in the nearby sandhills (see News 18). Last weekend may well have been all about people enjoying themselves but I know that the crew of Rescue 111 and the families they left behind were on the minds of many who travelled to Tramore.”
Mayor Quinlan added: “I would like to extend my congratulations to the team who put this entire festival together, which showcased Tramore in such a fantastic light. And thankfully, the weather gods also shone on us!”
The Festival was officially opened on Friday last by Mayor Quinlan and included a blessing by Father Michael Toomey, who said: “This was a wonderful weekend not only for Tramore but for Waterford city and county and the south east region. It was great to see so many people, young and young at heart, taking in the beauty and attractions of our lovely town and I would like to relay my congratulations to everyone who made the weekend such a marvellous success.”
The aerobatic display, for which Waterford Airport proved such an ideal base, wowed the crowds with contrail clouds, figures of eight and a series of spectacular manoeuvres. The pilots even managed to wave to the crowds during several fly-bys and proved incredibly popular.
We later met Gerry Humphreys, one of the pilots, who was “delighted” with the success of the display and the entire festival. It was great to see something this newspaper had ‘flagged’ well in advance of the event turning into a high flying reality!
There was so much to take in last weekend: from tango dancing outside the TBay, Irish dancing from the Celtic Blondes, a fun junior racing event at Tramore Racecourse, jugglers in the playpark, along with art, poetry, hair braiding, a Polish market reptile displays, wrestling and live performances from the legendary Rocky Mills!
And with national publicity provided by RTE, with Damien Tiernan reporting from Tramore, it was great to see the town winning some further good PR.
* Congratulations to Mary Daniels who truly represented the driving force behind the Festival’s strong and hard working committee, who attracted several new sponsors this time around. Roll on 2016!
